The Saint Nicholas Russian Church (Biserica Rusă Sfântul Nicolae), sometimes also called the Students’ Church (Biserica Studenților) is a Romanian Orthodox church in the old town of Bucharest.
The building of a Russian Orthodox church for the legation employees and other Russians living in Bucharest was initiated by the Russian Ambassador Mikhail Nikolaevich Giers in 1905. The construction started in the same year and was finished in 1909, at a cost of 600,000 gold rubles. The funds were provided by the Russian Emperor Nicholas II after which the church is named.
After the death of the old Russian priest in 1935 the church came under the authority of the Romanian government and was used by the students and professors of the University of Bucharest. In 1957, the church was passed to the Romanian Orthodox Church which restored it. The church was damaged by the 1977 earthquake and restorations of the paintings started in 2000, but have not yet finished due to a lack of funds. In 1992 the church was again offered for use by the students and professors, which earned the church its second name Students’ Church.
The Saint Nicholas Russian Church is built of brick and stone and has seven onion-shaped domes. The iconostasis, which is made of wood gilded with gold, is a copy of the one in the Archangel’s Cathedral in Moscow. The church’s appearance is typical for Russian churches, but unusual in Romania, which makes it stand out and should therefore not be missed when visiting the old town of Bucharest.
