The Round Church Ghika Teiul Doamnei, Bucharest

The Round Church Teiul Doamnei Ghika

The church, next to the Ghika Palace, is part of the Ghika-Tei ensemble.

The church is built in the Italian neoclassical style, having a round shape, being among the few churches in Romania that have a round shape (Round Church from Lețcani, Iași, Round Church from Geoagiu, Hunedoara).

In front is a pediment with the icon of the patron saint supported on eight columns in Doric-Tuscan style.

Above the entrance is an inscription in Cyrillic letters.

The interior painting

Inside the church, next to the icons, there is a portrait of the ruler Grigore Dimitrie Ghica on the western wall, and on the opposite wall is his brother, Alexandru Ghica, his successor to the throne.

The interior painting was executed by the painter Alberto Giacometti the same one who painted the interior of the Ghica palace.

Funerary monuments and graves

Some members of the Ghika family are buried in the churchyard.

Among the graves in the churchyard is that of ruler Dimitrie Ghica, which has an imposing funerary ensemble, 4 almost life-size women support a slab on their heads on which there is a funeral urn.

On one side is a representation of eternity and rebirth, the butterfly emerging from its larva. Below this symbol is the inscription: “The stones on the streets of the neighboring fortress testify to you, traveler, what praiseworthy deeds Ghica Grigorie worked: Lord full of wisdom, you are obliged to lay a tribute to his grave“.

Grigorie Ghica is the ruler under whose rule some streets in Bucharest were paved with stone, including the “Targului de Afara Bridge” (Calea Mosilor)

Under the flowers

In front of the church, under the circle of flowers, is the foundation of the former church built by the treasurer Barbu Văcărescu and his wife Ruxandra Rosetti, around the middle of the 18th century.