Arnota Monastery, Orthodox monastery near Bistrița, Romania.

Arnota Monastery is an Eastern Orthodox convent in Bistrița, Vâlcea County, founded by Matei Basarab and his wife Elina and dedicated to Saints Michael and Gabriel. The whitewashed church has a red-tiled roof, a square bell tower with a pyramidal roof and cross, tall arched windows with brown frames, vertical pilasters, and a rounded apse. It stands behind a low white wall in a paved courtyard flanked by tall trees.

Matei Basarab and his wife Elina founded the monastery; a 1622 silver censer they donated shows it already existed, while a 1637 charter calls it 'made and founded' by him. Paul of Alep recorded in 1658 the local tradition of an earlier wooden church built by Danciu, Matei's father, whose bones were moved here in 1649. Matei's remains were brought to Arnota by Mihnea Radu III after the 1658 Turco-Tatar invasion desecrated his tomb in Târgoviște. Barbu Știrbei renovated it in 1852–1856, and new cells and a museum were built in 1934.

The interior walls display religious murals from the 17th century painted by a local artist, showing sacred scenes alongside Byzantine decorative patterns. These frescoes form part of the spiritual environment that greets visitors as they explore the building.

The monastery is accessible by hiking trails starting from a nearby location, with paths varying in difficulty depending on the season. Visitors should wear appropriate clothing and footwear for uneven terrain and check weather forecasts before planning the climb.

The monastery was originally a community of monks but transformed into a convent for nuns at the end of the 20th century. The tomb of the founder remains on the monastery grounds, standing as a quiet reminder of the site's origins.