Sadova Monastery

Sadova Monastery

Short history: The monastery was founded by the Craiovesti boyars at the beginning of the XVI th century. The church is made of brick, with thick walls, and it was built in 1633 on a foundation of stone boulders, on the site of the old wooden church, dedicated to Saint Nicholas.

The monastery was fortified by Matei Basarab in 1640, then by Preda Brancoveanu. Saint Constantin Brancoveanu erected the infirmary church, in 1693, under the patronage of The Entry of Virgin Mary into the Church.

Nowadays, there are still visible some fragments of the original wall painting from 1792, restored in 1852 and 1903.

The monastery is built under the patronage of "Saint Nicholas" and of "The Entry of Virgin Mary into the Church".

Description:

Located south of the city of Craiova, near a forest on the bank of the Jiu river, Saint Nicholas Monastery in Sadova was originally a construction of the Craioveşti boyars. They built around 1520 a wooden church, on the same spot where Matei Basarab raised a stone one between 1632-1633.

The construction of the new settlement is related to a legend according to which Matei Basarab, who had allegedly fought against the Turks at Schela Ciobanului (Shepherd`s Scaffold), in the Bechet area, reached Sadova along with his armies.
Losing in two rows, when he reaches the wooden church in Sadova, he prays to the icon of St. Nicholas, promising that, if he defeats in battle, he will raise a stone church.

On August 26, 1632, he won the battle, he became ruler of the country and he began the construction itself.
The Church of the Sadova Monastery was completely restored after 1900 and consecrated in 1904, in the presence of King Carol. According to the existing documents and taking into account the paintings in the monastery, it appears that it hosted at first monks, but in 1959 it was a nun monastery. But they were forced to leave the place, following the Decree 410, and the church was turned into an parish church.
In 1992, the monastic life resumed, and the settlement was populated with nuns, but in 1994 it became once again a monastery for the monks, as it had originally been.
The church is made of brick, with thick walls, erected on a foundation of stone boulders.
It has wide closed porch. Between the nave and the narthex there are two thick lateral pillars separating the two rooms. They support the arcade on which the octagonal shaped steeple stands, covered with asbestos plates.
The roof of the church is made of galvanized tin, and the floor is made of mosaic. The walls are pierced by large, double windows. In the interior, there are still conserved fragments of the original painting, cleaned in 1904. On the outside, a thick, twisted medial girdle divides the walls into two registers. Both of them are adorned with friezes with extremely elegant ornaments.
Under the cornice there is a girdle in the shape of a saw, made of three rows of bricks.
Resuming the monastic life also required repairs of the church and of the surrounding buildings, in order to give back to the place the discreet beauty of the past.

Source:
http://manastireasadova.blogspot.com/2012/03/manastirea-sadova.html
https://locuridinromania.ro/judetul-dolj/comuna-sadova/manastirea-sadova.html