Mioveni Cathedral

Mioveni is a town of 32,000 people (2011) in Muntenia, Romania. Next to the city is the Dacia Car Factory.

Understand

The city of Mioveni has a history of over 500 years. The first documentary attestation dates from 1485. Its name comes from a local knyaz, Mihu (Mihov in Slavonic) Mihoveni (Mioveni), referring directly to the inhabitants of this social formation.

The main historical landmarks of the city of Mioveni go down to the beginnings of social-human development, a fact attested by the polished stone tools discovered in the adjacent areas, as well as by the ceramics from the Bronze Age. Until 1989, Mioveni had the rank of village and was called Colibaşi, a suburban commune of Piteşti. In 1989, the village became the city of Colibaşi. In 1996, as a result of some steps taken by the local authorities, the city of Colibaşi returned to the old name, Mioveni.

The process of industrialization and urbanization during the communist period, respectively the establishment of the two large enterprises, the Automobile Enterprise (Automobile Dacia) and the Nuclear Research Institute led to the destruction of the villagers' houses and the construction of blocks and dormitories for new employees from different areas of Arges and Muscel. But, more than the destruction of the hearth of the village, the industrialization produced real dramas among the locals who fought for the preservation of the cultural-historical identity, of the traditions for this space.

Tourist information

• 1 Mioveni National Center for Tourist Information and Promotion (Centrul Național de Informare Turistică și Promovare Mioveni), Bulevardul Dacia Nr.51, ☏ +40 348 455 089, turism@cniptmioveni.ro. Daily 10:00 - 18:00. (updated Nov 2020)

Get in

By bus

There are minibuses from Pitești (very frequent) and several daily buses from Bucharest or Brașov; some of their schedules are available on autogari.ro.

The 1 Vulturul Bus Station

By train

Mioveni is situated on the Pitești-Golești-Argeșelu railway line. Trains arrive every few hours. From Pitești there are connections to Bucharest and Craiova.

• 2 Clucereasa Railway Station, Strada Gării. (updated Jul 2020)

See

Cula Racoviță

Vieroși Monastery

• 1 Mioveni Cathedral (Catedrala "Sf. Petru și Pavel"), Bulevardul Dacia, ☏ +40 742019518. The building sits in the centre of the city, practically defining the architectural coat of arms of the city, being one of the most imposing of its kind in the country. In 1992, with only one church in the city of Mioveni, and the number of inhabitants being growing through the development of local industry, the new cathedral was designed to impressive dimensions, being the largest place of worship in the Archdiocese of Argeş and Muscel. The foundation stone of this cathedral was laid on June 29, 1993. After 20 years of efforts by the entire community, the new cathedral in Mioveni was consecrated in the summer of 2012. (updated Jul 2020)
• 2 Huge wooden spoon (Lingura de lemn uriașă). The huge wooden spoon from Mioveni, holder of a record approved in the Guinness Book of World Records, measures 17.79 m in length and 1.50 m in the widest point (length of the ladle with arms) and was made in 14 days to the popular craftsman Ion Rodoș and his son, Gheorghe Rodoș, being a true work of art, adorned with traditional folk motifs and the logo of the city of Mioveni. Ion Rodoș is from Nucșoara, Argeș County and in the world of unsurpassed folk craftsmen he is known as "the man who taught wood to fly". The spoon was made of wood from two linden trees, the first 100-year-old specimen, with a diameter of 78 cm, was used to make the ladle, and the second tree was used for the spoon's tail. The project was completed between 22 May and 5 June 2013. In order to reduce the risk of wood damage, the spoon was moved to the courtyard of the Ethnographic Museum "Constantin I. Nastase". There, the spoon was mounted on a special support built for it, provided with a roof. (updated Jul 2020)
• 3 Ethnographic Museum "Professor Constantin Nastase" (Cula Racoviță). (updated Jul 2020)
• 4 Vieroși Monastery (Mănăstirea Vieroși). It is the foundation of the famous and brave Goleşti boyars who come from the Craiova Bessarabian people, it is located on the Vieroşul gorge valley, surrounded by beech forests. It was built in the traditional Muscelean style, between 1571 and 1573 by the vornic Ivaşcu Golescu. The descendants of the founding lord, Stroe Leurdeanu and his wife Vişa, partially painted and rebuilt the monastery church in 1645, so that, in 1825, Samuil Tărtășescu, the future deputy of the bishop of Argeș, to rebuild and paint at his own expense. The monument was later restored: 1924-1927 and 1978-1984. (updated Jul 2020)
• 5 Dacia Mioveni Industrial Platform (Platforma Industrială Dacia Mioveni), Strada Uzinei, nr.1. (updated Jul 2020)
• 6 "Holy Three Hierarchs" Wooden Church (Biserica de Lemn „Sfinții Trei Ierarhi”), Strada Dealul Viilor, nr.9. (updated Jul 2020)
• 7 Saint George Church (Biserica Sfântul Gheorghe). (updated Jul 2020)
• 8 Saint Nicholas Church (Biserica Sfântul Nicolae), Bulevardul Dacia, nr.9. Certified as one of the oldest village settlements on the Argeşel River, the church was built in the shape of a cross, with a single tower, in 1786, by Archimandrite Daniil, abbot of Râncaciov Monastery, and Master Dumitraşcu Brăteanu, from Racoviţa, to the vievode Nicolae Mavrogheni (1786-1790), first as a metoh of this monastery. Repairs and additions were made to this church in time, around 1877, by the boyar Grigore Racoviceanu, its interior was repainted, almost entirely, by Gheorghe Stănescu, who is stepped in the nave, and the door made of thick oak planks, between the porch and the narthex, it bore the marks of blows for a long time, because the settlement served as a shelter for the local boyars against the attacks of the Turks, until they raised their butts to a stone's throw. (updated Jul 2020)
• 9 Bârcă's Lake (Lacul lui Bârcă). (updated Jul 2020)
• 10 Church of the Assumption (Biserica Adormirea Maicii Domnului din Făgetu). (updated Nov 2020)
• 11 Holy Apostles Peter and Paul Church (Biserica "Sfinții Apostoli Petru și Pavel"). (updated Apr 2021)

Do

City Stadium

• 1 Picnic area Făget (Spațiul pentru picnic Făget). (updated Jul 2020)
• 2 City Stadium. (updated Jul 2020)
• 3 MioveniSwimming Pool (Bazinul de înot Mioveni). (updated Jul 2020)
• 4 BEMO Mioveni Leisure Base (Baza de agrement BEMO Mioveni). (updated Jul 2020)
• 5 Făgetu Stadium (Stadionul Făgetu). (updated Nov 2020)
• 6 Youth Park (Parcul Tineretului). (updated Apr 2021)

Eat

• 1 Trattoria. (updated Sep 2020)
• 2 Green Pub. (updated Sep 2020)
• 3 DINO Good Food Shop, Bulevardul Dacia 257. (updated Dec 2020)
• 4 Aroma. (updated Jan 2021)

Sleep

• 1 Grandis Apulum, Bulevardul Dacia, nr. 14A, ☏ +40 348807414, hotelapulum@yahoo.com. (updated Oct 2020)
• 2 Hotel Valentino, Bulevard Dacia 47, ☏ +40 248261000, hotel_restaurantvalentino@yahoo.com. (updated Oct 2020)
• 3 Raxand, B-dul Dacia, nr. 144, ☏ +40 744571297. (updated Oct 2020)

Go next

• Pitesti is about 10 km away.
• Bucharest, Craiova, Câmpulung and Târgoviște are also quite close by.
• Brașov and Râșnov can be reached by the scenic Rucăr-Bran Pass.
• Ștefănești is also a historical town nearby.