Mănăstirea Minorită/Franciscană Sf. Andrei

In Bistrița, the Franciscan order was registered in 1268, establishing the headquarters of the custody of the order in Transylvania. In the period 1280-1290, the Franciscans built a monastery and the church dedicated to St. Andrew, which is today the oldest building in the city and one of the oldest Franciscan buildings in Eastern Europe.

The polygonal chancel of the church has ogive vaults resting on engaged colonnades, reflecting late Romanesque and early Gothic styles. The nave of the church was built between 1494 and 1518, and the different shapes of the stone borders highlight the different stages of construction and the stylistic evolution of medieval art in Transylvania. During the Reformation, the Transylvanian Saxons expelled the Catholic monks, and in 1543, the monastery wall was demolished and the order's property was sold.

With the installation of the Catholic Habsburgs, the Piarist order took over the church and the vaults were restored in Baroque style in 1772. In 1788, the church became a place of worship for the officers of the Austrian garrison. In 1860 the church was described as beautiful and solid, with 7 carved stone altars, but mostly deserted.

The Greek-Catholic Romanians bought the church in 1895 for 35,000 florins, and the Romanian community developed around this building. After 1918, the church square was called Piața Unirii to commemorate the union of Transylvania with Romania.

In 1948, the church was used by the Orthodox Church, and the interior was painted in Byzantine style. The old Franciscan convent was demolished in 1909, and the current building on the same site is the seat of the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese. The deanery preserves a rich collection of icons from the 18th-19th centuries and the beginning of the 20th century.

Curiosities include a sundial on the south side and the chancel overhang, with openings comparable to those of a fortified church.

Before acquiring the Franciscan church, the Romanians had a wooden church built in the 18th century on the current street of Crilinor, where the old Romanian school was also located. School buildings from 1865 and 1878 still exist in this area.

The most famous Romanians from this area are the poets Andrei Mureșanu, George Coșbuc and Liviu Rebreanu. Andrei Mureșanu grew up in Bistrița and composed the poem "Un Răsunet", which became the national anthem of Romania after 1989.