The building of “St Joan the Baptizer” Church from Piatra Neamt started in 1866 when the priest Lazarescu wanted to build a new church in Maratei neighborhood. Many people made substantial donations and as a result the church was built of stone in a Byzantine style with an ossuary at the basement.

From an architectural stand point the church has a club shape and it has all the compartments of an Orthodox church: porch, narthex, nave and altar. The church has 9 windows on its walls and 12 windows on its 4 towers (the towers are displayed in the shape of an onion as a characteristic of the Russian architectural style). The unique element of this church is represented by the ossuary that exists at the basement of the building.

The impressive proportions of the church are dominated at the interior by a massive iconostasis made out of oak wood with sculptures made out of lime wood and arranged around the religious icons. The interior painting was made by the painter Lefteriu an apprentice of Nicolae Grigorescu in a similar style as Agapia Monastery.

“St. Joan the Baptizer” Church from Piatra Neamt, Neamt County

“St Joan the Baptizer” Church from Piatra Neamt is located on high ground and in the old days could be seen from far away because of the impressive proportions. The first sanctification service of the church was made at September 15 1886, followed by another two similar moments in 1924 and 1990. The church has old religious icons, old clothing, small crosses and valuable books.

In time the church had few architectural additions: a veranda made out of brick and covered with board and few auxiliary buildings like the parochial house and a small chapel.

“St. Joan the Baptizer” Church is the biggest religious building made in Piatra Neamt before 1990.