People’s Salvation Cathedral (The National Cathedral) in Romania, One of the BIGGEST in the World

Romanians seem to love massive buildings, and to prove that statement correct, I’m going to talk today about the People’s Salvation Cathedral, aka Catedrala Mântuirii Neamului in Bucharest, Romania.

If you are planning a trip to Bucharest or are just fascinated by record-breaking buildings, you simply can’t ignore this one (it’s difficult to ignore it due to its sheer size and location).

Quick Facts About the Cathedral

• Height: Approximately 120 to 127 meters.
• Cost: Around €270 million as of late 2025.
• Capacity: 6,000 worshippers inside.
• Expected Final Completion: sometime in 2027.
• Location: by the Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest, Romania. (Map)

This is a MASSIVE church with a floor area of around 6,000 square meters (64,000 square feet) and standing around 127 meters tall.

Former dictator Nicolae Ceausescu has left behind, among many other horrors, the Palace of the Parliament aka Casa Poporului, a mammoth of megalomania stretching over 3,700,000 Square Feet and going 86 meters up.

For some reason, the Orthodox Church decided that they should leave their mark on the country as well and started another similarly hideous (or impressive, depending on your point of view) project, called Catedrala Mantuirii Neamului (People’s Salvation Cathedral).

And you can take that name literally if you think that the zombie apocalypse is coming, because this cathedral is huge!

I have to admit that the location is really good: you have a huge symbol of faith towering right over a massive symbol of a former communist and atheist regime.

The Cathedral has been the subject of heavy public debate and criticism in Romania. Many critics argue that in a country needing modern hospitals and highways, pouring hundreds of millions of euros from public funds into a church is a misallocation of resources.

Others see it as a necessary symbol of national identity – and I have to agree that it has what it takes to become a huge landmark, and a must-visit attraction when complete.

So regardless of where you stand, I have to admit that it will probably offer a big boost to tourism at the very least. But the cathedral is not fully ready for daily visitors just yet.

Things to know about the People’s Salvation Cathedral in Bucharest

Building started back in 2010, and it was estimated to be ready in 2020. Of course, that didn’t happen. The final completion date for all interior and exterior works is now set for 2027.

However, in 2018, the building was consecrated, with a massive consecration event following on October 26, 2025.

There was also a name change in the process. The official name is now The National Cathedral (Catedrala Nationala). Most people still refer to it as the People’s Salvation Cathedral, though.

Here are a few important facts you should know about Romania’s mammoth cathedral:

• It will be the tallest Orthodox church in the world when completed
• iIt will have place for 6,000 worshipers inside
• It will have the largest collection of church mosaics in the world (25,000 square meters)
• It holds the world’s largest Orthodox iconostasis, measuring over 400 square meters.
• It has the largest free-swinging church bell in the world
• It is the tallest domed cathedral in the world
• It is also the largest Orthodox Church in the world by area and volume

The Cathedral, once built, if fully populated, can hold 125,000 people in the entire 11-hectare outdoor complex and courtyard surrounding it. That is way more than the entire population of many cities in Romania!

The original plans were for the National Cathedral to have a restaurant with a 1,000-person capacity, two hotels, and parking spaces for 500 cars. (Not sure if these plans were changed in the meantime – hopefully they were – but it’s fun to know nevertheless.)

So, as you can see, it is indeed a mammoth building breaking records. It is impressive, but I really wonder if this is exactly where Romania had to pour so much money. By late 2025, the official reported cost reached €270 million.

Over €200 million of that came directly from public funds, with the rest gathered from church funds and private donations.

It is pretty obvious that the building has the potential to draw in some visitors to the country, but I always believe that it’s best to be smart and attract people with beautiful, impressive things, not just sheer size.

Check out the National Cathedral aka People’s Salvation Cathedral below

Here is a recent video showing the building state in 2025 (outdoor area only), so you can visualize how massively impressive it is.

(Note that the “tiny” building you can see in the background is actually the Palace of the Parliament, which is the second largest administrative building in the world! Just to imagine how huge the cathedral is.)

Can you visit the People’s Salvation Cathedral (The National Cathedral)?

No, currently the Cathedral is not open for regular daily tourist visits. It was temporarily opened to the public during the winter holidays between December 2025 and January 2026, though. It is now closed again for the final interior works.

While you cannot go inside the building right now, you can still see it from the outside. The exterior architecture is pretty impressive still.

Wrapping Up

The Church still has an extremely important role in Romania, with most people living in the villages (and many living in the cities) considering priests and the Church itself as the people/places to go to when they need advice.

The Church itself is heavily involved in politics; there are special tax rules (no tax, actually) for the Church, and so far, no politician wants to break the bonds and help the people evolve because it’s pretty simple: the Church can easily manipulate the people and the politicians need that.

However, I think that the People’s Salvation Cathedral will soon become just like Ceausescu’s House of the People: a bad memory of some not-so-great times when people could not or were not allowed to think for themselves.

And yes, the fact that they’re so close one to each other makes absolutely no sense to me… but that’s how things sometimes happen in Romania.

What do you think about the National Cathedral in Bucharest? Do you think it’s a good idea to have it built? Is it something you’d like to see when ready?

Top/Featured image from MIHAIL – own work, CC BY 4.0, Link.