Bărăția (Church of St James the Apostle)

The St James Catholic Church complex is made up of several buildings put up over more than five centuries. The Gothic church of St James has stood in its present form since 1760. The Bărăția Tower, from 1730, is the church's old entrance tower. The parish house dates from the 17th century.

The complex was restored in 1960 by the architect Ștefan Balș. Archaeological digs led by Dinu Rosetti followed between 1963 and 1965. They showed that the church was built in the 15th century, on the foundations of a building from the second half of the 13th century.

Bărăția was the first church in Wallachia built by Catholic settlers, and it stands as a landmark of religious tolerance in the region.