Holy Trinity Cathedral

About

The Holy Trinity Cathedral, Sibiu (Romanian: Catedrala Sfânta Treime din Sibiu), located at 35 Mitropoliei Street, Sibiu, Romania, is the seat of the Romanian Orthodox Archbishop of Sibiu and Metropolitan of Transylvania. It was built in the style of a Byzantine basilica, inspired by Hagia Sophia, with the main spires influenced by Transylvanian church architecture and Baroque elements. The idea of building an Orthodox cathedral in Sibiu began with Metropolitan Andrei Șaguna, who in the autumn of 1857 asked Emperor Franz Joseph I for permission to send a circular to his diocese requesting that priests and laymen give donations.

He sent the letter before Christmas that year, and the first donor was the Emperor himself, who gave 1000 gold coins, followed by the governor of Transylvania with 50, Șaguna with 2000 florins, and many others. Donations continued to come in following Șaguna's death in 1873; the cornerstone was laid on 18 August 1902, when Ioan Mețianu was Metropolitan. In order to free the space to build the cathedral (which took up five lots on Mitropoliei Street and three on Xenopol Street, where it also has an entrance), eight nearby houses had to be demolished, as well as...