The Saint Elijah Church (Biserica Sfântul Ilie) is a 19th-century Orthodox church in Botoșani built by the city’s furriers’ guild on the site of an earlier wooden church. The present masonry church was constructed between 1838 and 1843, while the adjoining bell tower is older and dates from 1809.
A wooden church dedicated to Saint Elijah was already standing here by 1778, when the furriers’ guild was formally granted the right to celebrate its patron feast on July 20. The guild later replaced the old buildings in stages, first erecting the bell tower in 1809 and then commissioning a new stone-and-brick church. Work on the present church began in 1838 and was completed in 1843, with the earlier bell tower incorporated into the new building.
The church is built from stone and brick with unusually thick walls and a tall central tower above the nave. Its exterior is articulated by rows of rounded engaged columns with capitals, while large rectangular windows with arched tops bring light into the interior. The entrance doors are reinforced with iron bars and rivets and retain decorative metalwork.
Inside, the narthex opens into the nave through a broad masonry arch, with a choir gallery above the western end. The tall central tower rises over the nave, while the present fresco decoration was painted from 1997 onward. A new carved oak iconostasis and choir stalls were added during the same period, followed by exterior repairs and a copper roof in the early 2000s.
