The Brebu Monastery in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

is one of the most important architectural achievements of the rule of

Matei Basarab Matei Basarab (; 1588, Brâncoveni, Olt – 9 April 1654, Bucharest) was a Wallachian Voivode (Prince) between 1632 and 1654. Reign Much of Matei's reign was spent fighting off incursions from Moldavia, which he successfully accomplished in 1637 ...

and of Romanian art in the 17th century. Constructions began in 1640. The

Romanian Orthodox The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; ro, Biserica Ortodoxă Română, ), or Patriarchate of Romania, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates i ...

monastery is located in the present-day locality of Brebu Mânăstirei,

Prahova County Prahova County () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in the historical region Muntenia, with the capital city at Ploiești. Demographics In 2011, it had a population of 762,886 and the population density was 161/km². It is Romania's third mos ...

, Romania. It is situated in the foothills of the

Bucegi The Bucegi Mountains (Romanian: ''Munții Bucegi'' ) are located in central Romania, south of the city of Brașov. They are part of the Southern Carpathians group of the Carpathian Mountains. At , '' Omu'' is its highest point. To the east, the ...

and Grohotiş Mountains.

Architecture

The architectural complex at Brebu is currently preserved in its initial form, being one of the few Romanian medieval monuments that is significantly preserved. The monastery's chapel is similar to that of the

Dealu Monastery Dealu Monastery is a 15th-century monastery in Dâmbovița County, Romania, located 6 km north of Târgoviște. The church of the monastery is dedicated to Saint Nicholas. Necropolis Dealu Monastery narthex is considered one of the largest f ...

, and has dimensions of 30 x 10 m, constructed in a triconic formation, with a tower extending from the nave and another two smaller towers from the pre-nave. The walls of the chapel/church have a thickness of two metres, and are constructed from burnt bricks and stone. The exterior decoration is characteristic of

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and so ...

n architecture at that time, being fairly devoid of ornaments. Some of the decorative elements resemble those of the late gothic period in

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...

. The interior decoration of the chapel dates from 1843, and was restored by

Sava Henția Sava Henția (1 February 1848, Sebeșel - 21 February 1904, Sebeșel) was an Imperial Austrian-born Romanian painter, decorator and illustrator. Biography He was one of fourteen surviving children of a priest. In 1862, after finishing his primar ...

in 1901–1902. The monastery's living quarters are formed by nine rooms and a hall, all of them communicating with each other. There is also a lower ground floor containing cellars. The access tower in the complex is fairly large, and is regarded as one of the most beautiful examples of such constructions found in Romania. It is situated in the southern part of the complex, and has three levels and a total height of approximately 20 metres. The third levels is used for bells, and has an open space in all four sides. Part of the exterior walls of the tower were repainted by Sava Henţia at the beginning of the 20th century. The monastery is surrounded by six-metre-high wall, with an irregular octagonal shape. It is made out of stone and burnt bricks. The annexes are situated in the west of the complex, and today only their remains can be found. Their existence is confirmed by various milestones and markers which were erected after the site's restoration in 1963. {{coord, 45.181885, N, 25.767086, E, display=title Romanian Orthodox monasteries of Prahova County Historic monuments in Prahova County Christian monasteries established in the 17th century