Great Synagogue in Iaşi

The Great Synagogue of Iași was built between 1657 and 1671 and is the oldest synagogue still in activity in Romania. It is possible that the Great Synagogue in Iasi was originally built in wood due to the general prohibition of stone synagogues. Damaged by a fire in 1822, the woodwork and painting were destroyed and restored. A new round of restoration work was carried out in 1914. In 1939, the Great Synagogue was one of the 112 Jewish prayer houses in Iași. In front of the synagogue, a high obelisk was inaugurated in 1976 in memory of the victims of the Pogrom of Iași on 28 and 29 June 1941.

The Monastery of the Three Hierarchs is an important 17th century monument, whose church was erected between 1637 and 1639 as a royal necropolis. In 1641 the relics of the Three Hierarchs (Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nazianzus, John Chrysostom) were placed in the monastery church. Plundered and burned by armies (1650, 1686), shaken by earthquakes (1711, 1781, 1795, 1802), the church was restored between 1882 and 1904.

The Metropolitan Cathedral of Iași is one of the six Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedrals in Romania. It was built from 1833 to 1887 on the site of two old churches: the White Church (15th century) and the Stratenia Church (17th century). The interior painting was carried out by master Gheorghe Tattarescu (1820-1894). In 1889, the relics of Saint Paraskeva of the Balkans, the protector of Moldavia, were placed in the church.