# Bistrița Monastery (Vâlcea)

[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)

> 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.

**At a glance:** Monasteries in Costești, Vâlcea County. The visit takes ½ – 1 hours. Information verified on 29 October 2026.

## Key facts

- **Opening hours:** A working convent: visit during the day without disturbing the services. The relics of St Gregory the Decapolite are venerated especially on 20 November, when the monastery fills with pilgrims.
- **Visit duration:** ½ – 1 hours — without the cave and the gorge
- **With kids:** Yes — modest dress and quiet
- **Parking:** Yes, free — next to the monastery
- **Best season:** All year round — summer, with the Bistrița Gorges
- **Address:** Strada Bisericii, Bistrița village, Costești commune, Costești, Vâlcea County
- **Coordinates:** 45.18849, 24.03937
- **Website:** https://bistrita.arhiepiscopiaramnicului.ro/
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bistri%C8%9Ba_Monastery_(V%C3%A2lcea)
- **Wikidata:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4918601
- **Categories:** [Monasteries](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/monasteries), [Monuments and historic sites](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/monuments-and-historic-sites)

## About Bistrița Monastery (Vâlcea)

Bistrița Monastery, a foundation of the Craiovești boyars, stands in the village of Bistrița, in Costești commune, at the entrance to the Bistrița Gorges. It was built around 1490, and its first written record is the charter of Vlad the Monk of 16 March 1494. Destroyed in 1509 by Mihnea the Evil, it was rebuilt in 1515–1519 by Ban Barbu Craiovescu with the support of Neagoe Basarab. It was Barbu Craiovescu too who brought the relics of St Gregory the Decapolite from Constantinople, the most precious treasure of the monastery.

It was also an important place of learning: the first printing press in Wallachia, that of the hieromonk Macarie, was set up here, and in 1573 Abbot Eftimie wrote the Zapis, the first monastic document written in Romanian. Today's great church, in the neo-Gothic style, was built in 1846–1855, after the earthquake of 1838, and consecrated on 15 August 1855, dedicated to the Dormition of the Mother of God; its paintings were entrusted to Gheorghe Tattarescu. The monastery was dissolved in 1959, and monastic life resumed in 1984.

### What you can see

The great white church, with its tall towers, dominates the courtyard, which is surrounded by ranges of cells. Nearby stands the little infirmary church, dedicated to the Transfiguration, the only building left from the Craiovești foundation (1520–1521), with interior frescoes and an open porch on stone pillars, added in 1710 by Grand Steward Șerban Cantacuzino. The monastery also holds the reliquary with the relics of St Gregory the Decapolite, which pilgrims venerate above all on 20 November. On the east side of the precinct is a masonry loggia with a view of the wooded slope.

### Good to know

It is a working convent: enter in modest dress and keep quiet. The Cave of St Gregory the Decapolite (the Bat Cave), with two old churches inside, lies upstream in the Bistrița valley; it shelters bats, so visits are arranged with the monastery, in silence and without flash.

## Don't miss

- The neo-Gothic great church of 1846–1855, with paintings by Gheorghe Tattarescu.
- The little infirmary church of 1520–1521, the only building left from the Craiovești foundation, with its Brâncovenesc porch of 1710.
- The reliquary with the relics of St Gregory the Decapolite, brought here by Ban Barbu Craiovescu.
- The masonry loggia on the east side of the precinct, with a view of the wooded slope.
- The Bistrița Gorges and the Cave of St Gregory the Decapolite, a short way upstream.

## Good to know before you go

### Getting there

**By car:** from Râmnicu Vâlcea it is ~42 km (~1 hour), through the Horezu area, then along the DJ646 towards Costești and the village of Bistrița. From Horezu it is ~12 km (~15–20 min), from Târgu Jiu ~80 km on the DN67 (~1 hour 40 min). It can be combined in one day with Horezu Monastery (~13 km) and the Trovanți Museum in Costești.

### 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. At the cave, no flash and no noise, so as not to disturb the bats.

### Facilities

accommodation for pilgrims in the precinct · churches and bell tower on uneven ground, with steps

## Details

- **Construction period:** 1492–1494
- **Founder:** Craiovești boyars
- **Dedication:** Dormition of the Mother of God
- **Denomination:** Orthodox
- **Architectural style:** neo-Gothic
- **Pilgrim accommodation:** Yes
- **Historical period:** late Middle Ages

## Frequently asked questions about Bistrița Monastery (Vâlcea)

**How long does a visit to Bistrița Monastery (Vâlcea) take?**

A visit to Bistrița Monastery (Vâlcea) takes about ½ – 1 hours (without the cave and the gorge).

**Can you visit Bistrița Monastery (Vâlcea) with kids?**

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

**Where can I park at Bistrița Monastery (Vâlcea)?**

There is free parking at Bistrița Monastery (Vâlcea) (next to the monastery).

**How do I get to Bistrița Monastery (Vâlcea)?**

Bistrița Monastery (Vâlcea) is located at Strada Bisericii, Bistrița village, Costești commune, Costești, Vâlcea County. More under “Getting there”.

**When is the best time to visit Bistrița Monastery (Vâlcea)?**

The best season for Bistrița Monastery (Vâlcea): All year round (summer, with the Bistrița Gorges).

## 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.
- [Arnota Monastery](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/arnota-monastery) — Monasteries · Costești, VL · 45 min · 1 km
  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.
- [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 · 4 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 · 7 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 · 8 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: 29 October 2026
Source: Pe Plaiuri (https://peplaiuri.ro/en) — Guide to tourist attractions in Romania