In the historic town of Bucharest some of the most beautiful examples of Romanian church architecture are situated.
The Church of Curtea Veche, or the Old Royal Court, is one of the oldest in Bucharest. It was built in the 16th century and until the 18th century was used as a chapel. The facade, showing a combination of brick and plaster, is remarkable with its blind arcading and a brickwork cornice. The picturesque and expressive facade served as a model in the construction of a lot of churches in the 18th century.
The Church of the Holy Virgin is a magnificent achievement of Romanian architecture from the second half of the 17th century and one of the most remarkable princely monuments in Bucharest. The frescoes in the church, done by the painters Constantinos and Ioan, are of high artistic value. Constantinos, a Greek-born painter from Wallachia, is a famous representative of the Hurezi school of painting. The church also has several invaluable works of art from the brilliant Cantacuzine period. These are part of the furniture, the dedication icon from the iconostasis (by Constantinos), and the embroidered epitaphios representing the Prince’s family, a masterpiece of Romanian medieval embroidery from the 17th century.