In and out to Ialomicioara Cave...

The Ialomicioara Cave has had a long history, being certified for the first time in 1510 when the Wallachian prince  Mihnea Vodă cel Rău  would had hidden here. But the cave was first described in 1793.  Cezar Bolliac , Romanian writer of the 19th century, discovered in 1870 almost all the major galleries till the Bears' Hall. 

Ialomicioara Cave It is located on the right side of Ialomitei Gorges, in Moroeni locality, Dambovita county, at 1,530 altitude.
Ialomita name comes from Dacian word “jalomit” which means “to cry”. The cave is actually known as an ancient place of Dacians where they used to celebrate the personality’s death in order to become an individual immortal being.
Right at the cave’s entrance lies Ialomita Monastery built in the 16^th century by ruler Mihnea cel Rau (Mihnea the Bad). The monastery has burnt several times during the history.

The largest cavity of the cave is represented by the Bear Hall. When the first people discovered it, they found bones and even full skeletons of Ursus Spelacus Blum, or the cave bear, with many of them being tracked down above-ground, which leads to the assumption that the cave was among the last hideaways of the cave bears 10,000 years ago.

http://www.romaniajournal.ro/what-secrets-is-ialomicioara-cave-hiding/

Late afternoon in Polovragi Monastery...

The Polovragi Monastery, Gorj County, is a convent for nuns and its dedication day is “Assumption of the Virgin”, 15 August.The most recent researches based on two Slavonic inscriptions, establish the building date of the Polovragi Monastery about 1505. It is attributed to Radul andPătru, Danciul Zamona's sons, which are mentioned in a document issued by Prince Basarab the Young (1477-1481), on 18th January 1480.

This document is also the first documentary attestation of the village of Polovragi. The founder of the present church of the Polovragi Monastery is the chancellor Danciul Pârâianuof Mileşti, according to the document issued by Prince Matei Basarab (1632-1654), on 16th July 1648. He built the church on the old foundation preserving only the lower part of the walls, which were in a better condition. When it was finished, its founder Danciul Pârâianu dedicated it to the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The great voivode Constantin Brâncoveanu (1688-1714) redeemed it in 1693 and placed it under the jurisdiction of the Hurezi Monastery. Consequently, the voivode ordered a start to be made on the complete renovation of this establishment.

The church is built in the Byzantine style on a trefoil plan. Its interior is divided into several sections: an ante-nave, a nave and an altar, which are specific of the Orthodox churches. The painting of the church is particularly important both from an iconographic point of view and its technical execution, with particular characteristics. The paintings inside the church were made between 1703 and 1712 by the renowned master-painters of the painting school of Hurezi (Horezu). In the porch, on the east wall one can admire the two iconographic representations, unique in our country, of the monasteries from the Mount Athos, as well as images from the two Testaments and from the Lives of the Saints. The interior painting is preserved in the original form. It is about 250 years old and it has a particular artistic value. The coloring on the blue background is harmonious and sober. The iconostasis is a real masterpiece of the old Romanian wood carving. Its rich ornamentation strikes by its fineness and brilliancy.

http://surprising-romania.blogspot.ro/2009/01/polovragi-monastery.html