National Cathedral

The National Cathedral in Bucharest, officially known as the People’s Salvation Cathedral, is Romania’s major modern Orthodox cathedral project with construction begun in 2010. It is intended as the national cathedral for the Romanian Orthodox Church and a venue for large religious and state ceremonies.

The building offers a very large worship space with a high central dome and stands as one of the country’s largest church projects by volume and capacity. Visitors come to view the interior mosaics, iconography, and the scale of the nave and dome area during liturgies and guided visits.

The cathedral project was initiated in the 1990s and moved into construction in 2010, with phased openings of parts of the structure for services and public access as sections were completed. The complex has been developed to include museum and memorial functions beneath the main church level.

The cathedral is located within Bucharest’s urban area and occupies a prominent site intended for national visibility. It sits amid the city’s dense urban fabric and is accessible from central Bucharest.

• Construction start and purpose: Construction began in 2010 and the building was conceived as the Romanian Orthodox national cathedral with space for large national ceremonies and religious services.
• Underground spaces: The cathedral complex includes extensive underground spaces intended for a national pantheon and museum of religious artifacts and national memorials.

What to See #

• Central nave: Main nave and dome area featuring large-scale Orthodox liturgical space designed to hold thousands of worshippers and ceremonies.
• Crypt and national pantheon: Underground crypt and planned national pantheon intended for memorials and mausoleum functions beneath the main church floor.
• Exterior plazas: Exterior plazas and access stairways that form part of the cathedral complex and host large public religious events and state ceremonies.