Brancoveanu Monastery, Sambata de Sus - Constantin Brancoveanu (1688-1714), the ruler of Wallachia built this monastery in 1696, on the place of a church from 1654; to ensure that orthodoxy survives Roman catholicity. Therefore, he settled monks here, founded a school, a printing house and an icon-painting workshop. Despite the fact that more than 150 monasteries and churches were demolished during the reign of the Austro-Hungarians, this remained untouched. After Brancoveanu's decapitation and the decree which laid down the proscription of these monastic orders the Court of Wien sent general Preiss to tear down the monastery in 1785. The lodgings of the monks were destroyed, the church was left in ruins.
