DARVARI MONASTERY

BUCHAREST

Darvari Monastery is one of the few worship places built in the middle of Bucharest. It is an island of peace inside the noisy Romanian capital. Darvari Hermitage was built in 1834 by Mihail Darvari and his wife Elena Darvari. It was a small, wooden church in the beginning. Cells for priests also appeared in the church yard. A year later, in 1835, 12 nuns came from other monasteries near Bucharest to take care of Darvari Hermitage building and to officiate religious service. After the founder’s death, the nuns left Darvari. The hermitage was closed after Alexandru Ioan Cuza took for the state all monasteries properties by law.

DARVARI CHURCH HISTORY

But in 1868, as Romania was under the reign of Carol I, Elena Darvari changed the worship place into a hermitage for monks. In 1894, the construction need to be repaired. A nephew of the founder, officer in the Romanian Army will repair again Darvari Hermitage in 1934.

Somehow, this worship place has the same history as the Jewish Choral Temple in Bucharest, a fine building near Unirii Square, the center of the capital, where you will learn more about the Jewish community. The fresco will be made by the painter Iosif Keber. In 1959 the communist party leaders will close this worship place, following the atheist politics of the Soviet Union, after the war. The 13 monks who lived here are forced to move to Cernica Monastery and the hermitage will become a simple church. The tomb of the founder is being kept in the hall of the building. The paintings will be repaired after 1989 and in 1996 the place will be given back the name Darvari Hermitage or Darvari Monastery. It has been historical monument since 1992.

ROMANA SQUARE AREA AROUND DARVARI MONASTERY

Darvari Hermitage or Darvari Monastery can be a stop on your journey through Bucharest and it won’t take much time. It is also near the ANGLICAN CHURCH. During summer, if you travel to Bucharest you can enjoy the flowers in the yard and the peace and silence inside the building. A small shop has also been opened in front of the hermitage which is only a few minutes walk between University and Romana Square.

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