Prislop Monastery
About Prislop Monastery
Prislop Monastery lies in a wooded valley near the village of Silvașu de Sus, on the edge of the Hațeg Country. Its origins are unknown; what is certain is that in 1564 Lady Zamfira, daughter of Prince Moise of Wallachia, rebuilt from its foundations the church of an older monastery that had fallen almost into ruin. In the 17th century the hermit Ioan lived here in a grotto in the hillside; he is venerated today as St John of Prislop. From the 18th century until 1948 the monastery was Greek Catholic; it then passed to the Orthodox Church.
In November 1948 the hieromonk Arsenie Boca came here as abbot; after Prislop became a convent in the mid-1950s, he stayed on as the nuns' spiritual father until 1959, when the communist regime dispersed the community. Monastic life only resumed in 1976. Father Arsenie died on 28 November 1989 and was buried in the monastery cemetery; his grave has made Prislop one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in the country. The Holy Synod numbered him among the saints in July 2024, as the Holy Venerable Confessor Arsenie of Prislop; the canonisation was proclaimed in Bucharest on 4 February 2025 and at Prislop on 28 November 2025, his feast day.
What you can see
The old church of St John the Evangelist, a listed historic monument, is a small stone building with a tower on its roof, in the middle of a meadow with fir trees and willows. Around it are the nuns' houses with wooden balconies, the summer altar where the great services are held in the open air, and a bell tower with a wooden gallery, perched on a spur of rock. On the hill behind the church is the cemetery, with St Arsenie's grave under a small pavilion, always covered in flowers, and a few dozen metres away is the grotto of St John.
Good to know
The monastery is especially crowded at weekends and on the great feasts (28 November, and 8 May and 14 September, the patronal feasts), when there is a queue at the grave and the police direct cars to extra car parks. It is a working convent: enter in modest dress and keep quiet.
Information verified on 20 October 2026.
- The grave of St Arsenie of Prislop, under the pavilion in the hillside cemetery.
- The stone church of St John the Evangelist, rebuilt by Lady Zamfira in 1564.
- The grotto where St John of Prislop lived as a hermit, a few dozen metres from the grave.
- The bell tower with its wooden gallery, set on a spur of rock above the courtyard.
- The fragments of Lady Zamfira's tombstone, with inscriptions in Latin and Cyrillic letters.
Good to know before you go
- Getting there
By car: from Hațeg take the road towards Silvașu de Jos and Silvașu de Sus, then the DJ687K to the monastery, ~14 km (~20 minutes). From Deva it is ~40 km (~50 minutes), from Hunedoara ~22 km (~30 minutes), from Petroșani ~62 km (~1¼ hours), from Timișoara ~200 km (~2½–3 hours). It combines easily with Densuș Church, Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa and the Hațeg bison reserve.
Public transport: county buses run to Hațeg from Deva and Hunedoara; the last ~14 km to the monastery are usually done by taxi. On the great feasts many organised groups arrive by coach.
- Where to park
The monastery has a car park nearby, also used by coaches, and there are private car parks along the access road; prices are not published. At weekends and on feast days spaces fill up quickly: coaches are let in only until the monastery car park is full, and the police direct cars to extra car parks in order of arrival.
- Fees & discounts
The monastery does not publish prices; entry to the precincts of Orthodox monasteries is usually free.
- Rules
Modest dress: shoulders and knees covered, women with their heads covered in the church. Keep quiet within the precincts and at the grave, and switch phones off during services. Wait your turn at the grave and do not take photos in the church without the nuns' permission. Pets are not brought into the precincts.
- Facilities
summer altar for the great open-air services · accommodation, restaurants and shops in the town of Hațeg · the courtyard paths are paved, but the cemetery and the grotto are reached by walking up the hill
Frequently asked questions about Prislop Monastery
- How long does a visit to Prislop Monastery take?
- A visit to Prislop Monastery takes about 1 – 1½ hours (longer with the queue at the grave).
- Can you visit Prislop Monastery with kids?
- Yes, Prislop Monastery is suitable for children (modest dress and quiet).
- How do I get to Prislop Monastery?
- Prislop Monastery is located at Silvașu de Sus village, on the DJ687K, ~14 km from the centre of Hațeg, Hațeg, Hunedoara County. By car: from Hațeg take the road towards Silvașu de Jos and Silvașu de Sus, then the DJ687K to the monastery, ~14 km (~20 minutes). From Deva it is ~40 km (~50 minutes), from Hunedoara ~22 km (~30 minutes), from Petroșani ~62 km (~1¼ hours), from Timișoara ~200 km (~2½–3 hours). It combines easily with Densuș Church, Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa and the Hațeg bison reserve. Public transport: county buses run to Hațeg from Deva and Hunedoara; the last ~14 km to the monastery are usually done by taxi. On the great feasts many organised groups arrive by coach.
- When is the best time to visit Prislop Monastery?
- The best season for Prislop Monastery: April – October (come on a weekday).
Reviews
Other attractions nearby
The closest attractions to Prislop Monastery, sorted by distance.
8 km from Prislop Monastery
12 km from Prislop Monastery
Top 2017 km from Prislop MonasteryOther monasteries and churches
See all →
