The History of Wallachia by Mihail Cantacuzino notes that Mircea the Elder founded the church. Gheoghe Sincai was saying that on the church’s walls three princes were painted, each of them bearing the Mircea name.

In fact, Prince Mircea Ciobanu (the Shepherd) built this church near his princely residence on the site of a former wooden church. Built probably between 1558 and 1559 in the second reign of Prince Mircea, in the Wallachian architectural style of the 16th century, the edifice was restored in 1847 after it burned down and again in 1934 by the Commission of Historical Monuments. For 200 years the Wallachian princes were crowned in this church.

The church, 25m (82ft) long and 8m (26ft) wide, is plated with fake strips of brick that alternates with strips of mortar. The presence of the buttresses represents an architectonic Moldavian influence brought by Lady Chiajna, the wife of Mircea the Shepherd, the daughter of the Moldavian Prince Petru Rares.

The interior boasts a valuable gilded iconostasis while the votive fresco represents the founders of the church Prince Mircea Ciobanul and his wife Lady Chiajna on one side of the wall and Prince Stefan Cantacuzino with his wife Lady Pauna on the other side of the wall. Today, it is the oldest building in Bucharest kept in its original form.

The parochial house and the bell tower were built in 1939 after the drawings of the architect Horia Teodoriu. It blends with the style of the old church and represents a mosaic of the Annunciation by Nora Steriadi.

The Schedule of the Old Princely Court Church:

Daily: 08:00 – 20:00

Entrance fee: free

Address: 23-31 Franceza Street