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- Articles
- Targoviste – A Capital’s CharmDrobeta Turnu Severin – A Bridge Across The AgesSearching For Tranquility Around BucharestCalimanesti, Olanesti, Govora – Oltenia’s Health SpringsAlba Iulia and Codex AureusIasi – A City Imbued With History and CultureThe Deva Fortress – Active Witness to Transylvania’s HistoryRupea Stronghold, The Core of Brasov CountyScarisoara Cave, Glacier Chill in Summer TimeMuierilor Cave, Symbol of Fertility and HolinessOrsova – Heavy Industry Meets the Roman EmpireThe Heaven of Cherry Orchards, in CetateleCurtisoara Museum – a Cradle of SpiritualityBaile Felix – a Balneary Resort for All AgesIzei Valley – Maramures Finest Traditions and LocationsHarman – A Small Part of Brasov’s CultureMuseums and places to visit in OradeaVidraru Dam and Lake, a Wonder of Nature, Confined by ManAncient Cities in the Constanta AreaSfantul Ioan Domnesc Monument-Church – The Shadow of Stefan cel MarePutna Monastery – The Spiritual Center of MoldaviaOcnele Mari: Salt Mines, Spa and Rich HistoryBaile Govora – One of The Oldest Romanian SpasCraiova – The Heart of OlteniaRules for Visiting the Protected Nature AreasArad – One Millenia on the Banks of MuresTargu Jiu and the Endless ColumnBucura Lake – The Largest Glacier Lake in RomaniaTraveling to Sfantu GheorgheLipscani – “The Old Leipzig” of BucharestCule – Strange Strongholds of a Riotous PastVatra DorneiCluj NapocaDobrudja and the Danube DeltaBucharest – an european capitalBrasov – Part of the “Heart” of RomaniaTimisoara, Little ViennaRosia MontanaPeriam “Rock la Mures” FestSinaiaVama VecheSighisoara, medieval heavenHunedoaraSighisoaraSibiu – modernity with a German touchA visit in Piatra-NeamtVama Veche versus MamaiaThe mountain tourism in RomaniaA trip to Muntii ApuseniAn incursion in legends – BranTrips and winter sports on Valea PrahoveiTransilvania – The medieval land of StrongholdsBucovina and Northern MoldaviaMaramures – A Land From TalesTan and Fun at the Black SeaA wild land – The Danube Delta
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Iasi – A City Imbued With History and Culture
It is said that the Palace has 365 rooms, each corresponding to a day of the year; in fact, it has 298 rooms, with a total surface of aproximately 36.000 square meters. Initially, the palace was the county’s justice court, until 1955. Since then, it has become the host of all the important museums from Iasi. In the present, it undergoes a vast government renovation program.
Not far from the Culture Palace, there is a jewel of the Romanian architecture, the ”Trei Ierarhi” Church. A lot has been said and written about it, but what can be more suggestive than the description of a person not of Christian religion, the Turkish historian and writer Evliya Celebi: ”There is no way to to describe it, neither by word, nor by quill”.
The church was built during the rule of Vasile Lupu (1634 – 1653) and it honours three Orthodox saints (”Trei Ierarhi” can be translated as ”three bishops”), Vasile cel Mare ("the Great"), Grigore the Theologian and Ioan Chrysostom, that fought for the unity of the Christian religion, in its early ages (IVth century).
Vasile Lupu was an interesting figure of his time, with a lot of qualities, but also with a lot of flaws. He was a great admirer of the Byzantine emperors and claimed he was their heir. He tried to immitate their grandeur and proclaimed himself protector of Christianity (it is said that he could influence the election of patriarchs in Constantinople, Alexandria or Jerusalem). He was so ambitious, that he tried to conquer Wallachia and Transylvania and unite them under his rule, but he was eventually defeated, lost his throne and died at Constantinople.
Vasile Lupu was a promoter of culture and education. With the help of his close advisor, Varlaam, head of the Moldavian Orthodox Church between 1632 – 1653 and one of the first great Romanian scholars, he created several schools, installed a printing press at ”Trei Ierarhi” and encouraged the use of the Romanian language in religious services and administration (the Slavonic language was mostly used in official documents that time).
The ”Trei Ierarhi” Church (built between 1637 – 1639) was a part of these efforts, but it was also intended as a proof of Vasile Lupu’s greatness. The Byzantine influences are obvious in its architecture – the church preserves the three great parts, the narthex, the nave and the shrine and it has interior decorations executed by famous foreign masters, Sidov Pospeev and Iacob Gavrilov, together with indigenous artists such as Nicolae the Painter or Stefan. Jewelry and precious metals are not scarce inside. The armature of the windows and the doors’ profiles are designed in a Gothic style.
But what is most stunning at the very first sight of the church are its exterior decorations. Every inch of its walls are covered with floral and geometrical shapes, carved with an almost unbelievable minuteness. The decorations are a combination of Baroque and Oriental influences.
Alexandru Ioan Cuza, the first ruler of the unified Wallachia and Moldavia, and Dimitrie Cantemir, a scholar famous throughout Europe, for a short time voevod of Moldavia, are buried here.
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