
Strehaia Monastery	Matei Basarab

Strehaia Monastery

Matei Basarab built at Strehaia a fortification with 5 round towers that enclosed Strehaia Monastery. Nowadays only the entrance tower was kept. The church is rather strange. It has the altar oriented to the south, unlike the other churches that have the altars to the east.

This way a legend was born: Mihai Viteazul was returning from a battle and he wanted to build a church on the ruins of his parents castle. He wanted to finish the church until dawn and being in a rush he made a mistake and built the altar facing south (after Alexandru Vlahuta). In fact the Royal Palace (now in ruins) connected to the church through a corridor, determined its entire location. The monastery played an important part in the 1821 Revolution, as it was a strategic point for Tudor Vladimirescu.