Mănăstirea Corbii de Piatră


Useful Information

Location: Str. Mănăstirii 110, sat Jgheaburi; comuna Corbi.
(45.2753970, 24.8111513)
Open:
Fee:
Classification: SubterraneaCave Church
Light: LightIncandescent
Dimension:
Guided tours: self guided
Photography: allowed
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address: Mănăstirea Corbii de Piatră, Str. Mănăstirii 110, sat Jgheaburi 117285; comuna Corbi, Tel: +40-752-289-910.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then.
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History

histi
14th century cave monastery built.
23-JUN-1512 during the reign of Neagoe Basarab (1512-1521) the monastery was reactivated.
2003 monastery reopened under the name Mănăstirea Corbii de Piatră.

Description

The Mănăstirea Corbii de Piatră (Monastery of the Stone Crow) is located in the village Jgheaburi, which belongs to nearby Corbi municipality. The monastery is a cave complex from the 14th century which was dug into the foot of a sandstone cliff on the eastern side of the valley. The underground rooms are the monastery church, the refectory, the dining room, and a space of unclear use. According to local lore, it was used as a court of law to pass judgement in public by Neagoe Basarab. The place is often called Schitul rupestru 'Sf. Ap. Petru si Pavel' (Rock Hermitage 'St. Ap. Peter and Paul'), but this is a mixup. When the monastery was re-established on 23-JUN-1512, the church was dedicated to 'Adormirea Maicii Domnului' ('The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin') and with this name it appears in documents until the 19th century. The monastery on the other side was named Monastirea Corbii de Piatra. At this time the monastery was closed, and the church was renamed Church of Myrrh and dedicated to Saint Peter and Paul. In other words this is the modern name of the cave church, but it was never the name of the monastery. The monastery was reopened in 2003, a decade after the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the socialist government, and it was named with the original name. After some restauration works daily services have been held in the cave church since 2003, according to the monastic order.

The site has been used by hermits since the 2nd century, and was slowly growing until it finally became a monastery in the 14th century. At this time most of the caves were excavated, only a few hermit cells are older. It followed the Byzantine Orthodox rule, which is easily seen in the architecture. The fact that there are two altars on a single nave is a little strange, it is unique in Romania, but the altars follow the orthodox rules. Its unclear why and when the monastery was closed, but in 1512 the reign of voivode Neagoe Basarab of Wallachia started. His aunt, the nun Magdalina, convinced him to reopen the monastery, which happened on 23-JUN-1512. As a result, the monastery was dedicated to Neagoe Basarab, the monastery had the status of a princely monastery. According to Nicolae Iorga, Corbii de Piatra monastery is the first nuns monastery of Romania. But after only three years the nuns moved to the hermitage at Ostrov, and monks took over Corbi. After the death of the voivode in 1521, his wife Milica Despina became a nun at Ostrov, and took the name Platonida In 1897, during the Resurrection service, the west wall of the nave collapsed. Nobody was injured. In the same year, Italian stone carvers from Albeștii de Mușcel were hired to repair the damage.

The cave church was originally open, it was a shelter from rain due to the rock above, but the huge chamber was freely accessible. Damages on the north wall of the church were examined by restoration specialists, who determined that it was caused by water infiltration, which was freezing in winter. Obviously, the sandstone has a porosity which allows some water to enter through the rock, and it’s not possible to change this fact. So the idea was to heat the church during winter to avoid freezing. But wood ovens produced smoke and dust, electric radiators short-circuited and caught fire due to the high humidity, and gas radiators increased the humidity. So they closed the portal with a wooden wall which insulates very well, and as a result, the cave church now has a temperature of 5 °C. Like any cave without ventilation, the temperature is more or less the same over the year. The main goal to avoid freezing was reached, also the humidity normalized and the frescoes have dried and further destruction is prevented.