Manastirea Curtea de Arges
This 16th-century Episcopal cathedral is considered one of the loveliest religious monuments in Wallachia, frequently compared to an elaborately decorated cake, made with marble and studded with mosaics. Several nasty stories surround the master builder and stonemason, Manole, responsible for the project. Tricked into building his own wife (who was very much alive at the time) into the walls of the church (a tradition meant to ensure that the victim's ghost would forever protect the building), Manole was left on the roof without means of escape, as the king wanted to ensure that no other similar church would ever be built. Insane with grief the poor man apparently tried to fly from the roof, only to crash and die on the spot now marked by the famous Manole's Well. The church was greatly restored and rebuilt in the late 19th century, and several members of the Romanian royal family, including Carol I and his wife, Elizabeth, are buried inside.
This 16th-century Episcopal cathedral is considered one of the loveliest religious monuments in Wallachia, frequently compared to an elaborately decorated cake, made with marble and studded with mosaics. Several nasty stories surround the master builder and stonemason, Manole, responsible for the project. Tricked into building his own wife (who was very much alive at the time) into the walls of the church (a tradition meant to ensure that the victim's ghost would forever protect the building), Manole was left on the roof without means of escape, as the king wanted to ensure that no other similar church would ever be built. Insane with grief the poor man apparently tried to fly from the roof, only to crash and die on the spot now marked by the famous Manole's Well. The church was greatly restored and rebuilt in the late 19th century, and several members of the Romanian royal family, including Carol I and his wife, Elizabeth, are buried inside.
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