Corbii de Piatra, the Church carved in the rock

The winding road from Domnești to Nucșoara hides many destinations with interesting stories. After areas of ramshackle houses, meadows with waist-high grass and flowers, you come to see, on the right side of the road, an imposing stone wall. The large sandstone block, with a height of over 20 m, gives the impression that it was created artificially, being surrounded on all sides by rich vegetation.

A signpost shows us the way to the colossus that hides the Church of the Stone Crow. The place is located in the small village of Jgheaburi, Corbi commune. We deviate from the main road on the footbridge over the Doamnei river. On the street to the church we met a herd of sheep that led us to the entrance to the courtyard.

At the entrance you are greeted by a wooden chapel with a bell tower. You will climb a series of stone steps that will lead you directly to the door of the little church.

The strong smell of flowers adorning the entrance wall will accompany you even inside the place. Here the air seems cold and clean, just like on a mountain top.

In the walls that bear the deep imprint of time, you can still see icons dating from the first part of the 14th century, the Corbii de Piatră church housing the oldest painting of this kind in Wallachia.

Some art historians believe that the frescoes from Corbi served as a model for those from the Royal Church in Curtea de Argeş, made a century later. Another unique aspect of the church is represented by the existence of two altars on a single nave.

It is said that the name Stone Crows comes from the monks who came here to pray. According to the history C.D. Aricescu, the church would have been established in the 2nd century, being adapted to the times when Christians were still persecuted. The first documentary attestations, however, date from 1512, the restorer founder being the Magdalina Nun, the aunt of Voivode Neagoe Basarab.

The blue house of mother Uța.

A few steps from the Church, you will find a sight like in a story. The blue house of mother Uța, where huge rocks collapsed over the years lie now almost covered by vegetation. A channel dug into the stone leads the water in a cascade and then as a stream of water that runs restlessly through the yard. Here, a giant’s foot seems fixed in stone, under the ledge of the mountain.

On leaving, our eyes were absorbed by the fences of the houses near the entrance to the churchyard. On the wooden slats were fastened woolen socks, waistcoats and colored coats, prepared by skilled hands for those who cross the threshold of the village of Jgheaburi.

Access: DN 73C, Curtea de Arges – Campulung Muscel, eastward to Domnesti (22 km), then branch on the left towards Nucsoara (Domnesti – Stanesti – Corbsori – Corbi, 11km)