The Saint Nicholas Merchant’s Church (Biserica Sfântul Nicolae Negustori) is a Romanian Orthodox church on Strada Teodor Ștefănescu in central Bucharest.
The first mention of a church in its location dates to 1665 and another document from 1671 describes it as the ‘Church of the Merchants’. The church, made of wood, burned down in 1718. Three years later the construction of a new church made of stone began, which was finished in 1726. The famous painter Pârvu Mutu decorated it with frescoes in the same year.
The earthquakes of 1802 and 1838 caused severe damage to the church after which it was restored and modified. In 1881 the church was beautified and new oil paintings were added by Gheorghe Tattarescu, which covered some of the original paintings of Pârvu Mutu. Further restorations were carried out between 1924 and 1930 and after the earthquakes of 1940 and 1977.
The Saint Nicholas Merchant’s Church is built on a scross-shaped plan and has a square Pantocrator tower above the nave. Its narthex is slightly widened and covered with a bell tower. The church has a length of 27.6 meters, a width of 8.3 meters, and a height of 11.4 meters. The portico at the entrance has three frontal arches and two arches on each side, which rest on cylindrical columns.
