Manastirea Șinca Veche, Northeast Romania, Romania

4Tiberiu_Baranyi 5:00 PM Aug 4, 2022

Tranquility and serenity ... a place of spirituality .
Starting with a clarification! This place is not in Suceava county!! - location is not accurate ... tried and edit , still shows up wrongly as being in Suceava! - it is NOT ... it is Sinca Veche in BRASOV county - just between the cities of Fagaras and Brasov! So travelers be aware ... NOT Suceava - but Brasov County. Now about the church ... it is a cave church ... it was carved in the stone of the hill enlarging a natural cave , when it became a church it is a debate ... but most likely between the 9th and the 11th century (based on some personal research about the archeological digs that were done here) - near it - if you care to walk a bit on the hills is a "modern" monastery established more recently there. Getting back to the church - I was visiting in a weekday - the parking lot outside is big enough so no issue to park the car - and is free of charge. From the gate - where you have the sign explaining the "Don'ts's" after a very short uphill hike you get to the canvas covered (protection against the elements) entrance - right there there is a panel with some explanation about the place itself (only in Romanian language , for the time being at least). Once you enter there are 2 churches linked together and as depicted on the panel (see A, B, C ... etc marking the separation between the rooms) you could see the interiors - no decorations - the monks carving out the stone did not paint the walls or the painting had faded during the centuries it was abandoned ... who knows... (lost in the eons of time). However, the "spartan" looks and the austere site, for me it is one of the most interesting orthodox place of worship (in the "genuine" orthodox churches/cathedrals is too much bling, too much gold and too many clerics of modern times depicted on the walls ... ) ... yes, it is still a place of worship that has a certain spirituality and tranquility to it. So when you are in the area it is worth a visit - especially since the entrance is free of charge - be polite, don't disturb those praying ... and enjoy a truly special place.

5Paula 5:00 PM May 27, 2013

Mystery and spirituality
An ancient cave church (about 7000 years old) which is believed that has great spiritual power surrounded by nature with a little traditional monastery on top of the hill. Old people say that can change your destiny three days in an year if you go here. I saw here a nice spiritual space, beautiful monastery house, great place to take photos. You can explore this online at http://sincaveche.ro/tur/ or http://translate.google.ro/translate?sl=ro&tl=en&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&eotf=1&u=http://sincaveche.ro/&act=url&authuser=0 - Romanian language website translated with Google Translate. It's such a great place to visit!