BISERICA SF CUVIOSA PARASHEVA

This church is located west of downtown and the lake. It was built between 1924 and 1934 by Emanoil Ignatov, on the initiative of the Bishop of Hotin, Vissarion Puiu (1879-1964) and under the direction of the architect A. Gabrilescu. It is a very beautiful building, with twisted bell towers that can also be found in the architecture of Romanian and Armenian churches. Original and unusual, the church takes elements from the Wallachian and Moldavian religious architecture of the 16th and 17th centuries. The façades have wooden and stone bas-reliefs decorated with plant and geometric motifs. The ensemble is embellished with paintings on the towers, cornices and windows. Access is via a small porch and a narrow, elongated narthex leading to an enlarged nave. The church was part of the episcopal residence of the district of Pământeni. The building was inspired by the Curtea Monastery of Argeș, in Romania. The interior paintings are only partially preserved. In the 1970s and 1980s, the church was curiously transformed into a planetarium and many relics or objects of worship were lost at that time. Today, Orthodox services have resumed and the monument is protected by the Moldavian state. A small garden surrounds the church.

In front of the church, on the other side of calea Ieșilor, you will see a nice park that you can visit. On the spot, you will be able to admire a pretty house which is the residence of the bishop of Hotin.