Casa Timiș

Prahova’s jewels I – Churches, manors, museums and wineries

Casa Timiș > Experiences > Outdoor experiences > Prahova’s jewels I – Churches, manors, museums and wineries

Bellu Manor, Jercălăi Monastery, Museum of the Stone, Tohani Wine cellar
(half-day trip: round trip, approx. 125 km)

There are less beaten paths ahead, which you will walk through almost breathlessly. In just a few minutes, you reach Urlați, a town inextricably linked to viticulture and to a famous personality: the talented photographer and collector, Baron Alexandru Bellu.

You can start the visit with the fortified gazebo that delivers a fascinating view of the surroundings and houses the Baron’s cameras but also many of his photographs, taken in Urlați. Then, you can walk around the romantic alleys of the estate until you reach the Museum, which was the former guest house, built in old Romanian style. The porch still bears the original floor. Inside, you can admire the Turkish Salon, with its wonderful oriental decor, the Japanese Salon, where tea was served, as well as the Central Salon, where we find the piano that George Enescu played so many times. Numerous other valuables are on display in the museum rooms.

There are merely 4 km from Bellu Museum to the next stop, Jercălăi Monastery, where the slender silhouette of a wooden church with an incredible story will surprise you. Built in Maramureș style, the church was moved from Reghin to Bran Castle and, later, arrived here, in Jercălăi.

Over three centuries old, the little wooden church was ‘embellished’ with murals dating back to 1700, a miracle-working icon of the Virgin Mary, brought from the Holy Sepulcher and a coffin with Holy Relics, from Bethlehem. On the southern side of the church, there is a large 400 years old stone cross, brought from Dobrogea, which marks the place where the altar of an older church once was.

Do not forget to also check out the Monastery winery, to taste the liturgical wine, a natural, clear and pleasant drink.

From here, we recommend you go to Sângeru. In just half an hour, you will cover the 20 km and reach the Museum of the Stone.

Sângeru was the native village for the late poet Lucian Avramescu, owner and initiator of this museum, and it was also the centre of his universe. This fascinating place is an expression of the deep connection that the poet felt with stone. The museum stretches over the entire property, both on the outside and on the inside. It includes over 3,000 works in stone, made by rural artists or nature, placed inside the house and in three consecutive yards. Children will surely enjoy a visit of the mini-farm, with chickens, peacocks, a ram called Burebista, Cameroonian goats, a pony and others.

We suggest you end the journey on prestigious bacchic notes. Prahova County wineries, as well as the one from Casa Timiș, are internationally famous, successfully representing the special terroir of Dealu Mare. A tasting of selected wines, here, in Tohani, could be the perfect ending to this heart-warming trip.