The story of Holy Trinity Cathedral

The first donor to this cathedral was an emperor. In the autumn of 1857, Metropolitan Andrei Șaguna asked Emperor Franz Joseph I for permission to raise funds among his faithful, and the Emperor himself gave 1000 gold coins.

Donations kept coming after Șaguna's death in 1873, and the cornerstone was laid on 18 August 1902. To make room, eight houses were demolished, along with the little Greek church of 1797-1799 that had served as the cathedral until then. The design, by Virgil Nagy and Iosif Kamner of Budapest, was chosen from entries by 31 architects and follows a Byzantine basilica inspired by Hagia Sophia.

Work ended in 1904, and the cathedral was consecrated on 30 April 1906. Look up into the dome, 15 metres across, where Octavian Smigelschi painted Christ Pantocrator flanked by angels. During World War I the army melted three of its bells for cannons; they were replaced only in 1926. It is the seat of the Metropolitan of Transylvania.