The churches that moved: Bucharest’s monuments on rails

About The churches that moved: Bucharest’s monuments on rails

By the ULTIMATE Bucharest Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

In the 1980s, during the vast redevelopment of central Bucharest around today’s Palace of the Parliament, many historic buildings were demolished. A few were saved in a remarkable way: the engineer Eugeniu Iordăchescu devised a method to lift whole churches onto rails and roll them to new sites, where many still stand today, hidden behind blocks of flats.

A city rebuilt

From 1984, a large part of the historic district of Uranus and the surrounding streets was cleared to build the Palace of the Parliament and the boulevard in front of it. Churches, monasteries and houses were demolished, and some were moved.

Eugeniu Iordăchescu

Eugeniu Iordăchescu (1929–2017), a structural engineer, developed a technique of cutting a building free from its foundations, resting it on a concrete platform and sliding it on rails. In Bucharest, he and his teams moved several churches and also blocks of flats.

Mihai Vodă church travelled 289 metres to its new home.

Mihai Vodă

The church of Mihai Vodă Monastery, founded by Michael the Brave in 1594, was moved 289 metres in 1985 and lowered several metres to its new site, where it now stands enclosed by apartment blocks.

Schitul Maicilor

The small Schitul Maicilor church, from the 18th century, was moved 245 metres in 1982 and today sits in a courtyard surrounded by blocks of flats near Unirii Square.

Our advice: look for Mihai Vodă church near Izvor and Schitul Maicilor near Unirii; both are open for services, so visit respectfully. Combine them with a tour of the Palace of the Parliament to understand the scale of the change.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with The churches that moved: Bucharest’s monuments on rails before you go.