Corbii de Piatră Monastery is considered to have the oldest paintings in Wallachia. The monastery’s frescoes – Deisis, Abraham’s Sacrifice, the Baptism of Jesus, the Transfiguration, the Ascension of the Lord, Archangel Gabriel, and the Military Saints – are accompanied by Greek inscriptions that, due to their characteristics and quality, allowed dating the ensemble with certainty around the year 1300.
The Corbii de Piatră Monastery was carved into a gigantic stone wall (sandstone), measuring 30 meters in height and 15 meters in length, being the only religious place in our country with two functional altars on a single nave, a unique characteristic in Romania.
Near the church, also carved into the rock, there is a space (the monastery’s trapeza or dining hall) that is said to have been used by Neagoe Basarab as an open-air tribunal for public trials.
According to the great historian Nicolae Iorga, the first documented attestation of the monastery was on June 23, 1512, when “the nun Magdalina, in the world known as Mușa, daughter and wife of a boyar, hereditary owner of the estate in Corbi, reopened the monastery, founding at Corbi the first nunnery in our country.”
Starting from 1800, the Corbii de Piatră rock-hewn church was entrusted to a community of “Hungarians,” Romanians who came from Transylvania. This community brought significant architectural modifications. These changes led to the current aspect of the monument: the narthex was carved south of the nave (1814), a new wall iconostasis was built (1819), and the rock wall that separated the two altars was broken and transformed into the current altar table.
In 1889, the western wall collapsed and was rebuilt by Italian stone carvers from Albeștii de Mușcel. They carved huge stone bricks from the collapsed rock, resembling fortress walls, to reconstruct the wall.
In 1890, the wooden chapel-bell tower was built, initially located on the narrow plateau to the west of the trapeza (dining hall). Later, it was moved near the access gate, where it is still located today.
On the left side of the church, there are 107 steps leading to a plateau that offers an absolutely wonderful panoramic view of the area.
The age of this place has given rise to many legends.
According to the legends, Corbii de Piatră Monastery was carved into the rock by giants who once lived in these lands. These giants were mystical creatures with human appearance and impressive stature, measuring several meters in height. This fantastic story, although without real basis, is supported by the Giant’s Foot in the courtyard of the Blue Hut, located a few meters away.
More recent legends tell that at the base of the slope, near the access gate, there is a stone slab believed to have been a Dacian sacrificial altar. The legends also claim that before becoming a church, the cave served the Dacians as a place of sacrifice and prayer, evidenced by the steps carved into the rock, gutters, and altars.
Regardless of whether the legends are true or not, they certainly enhance the charm and mystery of this place, which should be visited at any time of the year. There is no entrance fee, and it is open year-round.
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