The Bucur Church functioned in the past as the chapel of the Radu Vodă Monastery.
The church, classified as a historical monument, does not have an exact date until now. Over time, historians and those who have researched the origins of the construction have offered different dates and variants of the edifice’s construction.
That is why some researchers speak of a construction in a specific style of the 18th century, others, according to the legend, believe that the church is the foundation of the shepherd Bucur. The church is recorded in a map drawn up between 1844-1846 with the name Bucur church. Long ago, the place of worship was on the same hill as the Radu Vodă monastery. In the middle of the 18th century, the hill was divided in two because certain construction works were carried out. Currently, the 2 places of worship are located on two mounds of land separated by a street.
The church, dedicated to Saints Athanasius and Cyril, has less imposing dimensions, but well proportioned. The facades of the building are quiet and straight, painted white. The church was renovated between 1909-1910 by the architect George Sterian and some changes were made to the exterior.
The entrance is through an elegant porch similar to the porches found in Romanian peasant houses. The porch has polylobed arches supported by wooden pillars. At the top, the edifice has a simple spire with a wide eaves and a mushroom-shaped dome. The door and windows have early 20th century applied carved stone surrounds.
Even if the church is mentioned in the texts of several Romanian and foreign authors as being built by the founder of Bucharest, the shepherd Bucur, some subsequent research concluded that the edifice was built in the 17th century, being rebuilt in the first half of the 18th century . Other research has established that the church was built in the first half of the 17th century, to be used as a chapel of the Radu Vodă monastery. There are also opinions of researchers who claim that the church was built in 1416, by Mircea the Elder.
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