Sambata de Sus
Sambata de Sus is a small town of 1500 people guarded by the impressive mountains of Fagaras, the highest in Romania. The town, located 85km (53mi) west of Brasov, appears for the first time in a written document in 1437.
Today, Sambata de Sus became a small remote mountain resort located at the feet of the mountains. Most of the inhabitants are involved in the working of the land or they work in the surrounding towns.

The Sambata de Sus Monastery
The monastery of Samba de Sus has a long and tough history. The Orthodox religion practiced by the Romanians of Transylvania was just tolerated and not considered an official one. Many times the Hungarians tried to convert the Romanians but with some exception their policy didn’t have success. While in Wallachia and Transylvania the Orthodox religion was supported by the state, in Transylvania, the local Romanian community, simple peasants, had to build its own religious buildings, most of the time small wooden churches. When bigger churches were built, extremely few of them, most of the time were built by the help of the Moldavian or/and Wallachian princes and noblemen. It is the case of the Sambata de Sus monastery.
It seems that a first wooden church, although others could have been built earlier, was erected by Preda Constantin, a nobleman living south of the Carpathians, owner of the estate where the present monastery is located. The wooden church was replaced in 1696 by a stone one built at the request of the Wallachian prince Constantin Brancoveanu, the grandson of the nobleman who had built the first church.
The life of the monks from this monastic place was harsh from the beginning because after 1688, Transylvania was under the Habsburg Empire control, a Catholic Empire which tried to convert all people under their control to Catholicism. In this time, Brancoveanu founded in the monastery a school, a painting workshop and a small typography. Unfortunately, in 1714 the Wallachian prince, all his 4 sons and one son-in-law were beheaded in Istanbul.
The Catholic attacks intensified in Transylvania and the Romanians were lured to keep their religious believes and Orthodox customs but to recognize the Pope as the head of their church. The new church was named the Greek-Catholic Church and the Romanian members of it were promised that they will receive the same rights as the other communities from Transylvania.
Despite all these, most of the Romanians kept their Orthodox faith. That’s why in 1761 more than 150 Orthodox churches and monasteries were destroyed by the Austrian general Bukow. The monastery of Sambata de Sus had been spared and became the center of the Orthodox faith in this area. In this time it was modified, embellished and painted in 1766. Although the Romanians tried to protect the monastery, in the end it was destroyed in 1785 by the Austrian general Preiss. The church of the monastery was the only one which couldn’t be completely destroyed being built of brick and stone. Soon, pine trees were jutting out of the ruined walls of the church.
Some of the Romanians tried to rebuild the church but each time they had failed. Everything was to change after the WWI when Transylvania joined the rest of Romania. In 1926 the Bishop Nicolae Balan, who is considered the second founder of the church, started the reconstruction of the monastery. The works continued for 20 years until 1946 when the old church, now completely reconstructed, was blessed. Most of the original frescoes were saved, the church being built in the Romanian architectural style called “Brancoveanu”. The cupola has an octagonal shape on the exterior while the interior is cylindrical. The church, built in a cross plan, consist of an altar, nave, narthex and porch. The frescoes of the porch are new and represent scenes of the Old Testament and the Last Judgment. On the western wall of the narthex one can see a fresco representing the Mother of Jesus and the first founders of the church. The nave of the church presents frescoes divided into five registers: the martyrs, scenes from the New Testament, the prophets, the Resurrection and the Transfiguration. The iconostasis is made of brick and covered entirely with icons. It has three doors which led into an altar painted on 4 registers: the Virgin sitting on the throne, the Sacrament of the Apostles and the Hierarchs on two registers.
In 1977 the monastery was surrounded by a wooden fence with an impressive portal while the new cells around the main church were rebuilt in 1985. The courtyard boasts the original well dating back to the 16th century, hence the oldest piece of the monastery. The buildings of the cells consist of a museum where different icons and religious objects are kept, a kitchen, rooms for guests and a chapel.
The monastery is known also because of it famous school of glass painting established here since the time of Brancoveanu.
Today, the monastery which is dedicated to the Saint Brancoveanu, has about 35 monks.

The schedule of the Sambata de Sus Monastery:
Daily: 07:00 – 20:00

Entrance fee: free