Biserica cu Lună

The Moon Church in Oradea, built between 1784 and 1790, is the city's Orthodox cathedral and houses a mechanism unique in the world: a rotating globe, half gilded and half black, mounted in the bell tower, which turns slowly to show the phases of the moon, from full to new. This ingenious astronomical clock, the work of a local craftsman, has run for over two centuries and gave the church its popular name. The large edifice blends Baroque and Classicist elements and dominates, through its tower, the square of Oradea's historic centre, a city famed for its Art Nouveau architecture.

Inside, the iconostasis and the painting complete the solemn atmosphere of the church, one of the most important Orthodox monuments in the Crișana region. Practical note: watch the tower at different hours to observe the rotation of the lunar globe, and take advantage of its closeness to Oradea Fortress and the Secession-style buildings of the centre.