Sâmbăta de Sus Monastery

Constantin Brâncoveanu, Prince of Wallachia, built a stone and brick church in place of an older wooden one around 1696, with the monastery established by 1701.

Part of his motivation was to strengthen the Orthodox presence in the region and guard against encroaching Catholicism, which had become a more pressing issue after 1683 and the consolidation of Habsburg domination over Transylvania.

Concurrent with the monastery's establishment, the Romanian Greek-Catholic Church was founded, drawing numerous Transylvanian Orthodox under Papal authority.

Brâncoveanu also established a school for secretaries, a workshop for fresco paintings and a small printing press at the monastery site.

[1] In 1922, following the union of Transylvania with Romania and subsequent land reform, the Romanian government transferred the property from the Brâncoveanu family to the Sibiu Archdiocese.