Church & monasteryTransylvania

Borzești Church: Stephen the Great’s village church in Moldavia

Borzești Church (Biserica Adormirea Maicii Domnului) is an Orthodox church in Borzești, a district of Onești in Bacău County, Romania. Stephen the Great and his eldest son Alexandru built it in 1493–94 in the prince’s native village, and its large Gothic windows and brick decoration make it a quiet but rewarding stop in Moldavia.

Stephen the Great, who won wars against the Ottomans, built this church in his native village, and local legend says it stands where an oak tree once marked a childhood friend’s death.

WhereBorzești, a district of Onești, Bacău County, Moldavia, Romania

TypeOrthodox church, built 1493–94, mixing Moldavian, Gothic and Byzantine elements

Best forStephen the Great’s story, medieval church architecture and local legend

Getting thereOn the DN11A road between Onești and Adjud, about 7 km from the town of Onești itself

The history of Borzești Church

Borzești is today a district of Onești in Bacău County, but in the 15th century it was a village on a stream then called the Totruș. According to tradition it was the birthplace and childhood home of Stephen III, the future prince of Moldavia, on land that belonged to his parents and ancestors.

Stephen raised the church together with his eldest son Alexandru between 9 July 1493 and 12 October 1494, about fifteen months in all. A Slavonic inscription on the west façade, to the right of the entrance, says it was built as a prayer for themselves and in memory of their late forefathers, and that it is dedicated to the Dormition of the Mother of God. Romanian sources point out that it is the only church Stephen built that neither commemorates a battle nor serves a town.

A local legend, told in two versions, adds a more personal reason. In the first, Stephen’s childhood friend Gheorghe dies, tied to an oak and struck by arrows, during a game in which the boys play at Tatars against Moldavians. The tale was retold by the writer Nicolae Gane in “The Oak of Borzești”. It adds that after Stephen’s first victory over the Tatars the khan’s son was hanged from the same oak, and that the church was built where the burnt tree had stood. In the second version, collected by Ortensia Racoviță, the children play at hanging an opponent from a walnut branch, are distracted by a hare and forget their friend, who dies by accident.

The building is a rectangle 26.2 metres long and 10.3 metres wide, with no tower, and it was originally covered with wooden shingles. A surrounding wall and a bell tower once stood here but have disappeared. Time was not kind to the church: it was damaged by fire and by several earthquakes. In 1694 Constantin Duca gave it to the Bogdana Monastery, and in 1716 Irina Ruset, wife of the great steward Manolache Ruset, was buried in the porch.

When Bishop Melchisedec Ștefănescu visited in 1859 he found cracked vaults and no roof. The church was repaired in 1879 but stood closed and in poor condition again by 1899. Between 1904 and 1905 the roof and the west façade were mended and heavy buttresses added earlier in the century were removed. Further repairs followed in 1938–1945, with the earthquakes of 1940 and 1977 doing new harm. The church was restored in 1993–1994 and painted in 2003–2004 by Grigore Popescu, in a Byzantine-inspired style that includes scenes from Stephen’s childhood and life.

Curiosities about Borzești Church

The inscription names the stream as the Totruș and gives the exact dates of the works, 9 July 1493 to 12 October 1494, which is unusually precise for the period.
The windows of the porch are unusually large for an Orthodox church. Their stone tracery of trefoils and quatrefoils gives the façade a strongly Gothic look, even though the church as a whole is not considered Gothic.
The inside vaults rise in steps on stone brackets, a design that scholars think imitates the beamed ceilings of wooden churches.
Borzești was the first church of Stephen’s reign where the glazed brick discs on the façade no longer carry animal or human figures. The discs are green, yellow, light brown and orange.
The poet Vasile Alecsandri owned the Borzești estate in the 1860s. In 1864 a friend wrote to him that the repair of “your church” was being arranged and called the land “wonderful”.
Local tradition says the altar table was placed over the trunk of the felled oak.

Tours near Borzești Church

Experiences in the area that you can book online with Viator:

Full Day 4x4 Tour in the Eastern Carpathians

★ 5 (3 reviews) · 6 h

See details ›

Red Lake and the Bicaz Gorges Day Tour

★ 4.7 (3 reviews) · 4 h

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Half-Day 4x4 Tour in the Eastern Carpathians

★ 5 (2 reviews) · 3 h

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Land of the Volcanoes Full Day Tour

★ 5 (2 reviews) · 4 h

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Visiting Borzești Church: what to see

Look at the façade: bands of bare and glazed brick circle the building, with two rows of niches under the cornice and thirteen long niches along the apse.
Find the Slavonic inscription on the west façade, right of the door, which records the founders and the dates of the building.
Inside, notice the stepped arches and the shallow domes that replace a tower. The walls carry the modern paintings of 2003–2004.
Borzești lies on the DN11A road, so it fits easily into a drive between Onești and Adjud. The nearest other place on this site is the Mausoleum of Mărășești, about 51 km away.
Check the current opening hours before you go, as a village church may not be open at all times.

Opening hours, access and conditions can change. Check before you go.

Map: where Borzești Church is

Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors

Photos of Borzești Church

Questions

What is Borzești Church?

It is an Orthodox church in Borzești, part of Onești in Bacău County, founded by Stephen the Great and his son Alexandru in 1493–94 and dedicated to the Dormition of the Mother of God.

Why did Stephen the Great build a church at Borzești?

The inscription says it was built in memory of his forefathers, and tradition holds that he was born and grew up here. A local legend adds that it commemorates a childhood friend who died under an oak.

What style is Borzești Church?

It mixes Moldavian, Gothic and Byzantine elements. It has a rectangular plan, no tower and shallow domes inside, with large Gothic windows and brick and glazed decoration outside.

When was Borzești Church built?

Work began on 9 July 1493 and ended on 12 October 1494, according to the founders’ inscription.

Are the paintings inside original?

No. The interior was painted in 2003–2004 by Grigore Popescu, after the church had stood with whitewashed walls for a long time.

How far is Borzești from Onești?

Borzești is a district of Onești, on the DN11A road to Adjud, about 7 km from the town of Onești itself.