# Arnota Monastery

[Romania](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/attractions) › [Oltenia](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/region/oltenia) › [Vâlcea County](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/county/valcea) › [Costești](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/locality/costesti-valcea)

> Matei Basarab's foundation of 1633–1634, on a limestone spur above Bistrița Monastery: a small princely church, painted in 1644, which holds the prince's tomb.

**At a glance:** Monasteries in Costești, Vâlcea County. The visit takes 45 min. Information verified on 2 November 2026.

## Key facts

- **Opening hours:** A working convent: visit during the day without disturbing the services. The Divine Liturgy is held daily at 8:00 and Vespers at 17:00. The museum collection can be seen on request. The patronal feast is on 8 November, the feast of the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel.
- **Visit duration:** 45 min — the church and the precinct
- **With kids:** Yes — modest dress and quiet
- **Parking:** Yes, free — next to the precinct
- **Best season:** All year round — patronal feast on 8 November
- **Address:** end of the DJ646 road, above Bistrița Monastery, Bistrița village, Costești, Vâlcea County
- **Coordinates:** 45.19658, 24.04476
- **Website:** https://arnota.arhiepiscopiaramnicului.ro/
- **Wikipedia:** https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C4%83n%C4%83stirea_Arnota
- **Wikidata:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18537524
- **Categories:** [Monasteries](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/monasteries), [Monuments and historic sites](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/monuments-and-historic-sites)

## About Arnota Monastery

Arnota Monastery stands at around 840 m, on a limestone spur below Mount Arnota, above [Bistrița Monastery](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/manastirea-bistrita-valcea), in the village of Bistrița in Costești commune. It was founded by Prince Matei Basarab together with his wife, Lady Elina, in 1633–1634, on the site of an older church; its earliest written record is a deed of 11 July 1636. Tradition has it that Matei Basarab, pursued by the Turks, hid here and escaped by swapping clothes with an Albanian soldier (arnăut) from his army, which is where the name is said to come from.

The prince wanted Arnota to be his family's burial place: he brought the remains of his father, Vornic Danciu, here, and after his own tomb in Târgoviște was desecrated during the revolt of the seimeni, Mihnea III moved his remains to Arnota. In 1852–1856, Prince Barbu Știrbei replaced the old cells with new buildings and used the monastery as a political prison. A community of nuns has lived here since 1999, and the complex was consolidated after 2003 and restored with European funds by 2022.

### What you can see

The church, dedicated to the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel, is one of the smallest princely churches in the country: a cross-shaped plan, two octagonal towers, an open porch on six pillars and façades divided by a band, with brick decoration. The wall paintings of 1644 have survived; the porch shows the Last Judgement, and the narthex the votive portrait of Matei Basarab and Lady Elina. The carved chestnut-wood door bears a Slavonic inscription naming Constantin Brâncoveanu. In the narthex are the tombs of Vornic Danciu and of Matei Basarab, the latter covered by a baroque white marble slab carved by Elias Nicolai. The monastery's museum collection keeps icons from the 17th to the 19th centuries, silverware, vestments and old books, among them the Pravila de la Govora.

### Good to know

The road to the monastery climbs in hairpin bends from Bistrița Monastery and passes the limestone quarry. It is a working convent: enter in modest dress and keep quiet.

## Don't miss

- The baroque white marble slab on Matei Basarab's tomb, in the narthex of the church.
- The votive portrait of Matei Basarab and Lady Elina, part of the 1644 paintings.
- The Last Judgement painted in the church's open porch.
- The carved chestnut-wood door, with the Slavonic inscription naming Constantin Brâncoveanu.
- The viewpoint next to the precinct, on the limestone spur.

## Good to know before you go

### Getting there

**By car:** from Râmnicu Vâlcea it is ~56 km (~1 hour 20 min) on the DN67 to Costești, then north on the DJ646, past Bistrița Monastery. From Horezu it is ~16 km (~25 min), from Târgu Jiu ~86 km on the DN67 (~1 hour 50 min). From Bistrița Monastery there are another ~5 km of mountain road, with hairpin bends, past the limestone quarry. It can be combined in one day with Bistrița Monastery, the Bat Cave and the Trovanți Museum in Costești.

### Where to park

A small car park next to the precinct, at the end of the access road.

### Rules

Modest dress: shoulders and knees covered, women with their heads covered in the church. Keep quiet within the walls and switch phones off during services. Photos in the church only with the nuns' permission.

### Facilities

museum collection, open on request

## Details

- **Construction period:** 1633–1634
- **Founder:** Matei Basarab
- **Dedication:** Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel
- **Denomination:** Orthodox
- **Historical period:** late Middle Ages

## Frequently asked questions about Arnota Monastery

**How long does a visit to Arnota Monastery take?**

A visit to Arnota Monastery takes about 45 min (the church and the precinct).

**Can you visit Arnota Monastery with kids?**

Yes, Arnota Monastery is suitable for children (modest dress and quiet).

**Where can I park at Arnota Monastery?**

There is free parking at Arnota Monastery (next to the precinct). More under “Where to park”.

**How do I get to Arnota Monastery?**

Arnota Monastery is located at end of the DJ646 road, above Bistrița Monastery, Bistrița village, Costești, Vâlcea County. More under “Getting there”.

**When is the best time to visit Arnota Monastery?**

The best season for Arnota Monastery: All year round (patronal feast on 8 November).

## Nearby attractions

- [Bat Cave at Bistrița (Vâlcea)](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/bat-cave-at-bistrita) — Monasteries · Costești, VL · ½ – 1 hours · 1 km
  The cave of St Gregory Decapolites, in the Bistrița Gorges near Bistrița Monastery, with two churches built inside: Ovidenia (15th c.) and the Holy Archangels (1633); it shelters bats.
- [Bistrița Monastery (Vâlcea)](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/bistrita-monastery) — Monasteries · Costești, VL · ½ – 1 hours · 1 km
  A late 15th-century foundation of the Craiovești boyars at the entrance to the Bistrița Gorges: it keeps the relics of St Gregory the Decapolite and the little infirmary church of 1520–1521.
- [Wooden Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God in Grămești](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/wooden-church-of-the-dormition-of-the-mother-of-god-in-gramesti) — Churches · Pietreni, VL · 30 min · 4 km
  A wooden church of 1664, founded by Metropolitan Stephen I, standing on a high limestone plinth with Cyrillic inscriptions on its outer walls, at the edge of a fir forest.
- [Horezu Monastery](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/horezu-monastery) — Monasteries · Horezu, VL · 1 – 1½ hours · UNESCO World Heritage · Top 20 · 6 km
  Constantin Brâncoveanu's largest foundation, officially Hurezi Monastery: the model ensemble of the Brâncovenesc style, built in 1690–1693 and a UNESCO site since 1993.
- [Horezu Ceramics – Olari Village and the Potters' Workshops](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/horezu-ceramics-olari-village-and-the-potters-workshops) — Villages and traditions · Horezu, VL · Free · 1 – 1½ hours · 8 km
  Olari Street in Horezu, lined with family workshops where red clay is thrown on the wheel and painted with roosters, spirals and the tree of life; a craft inscribed by UNESCO as intangible heritage in 2012.
- [Trovants Museum (Muzeul Trovanților)](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/trovants-museum) — National parks and reserves · Costești, VL · 45 min · 9 km
  A geological reserve on the edge of the DN 67, near Horezu: dozens of trovants, the rounded sandstone “living stones”, emerging from the sand of a former quarry at Costești.

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Last updated: 2 November 2026
Source: Pe Plaiuri (https://peplaiuri.ro/en) — Guide to tourist attractions in Romania