Cârța Monastery, Cistercian monastery in Țara Făgărașului, Romania.
Cârța Monastery is a former Cistercian abbey in Cârța, Sibiu County, Romania. The church shows ribbed vaults in the Gothic style, a polygonal apse, and parts of the old cloister near the Olt River.
The monastery was founded between 1202 and 1206 by King Andrew II of Hungary, who brought Cistercian monks here from France. Its closure came in 1474 when King Matthias I transferred the estate to a Hungarian noble family.
The church now serves the local Saxon Lutheran community and preserves in its walls traces of the Burgundian monks who once cultivated vineyards here. Inside, you can still read the shape of the old cloister that once held monastic life together.
The church stands between Sibiu and Făgăraș right by the road and is usually open during the day. Visitors who come here should set aside time to walk around the churchyard and the outer walls.
This site marks the easternmost point of all medieval Cistercian abbeys in Europe outside Istanbul. In the walls you can still see Gothic mason marks left by French craftsmen.
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