Metropolitan Cathedral

The Metropolitan Cathedral, Iasi, positioned at 16 Stefan cel Mare si Sfant Boulevard, Iasi, Romania, is the seat of the Romanian Orthodox Archbishop of Iasi and Metropolitan of Moldavia and Bukovina, and the biggest historic Orthodox church in Romania. It is devoted to Saint Parascheva, to the Presentation of Jesus and to Saint George. Its form become inspired by means of the late Italian Renaissance style, with Baroque factors dominating the interior and outdoors decorative features. The Metropolitan Cathedral is indexed inside the National Register of Historic Monuments.

Two church buildings formerly stood on the web site: the White Church and the Presentation Church. On 8 August 1826, prince Ioan Sturdza signed a decree ordering creation of the cathedral; Metropolitan Veniamin Costache laid the cornerstone on three July 1833 and guided construction in its early years. Work began in 1833, using a neo-classical design via Viennese architects Gustav Freywald and Bucher, and persisted at a speedy pace till 1841, inside the latter years under the Russian architect Mihail Singurov. In 1839, after it was completely built and blanketed, severe cracks had seemed at the huge valuable arch.