Old Orthodox Church "Saint Nicholas" - Rasnov

The New Orthodox Church in Fundata, dedicated to the "Assumption of the Virgin Mary" and "St. Nicholas", was built between 1939-1943 and sanctified during Metropolitan Nicolae Balan.

”The Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary” Church was built in 1791, and was organized and developed around the Orthodox cemetery in Zărnești, being founded by archpriest Bratu Baiul. Due to the increasing of the population of the village, the enlightened priest wanted to organize an Orthodox cemetery and build the church. At that time the cemetery and the church were located on the outskirts of the village. An ideal location is found on a hill above the river bed Bârsa. Through the efforts of past and present priests, the Orthodox cemetery and stylish renovated church, dedicated to the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary, gives us a sample of respect for the ancestors of Zărnești. Text source: https://www.visitzarnesti.ro/

The church „The Entry of the Most Holy Mother of God into the Church” was built in 1779, ten years after the village was founded. The church was founded by the great Romanian merchant from Brașov, Ioniță Boghici. The merchant from Brașov has also made other donations to the church, of which there were preserved four icons painted on 20th of February 1779 by Constantin Popovici and a brass candlestick with two arms, dated 1723. Among the valuable objects brought from Tohanul Vechi by the priests Mihai and Oprea, there was a precious gospel printed in Bucharest in 1682 at the command and the expense of Ion Șerban, the nephew of the ruler Șerban Basarab. Text source: https://www.visitzarnesti.ro/

The Orthodox Church "Saint John the Baptist" Feldioara is located in the commune of the same name, in Brasov County. The locality is easily accessible by road, being serviced by the European Road E60 Braşov-Sighişoara, just 20 km from Braşov or by railway, via Feldioara Hm station. The natural setting is remarkable, the mountain landscape perfectly completing the local architecture. The place of worship was built in 1788, thanks to the Romanian merchant in Brasov, John Ioanovici, together with his wife Ana. The church plan was designed by the architect Ioan Morca and the works were carried out under the supervision of the priest Dumitru Martinovici. Built in the Gothic-Byzantine style, the church has a ship-shaped single-apse structure in the semi-pentagon to the east (the altar). The windows are also made in Byzantine style, framed with Gothic ogives that fit perfectly into the Byzantine vault of the church. The 40-50 meter high tower perfectly complements the church.

St. Nicholas Church, founded by the ruler Constantin Brâncoveanu, is the oldest place of worship in Fagaras. More than three centuries separated us from the beginnings of this Brâncovian jewel, built in 1697-1698. Above the entrance door to the narthex there is a inscription, with words dug in stone and the coat of arms of Wallachia, which tells us that the one who founded this church dedicated to St. Nicholas is Prince Constantin Brâncoveanu and the church was built in 1698, the tenth reighn year of the prince. The architect is not known, but it is very likely that he was one of the artists trained in the so complex atmosphere of the Hurezi School. The church as a whole marks the presence of the brâncoveane Renaissance style. The facades reveal two girdles characteristic to this style, as well as cornice under the eaves, made in apparent brick. The open porch is surrounded by ten octagonal columns. And the bell has an octagonal shape and is situated above the nave. There are three domes, of brick and hemispherical form. Characteristic of the Brâncoven style are the seven windows with sculpted stone frames as well as the door frame, preserved in its original shape. And the iconostasis of the church "St. Nicholas "is the original one, carved with a special craftsmanship in oak wood, in the same brâncovenesc style, glazed with gold leaf. His painting was made, as evidenced by the inscriptions, by the painter Preda of Câmpulung. The decoration of the altar and nave was executed in the fresco technique, closely following the Byzantine iconography and style, by the two sons of Preda, Preda and Theodosius. The painting of the narthex was made later and is the work of an unknown painter of much lower value. Text and photo sources: https://bisericabrancoveanu.wordpress.com/; https://www.facebook.com/BisericaBrancoveneascaFagaras/

The church "Saint Nicholas" is the oldest church in the city, the old medieval art monument inscribed in the heritage of the Romanian Academy. The great historian Nicolae Iorga believed that the church, which was built on the site in 1515 and then was repaired in 1810, comes from ancient times, from a Romanian ruler. It seems that the original church was quite of small dimensions. As the number of residents was increased by approximately five times, the size of the church was unfit for its purpose. In the late seventeenth century the church was finished, being stuck in the narthex of the chapel. In the oral reports, the elders of the village said that after the Battle of 1690 at Zărnești, the Tatars burned the village, and here it did not stand after that scorching fire than the new church, whose brick and stone walls left in their place. It is believed that the rise of this place would have been helped by a prince of Wallachia, respectively the predecessor of Constantin Brâncoveanu, Şerban Cantacuzino. Text source: https://www.visitzarnesti.ro/

"Colțul Chiliilor" is an Orthodox hermitage located in the middle of the forest, in the northern part of the Piatra Craiului massif in Zărnești, Brașov County.  ~ It is the oldest religious settlement in Zărnești (1421), consisting of a chapel arranged in a cave and a monastic ensemble, rebuilt on the site of the one destroyed in 1718 by the Austrian imperial authorities.  ~ A little above the hermitage, climbing into the forest, there is a cave in which a Holy Altar dedicated to Saint Pious Parascheva has been arranged. The cave, about twenty meters long, is adorned with numerous icons. _____  ~ How to get there? >>> Route to follow: from the center of Zărnești (Tourist Information Center) on the road to Plaiul Foii, following the blue stripe marking.  ~ Length of the route: 4, 8 km, difficulty: easy  ~ Duration per direction: 1h / 1h: 30  ~ Level difference: +310 m  ~ Also recommended for families with children Text source: https://www.visitzarnesti.ro/

Peștera Râșnoavei este situată în Munții Postăvarul, aproape de localitatea Râșnov, județul Brașov. Cavitatea se întinde pe o lungime de aproximativ 390 m și este frumos decorată cu concrețiuni. În sezonul ploios nu este accesibilă, existând pericolul inundației. Cei care se încumetă să exploreze această peșteră au nevoie de un minim de echipament: îmbrăcăminte impermeabilă, bocanci sau cizme, lanternă și un ghiozdan cât mai micuț cu provizii pentru a economisi spațiu. Se poate ajunge la Peștera Râșnoavei pe traseul montan cu plecare din Râșnov, pe traseu marcat, Valea Cărbunarii, până la Peștera Râșnoavei (aprox. 1 oră). Un alt traseu montan cu plecare din Râșnov, este către Valea Cetății (spre Bisericuța Păgânilor - o stâncă ce poartă această denumire), care se întâlnește cu traseul de pe Valea Cărbunarii în platoul mare, apoi spre Peștera Râșnovei (aprox. 3 ore).

Din vârful Postăvarului (1.799 m) către vest-sud-vest coboară o creastă din stâncă albă, calcaroasă, a cărei imagine este familiară localnicilor. Creasta sfârșește abrupt în Cheile Râșnoavei (Râșnovului) și apare pe harta turistică sub numele de Muchia Cheii. În impresionantul perete din Cheile Râșnoavei - malul drept - s-au stabilit mai multe trasee alpine, dintre care cele mai cunoscute sunt Santinela Cheilor și Surplombele de Aur. Alături de aceste trasee, în Cheile Râșnoavei au apărut și alte trasee care pot fi cu ușurință reperate, fiind marcate foarte vizibil cu vopsea, aplicată pe stâncă. Cheile Râşnoavei este zona ideală pentru a practica apinismul, călăria, bungee jumping-ul sau pentru plimbări și picnic-uri în mijlocul naturii. Din chei până la cabana Poiana Secuilor, până la cabana Trei Brazi, până în Poiana Brașov sunt 3 trasee: unul prin Râpa Dracului, care este foarte frumos și mai scurt, al doilea prin Valea Lungă, și al treilea prin Groapa de Aur. Pe stânci sunt trasee amenajate pentru alpiniști, se poate sări cu coarda elastică, se poate da cu tiroliana sau se poate escalada - chiar dacă nu ai experiență.