St. Elijah–Rahova Church

Vornic Fotache Știrbey led an initiative to rebuild the church, which after his 1828 death was taken up by Neofit, the Bishop of Râmnic, and Ban George Filipescu.

[1] The interior was painted by Gheorghe Tattarescu in 1874; he signed on the nave wall, at the feet of his patron, Saint George.

The grave of Scarlat Urlățeanu, who supervised the construction, was once located near the entrance on the exterior; the headstone is now at Antim Monastery.

In 1895, a group of buildings, some on the site of the old cells, was erected around the church; these came to house stores, guest rooms and apartments.

This has its origins in Moldavia, but also has Gothic accents, and is similar to a frame introduced by Vasile Lupu at the Stelea Monsstery church he founded in Târgoviște.

Artisans enriched the design with older local motifs: lone buds that, unusually, encircle the cylindrical shapes on the upper end; or the Brâncovenesc accents of the egg-and-darts enclosed by Acanthus mollis leaves.