On the heights of the Galata hill, with an altitude of 237 meters, which dominates the western part of the city, there is the Galata Monastery. Access to this place of worship is achieved by walking along Nicolina Street and continuing on Tudor Nicolaie Street, where Galatei Street forks.
The Galata Monastery stands out in a favorable perspective, visible from different areas of the city. In order to maintain this privileged position, the current redevelopment of the Union Square was designed so that, due to its slope, the upper part of the square offers an open view towards the Galata Monastery. Thus, the monastery contributes to shaping the image of the new architectural complex in Iasi.
Known as "Galata from the valley" to differentiate it from the Beautiful Monastery, it was built by Petru Șchiopul in 1582.
Initially, Petru Șchiopul built a monastery below, on unsuitable land, which, due to heavy rains, led to the collapse of the barely erected building. Later, a new monastery was built on the top of the hill, close to the Iași fair, according to the chronicles of the time.
Due to its positioning on the edge of the Țarigrad road, the Galata Monastery served as a stopping place for the lords of Moldavia on their way to Iasi. In October 1818, Mihai Suțu stopped here before becoming lord of Moldavia. In 1822, the monastery was destroyed in a fire, being rebuilt only in 1847, through the efforts of Ruxandra, Mihai Sturza's sister.
Over time, the monastery suffered several fires, the most devastating taking place in 1783, and its restoration was carried out in 1816 by Radu Mihnea Vodă.
Galata temporarily functioned as a royal court, constituting a strongly fortified point. In the summer of 1591, it was the residence of Petru Șchiopul, and in 1653, Vasile Lupu's son-in-law, Timus, occupied this position. During the struggle for rule with Ștefăniță Vodă, Vasile Lupu's son, Constantin Șerban Basarab resided in Galata, as did Grigore Ghica in 1758, threatened by the presence of German troops. C. Ypsilanti used Galata as a summer residence in 1799.
The monastery was named Galata, analogous to the "Galata" neighborhood in Constantinople, where the gentlemen from Moldova were received during their visits to the Gate. The horses from the royal court, sent on business to Iași, were initially received at the Galata court.
From the old constructions made at the initiative of voivode Petru Șchiopul, outside the church, the protective walls and the royal palace remain. The current wall surrounding Galata was built of stone in 1799 by C. Ypsilanti, probably replacing an earlier wooden enclosure.
The upper part of the bell tower was added during the time of Mihail Sturza. The royal palace, in its current form, has undergone numerous changes. After falling into ruin 30 years after its construction, it was rebuilt in 1799 by C. Ipsilanti and rebuilt in 1847.
The Galata Church, through its remarkable architectural structure, represents a particularly valuable monument and marks a significant moment in the evolution of Moldovan monumental art. Built at the end of the 16th century, this church benefited from the entire preceding evolution in monumental sculpture from Moldova and Wallachia.
Its architecture preserves the concept of dynamic and graduated volume growth, specific to Moldovan monumental art. Inspired by mountain architecture, it adopts a richer silhouette, with two towers, and highlights a closer connection between the interior spaces, in contrast to the spatial fragmentation characteristic of the traditional Moldovan system. The facades are treated with alternating rows of stone and apparent brick, surmounted by two registers of arches.
Also, the Galata Church integrates influences from Transylvania, highlighted by the treatment of carved window frames in Gothic style and their combination with Renaissance elements. By combining these elements, Galata becomes a moment of synthesis of the previous architecture of the three Romanian Countries.
The Moldavian triconic plan of the church includes the altar, nave and pronaos arranged in two levels. The porch is equipped with side entrances, and in Galata there is also the specific Moldavian method of reducing the diameter of the spire, as well as a star arrangement of its base.
The facade of the church is entirely covered by extremely long, storied blind arches, except for the porch, where the arches appear at the top. A distinct division between the upper and lower registers is achieved by a simple torus-shaped girdle, delimited by a row of bricks protruding from the wall.
The windows are rectangular, except for those in the porch, which have a broken arch. On the apses of the church, for the first time in Moldova, there are three windows each, contributing to the interior brightness of the place of worship.
In Galata, glazed discs are used only at the stellate bases of the spiers, each having a shade of green in the eye sockets on the laurels.
All these elements are completed by another detail specific to the decorative art of mountain origins: the alternation of stone and brick rows.
Inside the church, Mrs. Maria Amirali from Rodos, the wife of Petru Șchiopul, was buried in 1588, the victim of a plague epidemic.
On the route leading to Galata, on the left side of the road, you can see the Galata Heroes' Monument, erected between 1928 and 1930, in memory of the fallen combatants in the First World War.
The monument, a reinforced concrete structure with a square base and overlapping floors, is placed on a solid slab with an area of approximately 20 m², embedded deep into the ground. In this plaque there is a crypt that houses the bones of fallen soldiers in the First World War.
Realized through citizen contribution, the monument was designed by the architect Ioan Bălăi, who also took care of the interior painting, and the sculpture was made by the scholar Henri Coandă.
Henri Coandă (1886-1972), Romanian engineer specializing in aeronautics and academician, was a pioneer of world aviation. In 1910, he designed and built the world's first jet plane, testing it the same year. In the period 1911-1914, he created several types of aircraft of his own design, known as "Bristol-Coandă". In 1934, he discovered the effect that bears his name, with applications in various technical fields. In addition to his activity in the field of aviation, H. Coandă was involved in music, visual arts and sports. He was passionate about the cello, drawing and sculpture, qualities that brought him together with C. Brâncusi in the workshop-school of the famous French sculptor Auguste Rodin.
Henri Coandă was active from a sporting point of view, practicing skating, skiing, tennis, swimming, cycling and rugby, being a member of a student team in Paris.
Source: Iași Municipality and surroundings (Ministry of Tourism, 1980)
