Bucharest Guided Tours

The Cathedral of the Salvation of the Nation- Catedrala Mântuirii Neamului. Bucharest.

Introduction

The newly completed Orthodox Cathedral, Catedrala Mântuirii Neamului, is situated on Calea 13 Septembrie, no. 4-60, Sector 5, Bucharest, behind the Palace of Parliament.
The main entrance to the Cathedral is made trough the west side, via a porch with arches.

The main patron of the Cathedral is saint "Ascension of the Lord" and the secondary patron saint is "St. Apostle Andrew".

Catedrala Mântuirii NeamuluiIs is the largest and tallest Orthodox Church Romania in terms of volume and surface area in the world.

The west to east orientation of the site allows the Cathedral to be located with the altar facing east according to Orthodox traditional liturgical requirements.

There are also in the area important institutions such as: the Romanian Parliament, the Ministry of National Defense and the Romanian Academy (Research Institutes).

On November 29, 2007, on the eve of the feast of Saint Andrew the Apostle (the protector of Romania and Romanians), the service of laying the cornerstone and consecrating the site intended for the construction of the Cathedral took place in the presence of patriarch Daniel and the members of the Holy Synod, the construction of the cathedral commence in 2010, carried out at the initiative of Patriarch Daniel of Romania, which lasted 15 years.

The construction measures a length of 126 meters, a width of 67.7 meters and a height from ground level of 120 meters until the base of the cross, the main cupola has an interior height of 106.3 meters from the floor and on a built area of over 13.600 square meters, the land having 110.000 square meters. The constructions total cost was 270 million Euros.

The church is built in Byzantine style with Romanian elements.

The main interior space (narthex and nave) allows access for approximately 5.000 standing people or the placement of 3.400 chairs for service participants.

The total area of the mosaic iconography (brought from Venice) in the main liturgical space is approximately 25.000 square meters, in over 2.500 shades in byzantine style realized between 2019 and 2025.
The whole construction costs until now is 270 million Euros.

After years of dedicated work, the cathedral was sainted on Sunday 26 October 2025 by the Patriarch Daniel of Romania together with his guest –Holiness Bartholomew, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople and also hierarchs, priests and bishops from all over Romania.
They chose the year because the Romanian Orthodox Church celebrates 100 years since it was elevated to the degree of Patriarchate.

Exterior

The cathedral reaches proudly for the sky with eight gilded domes, each with a spiritual significance. The main dome (Pantocrator) symbolizes Jesus Christ and his monumental mosaic is located inside.

The church has 8 Domes in Total.
The main dome is surrounded by four small domes (which represents the four Evangelists). Situated above the knave of the church – the central space of the church.
At the western end is the bell dome which stands 86.8 meters tall above the narthex, containing the world's largest free-swinging church bell. The bell dome is flanked by another two small domes.
The cross on the main tower measures 7 meters tall and weigh 7000 kg being installed with a huge 600-ton crane.

Interior

The monumental chandeliers are made of solid brass and steel elements, decorated with angels carrying three lamps each, symbolizing the Church illuminated by the grace of the Holy Trinity.

The Jesus Pantocrator is in the main central dome, the Pantocrator cupola covers about 450 square meters, the Pantocrator mosaic accounts for 150 square meters, with the remaining surface dedicated to the mosaic of the nine heavenly powers. The Pantocrator mosaic, with a diameter of 12 meters and a facial span of 4 meters, was created between 2024 and 2025 and required 2.4 tons of tesserae (small mosaic colourful pieces).

Inside the altar there are one million mosaic tesserae (mosaic pieces) used to create the Mother of Jesus – Platytera, with nine different shades of red dedicated to the Mother of God's mantle, measuring 16 meters high and covering 150 square meters, including the throne.

Dominating the narthex dome (above the entrance) at about 50 meters high we see the Virgin Mary – Oranta mosaic, depicted within a glory surrounded by sixteen archangels.

Iconostasis

The iconostasis of the Cathedral is the largest Orthodox iconostasis in the world (which has entered the Guinness Book of Records) measuring 23.8 meters long and 17.1 meters high, with 45 mosaic icons, gold leaf disposed in four registers, composed of over 4 million tesserae (mosaic small pieces) weighing 8 tons, and with adhesive 10 tons. Specialists worked for ten months to create the cathedral's iconostasis in Byzantine style.

Bells

In total, the Cathedral has six bells (a big one and five smaller) weighing a total of 33 tones, they are mounted in the bell tower dome on the west facade above the entrance at a height of 60 meters.
They were designed and created in the Grassmayr workshop in Innsbruck, Austria.

The largest bell (with a weight of 25.2 tones and diameter of 3 metres) is the biggest and heaviest free-swinging church bell in Europe, surpassing the Saint Peter's bell (Petersglocke) in the Cathedral of Cologne in Germany. It is made of 78% copper and 22% tin and has a very low beat of 130.8 Hz, its sound being heard from 15 to 20 kilometres away, only on important orthodox religious celebrations, while the small ones will be heard during services.

Each of the six bells is inscribed with: the coat of arms of the Romanian Patriarchate, the effigy of Patriarch Daniel and Patriarchal Cross as well as the inscription: "Blessing of Patriarch Daniel of Romania for the National Cathedral - Centenary 1918 - 2018" – in Romanian language – „Binecuvântarea Patriarhului Daniel al României pentru Catedrala Naţională - Centenar 1918-2018“.

The Cathedral of the Salvation of the Nation in Bucharest is open to visitors during the following hours: Monday to Friday between 10:00 and 17:00, Saturday between 10:00 and 18:00, and Sunday between 12:00 and 18:00. The schedule may change on religious holidays or in the event of special events.

The Royal Palace, Bucharest.

The Royal Palace, (Palatul Regal), is located on Calea Victoriei nr 49 – 53, in Palace Square (renamed Revolution Square after the events of December 1989) and was built according to the plans of the French architect Paul Gottereau, between the years 1882-1885 in neoclassical style.

The Royal Palace is a monumental building in Bucharest and symbolizes the center of monarchical power in Romania and represents the main royal residence in Bucharest.

The Royal Palace experienced its flourishing period during the reign of King Carol I (Karl Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen – the first king of Romania from 1866 to his death in 1914) and Queen Elizabeth, and was later used for residence and ceremonies by King Ferdinand Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (the second king of Romania from 1914 to 1927) and Queen Maria, King Charles II (the third king of Romania from 1930 to 1940) and the forth, King Michael.

In 1926, the Royal Palace in Bucharest was affected by a large fire, which completely burned the Throne Room, the Staircase, the Hall of Honor and the Royal Dining Room.
The royal palace was then totally rebuilt, between the years 1935-1937, according to the plans of architect Nicolae Nenciulescu.

After the aerial bombing in August 1944 it was again renovated.

The building, in the shape of a letter U, is composed of three bodies - the "Kretzulescu Body" – near Kretzulescu Church, the "Central Body" with a courtyard facing Calea Victoriei and the "Ştirbey Body" towards the Athenee Palace hotel (today Intercontinental Athenee Palace hotel).
Since 1953, the Palace houses the National Art Museum of Romania.

In 1965, the body of Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej (the first Communist leader – the first secretary general of the Communist Party of the Romanian Peoples Republic between the years 1948 until his death in March 1965), was deposited in the central body of the Palace, in the Throne Hall for last respects.

During the Revolution of 1989, the Palace was set on fire, putting the works of art housed in the building in danger.
Restoration followed and the palace and art galleries were again reopened.

In August 2016, the coffin of Anne, King Michael's spouse, was laid in the Throne Hall for two days, before her burial in Curtea de Argeș, with thousands of Romanians paying homages and last respects .[8][9] Also in December 2017, the funeral of king Michael took place beginning at the Royal Palace.

Today the Palace is open to the public where you can experience its beautiful and ornate interior decoration and spectacular marble staircases. The palace also hosts multitudes of art exhibitions and related events throughout the year.