The Church of Saint Charalambos (Biserica Sfântul Haralambie) is a Romanian Orthodox church in Galați, built in 1848 near what is now the Central Market. Its dedication to Saint Charalambos, traditionally invoked against epidemics, reflects the earlier history of the site, which had been used for the treatment and burial of victims of disease.
Before the church was built, a small hospital stood on the site for people suffering from cholera, while the surrounding ground was used as a cemetery during the epidemics that repeatedly affected Galați. The land later passed to Ilinca Lucacis, who donated it for a new church and joined seven other merchants in financing the construction. Work began on May 1, 1848 and was completed by December 1, with the church consecrated later that month.
A bell tower with five bells was added in 1869, followed by interior painting by Vasile Robea in 1910. Further work in 1923 moved the bell tower onto the porch and added a third wooden dome, gradually giving the church a more elaborate silhouette than the original 1848 building.
Earthquakes, wartime damage and unstable ground gradually weakened the structure, and by the 1990s the central tower had visibly tilted, earning the church the local nickname “the church with the tower to one side.” A major consolidation began in 1998, strengthening the foundations with reinforced-concrete supports and rebuilding the upper part of the church. Architect Mihai Oprescu replaced the earlier wooden domes with masonry structures and introduced a central dome carried on Byzantine-style arches, significantly changing the silhouette of the building.
Restoration also included the iconostasis and interior decoration, with new painting continuing in later stages of the work.
