Romania road trip: The Metropolitan Cathedral of Sibiu

Our last visit: The Metropolitan Cathedral of Sibiu 

Our last destination is the Metropolitan Cathedral of Sibiu. We are leaving behind Piața Huet with its beautiful attractions such as Casa Calfelor and The Evanghelical Cathedral, and we are heading now to Metropoliei street, where the historical monument is located.

The outside appearence of the stunning cathedral: a byzantine monument

As we are getting closer to its location, the high construction starts to appear, becoming bigger and bigger with every step we take towards it. Until we get there, our attention swifts from left to right over the architectural details of the buildings we encounter.

Finally, here we are in front of a huge construction which is dating back to the beginning of the 20th century and was built in an architectural byzantine style. At first, what stands out the most and defines the exterior aspect of it, is the colored brick of the façade: there are five rows of yellow brick alternating with three rows of red brick.

After that, the two tall towers, out of the total four, positioned at the main entrance, are impressive too, having a double bulb shaped roof with a golden cross placed above each. The dome is also visible, but soon we find out how outstanding is especially from the inside.

Sibiu, the seat of the metropolis of Ardeal

From an information panel, we figure that the city of Sibiu is actually the great seat of the metropolis of Transylvania, a metropolis which had been remake and established by the bishop Andrei Șaguna in the middle of the 19th century. Thus, Sibiu is one of the most important centers of the Romanian Orthodox church and, as a matter of fact, on the opposite side of the street is found – a building housing – the seat of the metropolis of Transylvania and the Orthodox Theological Institute.  

Entering through the big doors inside the cathedral

We take courage and enter in the front yard of the cathedral, than we go up the stairs and are prepared and curious to open the great wooden doors. We make our way in through the beautifully crafted and decorated high double doors. Pressing the huge door lock, we step into the interior.

The outside cold is left behind as we move forward to the center of the building. We warm ourselves up quickly by a welcoming atmosphere and a sweet scent of Christmas traditional cookies. In a corner, near to the altar is decorated a fir tree as well.

A warm and welcoming atmosphere

It feels so good and cozy to be here. In comparison to the interior of the Black church which we have visited in Brasov - and of about which you can read here: Romania road trip: Brașov's main attractions - where was very cold inside and the décor was a bit sober, austere, on the other hand, the interior of the metropolitan cathedral of Sibiu is very colorful, full of mural paintings, many small architectural details, decorations, stained glasses or objects specific to the Orthodox church worship.

How much we pay for visiting the monument?

Thereis no fee  for visiting the historical monument which is actually open to every believer or nonbeliever as long as they are respecting the place, the other people who are inside of it, and keep a calm, silent attitude.

Where to look first? The great chandelier and the mural paintings

Each of us finds a chair and sits down to look up slowly and around at the things we are surrounded by. There are so many paintings and details, we don’t even know where to look first. From the inside, the dome is simply spectacular, having a very large round opening and being crossed around by a row of semicircular windows through which the light enters in the building, illuminating it.

But that’s not the only source of light because, anchored by the dome’s vault, hangs a huge golden chandelier which is as well a specific element of the orthodox churches.

The altar stands out too, all of the paintings being framed by a golden material. There are paintings – representing various scenes and stories from the Bible, saints or just decorative motifs like flowers – everywhere: on the side walls, on the columns and pillars, vaults, ceiling, dome, semicircular arches.

The mural paintings were created mostly by the painter Octavian Smighelschi who was helped by Arthur Coulin. Other images were painted by Ioan Kober and Anastase Demian.

Due to the paintings, the interior is very rich in colors, but the ones dominating are the blues and the golden. Even if, usually, people would might get lost in such an abundance of colors and things, on the contrary, the feeling that we get is of calm and clearness.

A cozy, calming mood: think more, think twice!

As we sit on the wooden chairs, other people are coming in for praying. The peaceful atmosphere influences our mood and we became relaxed and calm, but curious. We spend quite sometime in the cathedral, looking around, thinking, clearing our mind. It is, defenitly, another different world in here, protected by the outside noise and cold. 

Personally, the feeling I get tells me that I could live here forever, but that's not possible, at least, not right in this moment, but taking a rest in the cathedral's interior is such a good happening. 

From my experience, generally, when I am travelling, I move quite fast from a place to another in an aim of including as many corners and spots as possible in the journey, without stopping for a bit more time to let the mind processing deeper the new encountered information, thus I realised that I can miss on significant aspects and experiences by doing like so. 

The experience I have in the cathedral makes me think that I should take things slowly more often and enjoy the situations and the surroundings I get myself into with  second thoughts, slower, because, in the end, is not only about the place, but is also about the feedback and the lessons I am left with. 

The Metropolitan Cathedral of Sibiu: recommended or not? 

I've been to Sibiu many times in the past and I have been to most of the places I am writing about in the articles, but this is my first time visiting the cathedral and I am happy that now we included in our tour this destination as well because is totally worth it to be visited, thus highly recommended. 

Our road trip is slowly coming to an end and, after we get out of the cathedral, we have to say goodbye to the city of Sibiu, find our car and start driving the way back towards Bucharest, but my friends's journey to Romania is not finished yet because we don't actually move straight to the capital, but stop on the way there, for about 3 days, to my home having the aim of celebrating Christmas together, alongisde with my family and other friends. 

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