Sinaia Monastery: the 17th-century cloister that named the town

The monastery the town grew from

Sinaia Monastery (Mănăstirea Sinaia) stands at 860 metres at the foot of Mount Furnica in the Bucegi massif, close to where the Peleș stream joins the Prahova. The trade route along the Prahova Valley is documented from 1422, and small wooden sketes existed here from the second half of the fifteenth century. In 1690–1695 the spătar Mihail Cantacuzino built a masonry monastery below the skete of St Nicholas and named it Sinaia, after the Monastery of St Catherine on Mount Sinai, which he had visited in 1681. He built the Church of the Dormition (today the "old" or "small" church) and a fortress-like quadrangle of cells measuring 30 by 40 metres with thick, high walls, which also includes the Chapel of the Transfiguration of 1695.

The old church was burned in 1791 during the Russo-Austro-Turkish war and partly repainted in 1795 by Teodor from Făgăraș. The "new" part of the monastery was built in 1843–1846 together with the great Holy Trinity church, which architect George Mandrea rebuilt in 1897–1903, combining the Brâncovenesc and Moldavian styles. In the summers of 1871–1883 the royal family lived at the monastery — it was from here that Carol I decided to build Peleș Castle nearby. A town grew up around the monastery and the royal residence and took its name. Today it is an active monastery of the Romanian Orthodox Church for monks.

Why go

It is Sinaia's oldest monument and the key to its history: without the monastery there would have been no royal castle and no resort. Two eras meet in one courtyard — a quiet Brâncovenesc church of the late seventeenth century with original paintings by Pârvu Mutu, one of the best-known Romanian icon painters, and a grand nineteenth-century church with Neo-Byzantine painting on a gold ground. The monastery is a few minutes' walk from Peleș and Pelișor castles, so it is easy to add to a visit.

What to see

• The old Church of the Dormition in the shape of a Latin cross — according to the monastery, the only one of its kind in the country; the porch and narthex keep paintings by Pârvu Mutu and the founder's portrait of Mihail Cantacuzino with his eighteen children and family.
• The great Holy Trinity church (30 m long, over 25 m high) with oil painting on a gilded ground by the Danish artist Aage Exner, a gilded iconostasis and royal thrones; King Carol I and Queen Elisabeth are painted in the narthex.
• The Chapel of the Transfiguration of 1695 and the crypt of statesman Take Ionescu with frescoes by Costin Petrescu.
• The bell tower of 1892 with a 1,700 kg bell brought from Colțea Monastery in Bucharest.
• The monastery museum, opened, according to the monastery, in 1892 — exhibits include the Bucharest Bible of 1688, an icon of the Holy Trinity by Pârvu Mutu from 1693, and epitaphioi and vestments embroidered with gold thread.

Practical information

Address: Strada Mănăstirii nr. 2, 106100 Sinaia. The monastery lies in the town, 122 km from Bucharest and 49 km from Brașov; from the Porubne — Siret border crossing via Brașov it is about 430 km. Sinaia is easy to reach by train on the Bucharest — Brașov line; from the station to the monastery it is a 15–20 minute walk uphill. Visiting: daily 8:00–20:00; daily services 8:00–10:00, 16:00–17:00 and 18:45–20:15, on Sundays and major feasts the liturgy is 9:00–11:30. Entry to the grounds is free; ask on site about visiting the museum. Phone: +40 244 314 917. Information as of November 2026.

This is a living monastery: keep quiet, dress modestly (shoulders and knees covered), do not disturb the services, and ask on site about taking photos in the churches. In 2025 the monastery signed contracts to restore the Holy Trinity church and the old enclosure, so some buildings may be under scaffolding. Allow about an hour for both churches and the museum. Check before you go.

Nearby

• Peleș Castle — the royal residence a few minutes' walk uphill.
• Pelișor Castle — Queen Marie's Art Nouveau home.
• Cantacuzino Castle in Bușteni — the palace of descendants of the same Cantacuzino family.
• Bucegi Plateau and Coștila peak.

Official website: manastireasinaia.ro

Photos: Superchilum, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Myrabella, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons; Glorious 93, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Doru10stefan, CC BY-SA 3.0 ro, Wikimedia Commons; IonIonescu, CC BY 2.5, Wikimedia Commons.