Design The cathedral is projected to accommodate about 20,000 people in the main building and its underground galleries. A total of 7,000 pilgrims can attend the Holy Liturgy simultaneously, which includes 1,000 reserved seats for the choir and clergy. The underground chapel can accommodate 5,000 pilgrims, and the underground St. Andrew's Cave gallery can accommodate 7,000 pilgrims. The entire 11-hectares complex can host 125,000 people, while the 11,600 square-meters of
piazza can host over 23,000 people. The main cathedral has a floor area of 6,050 square meters (nave floor) and 8,100 square meters including the stairway. From the
Coronation Cathedral, Alba Iulia are found the arches,
cornice, and the robust façade with side
buttresses of the bell tower, as well the bell tower's façade on the
Metropolitanate Hill, Bucharest built by Constantin Brâncoveanu. The
portal with the bell tower's
rosette and the
porch resemble that of the
Antim Monastery and the
Cașin Church in Bucharest. The cathedral's façade architecture, achieves a synthesis between tradition and contemporaneity by incorporating national architectural elements such as Brâncovenesc porches, Transylvanian towers, and
Moldavian niches (ro:
ocnițe). The
Corinthian columns in the cathedral's porch feature a typology of
Romanian Revival capital with
Brâncovenesc acanthuses. At the capital's corners, the
Ionic volutes are reduced in size, scrolling outward above the stylized acanthus leaves. The acanthus, being a leaf with thorns, carries within itself the symbol of the untainted earth and is likened to the thistle of
Genesis 3:18. In the Mediterranean region, it is considered a symbol of enduring life, immortality and rebirth. The acanthus ornament is also found on the column base's
scotia, emphasizing the durability of the bottom-up construction. The People's Salvation Cathedral iconographer is
Daniel Codrescu. Executed in the
Neo-Byzantine style, the cathedral mosaics follow the iconographic plan to illustrate the historical basis of the Orthodox Church. Thus, the cathedral's iconography is structured to include: the
Church of the Apostolic Age, rendered by the representation of the twelve Apostles; the
Church of the Patristic Age, represented by holy fathers from the Greek, Syriac, Latin, and
Slavic Churches; and the Romanian Orthodox Church, both old and contemporary. In addition to the saints from the universal church, the walls of the cathedral depict the great saints of the Romanian nation and the
confessors saints from the
Romanian communist prisons, such as fathers
Stăniloae,
Sofian, Cleopa, Partenie Gherasim, and others. For the People's Salvation Cathedral mosaic, glass made in
Venice is used. The shade of the gold glass was chosen based on the glass from St. Mark's Basilica, but with a lighter hue. The
Murano glass is processed by the Venetian foundries Orsoni and Mosaici Donà Murano. Carrara stone is also used, famous for being used in many Renaissance sculptures (such as Michelangelo's Pietà) and in the mosaic technique. Making one square meter of mosaic requires approximately 16 kg of material (about 10,000 tesserae), applied with a special cement-based adhesive. The People's Salvation Cathedral will ultimately require about 400 tons of tesserae, covering a total area of 25,000 square meters. While
Hagia Sophia in
Istanbul has a greater span (31 meters), it does not have a nave in the strict architectural sense. For comparison, the nave of the People's Salvation Cathedral covers about 2,600 square meters, measuring 78.3 meters (colonnade to iconostasis) by 65.1 meters (transept). The main hall of Hagia Sophia, by contrast, covers about 2,400 square meters, measuring 78.1 meters (250
Byzantine foot - without the altar) by 37.5 meters (120 Byzantine feet - transept). When the main cathedral doors and the iconostasis doors are opened, the visual distance between a person standing at the entrance (colonnade) and the center of the altar table is 106 meters. Also, a person standing in the middle of the nave will see the dome ceiling (Pantocrator) at the same height of 106 meters from the floor. The floor of the cathedral is covered with
Rușchița marble. This marble has been used for many famous buildings, including the
Romanian Parliament Building,
Milan Cathedral, the
Hungarian Parliament Building,
Istana Nurul Iman, etc. Even the eagle in the
Oval Office at the
White House, one of the American national symbols, is made of white Rușchița marble. The quarry is located in
Caraș-Severin County, south of the
Poiana Ruscă Mountains. The main marble types used for the cathedral are the white-yellow Rușchița Classico and the white-pinkish Rușchița Champagne. Marble from Carrara is famously used for some of the most remarkable buildings in
Ancient Rome, as well as other notable constructions such as the
Siena Cathedral, the
Legislative Palace of Uruguay, the
Akshardham (New Delhi), and others. The National Cathedral has twenty-seven double-leaf doors, on which sixty-one bas-reliefs are depicted, namely, Jesus the Lord represented twice, the Theotokos, the two Archangels Michael and Gabriel, plus fifty-six saints, including over twenty Romanian saints. These 800-kilogram door leaves of
stainless steel plated with patinated bronze, each measuring one meter wide and 5.5 meters high, were manufactured in
Süßen by the Strassacker company, the same company which also created the bronze crosses mounted on the towers. The cathedral interior will be illuminated by four brass
chandeliers, structured on three annular levels, with three of them measuring 6 meters in diameter and the dome chandelier measuring 7 meters. The chandeliers were produced by the Austrian company Orion, based on the Alt Wien model but with extensive modifications to achieve the necessary monumental aesthetic. The cathedral’s largest window is the
Ascension of Jesus stained-glass window at the main entrance, measuring 96 square meters and costing 200 thousand euros. The works were partly inspired by several churches in
Transylvania that feature Western influences. The People's Salvation Cathedral has a total of 396 windows. Their
galvanized, arched frameworks, with stainless steel clamping systems, were manufactured in Belgium by the
Reynaers company and electrochemically treated by
anodizing. The frameworks are fitted with insulated glazing, consisting of two 6-millimeter-thick
tempered safety glass panes made by Valras Prod in
Ploiești, and as the third element, the stained-glass window made in Germany.
Transept and crossing The vaulted nave supporting the dome reaches a height of 40.35 meters, and the mosaics of the southern and northern apses were completed in 2024 and 2025, respectively. These, along with the two
bays of the nave (running west-to-east) situated above the
crossing, are decorated with about 7,000 square meters of mosaic. The main mosaics in the apses are the
Nativity of Jesus (south) and the
Resurrection of Jesus (north), the latter based on the Anastasis iconography typical of the Chora Church, each of these mosaics measuring 178 square meters. The iconographic registries of the two apses is structured in four registers below the conch and three above. The two upper registers of the southern hemicycle feature family themes and various miracles of the Savior, while the corresponding two upper registers of the northern hemicycle are dedicated to the holy
Passion of Jesus. The two lowest registers of both the southern and northern hemicycles depict
Christian martyrs and Romanian rulers. The south apse's vaults contain three distinct registers: Christian martyrs (lower),
Jesus at the age of twelve in the temple (middle), and the
Tree of Jesse (upper). The latter composition represents the
genealogy of Jesus and is inspired by the exterior iconography of several churches in
Bukovina, such as the
Sucevița Monastery. The north apse's vaults similarly contain three registers: Christian martyrs (lower), the twenty-four
Elders offering praise from the Apocalypse –
Revelation 4:4 (middle), and the evangelical scene "
I am the vine, you are the branches" –
John 15:5 (upper). Along the edge (intrados) of the southern lower vault is inscribed the Nativity Kontakion (Today the Virgin; third tone) by
Romanos the Melodist, while the northern lower vault features the Resurrection Kontakion (As God, You resurrected; first tone). The triumphal vault includes the main mosaic of the
Hetoimasia, along with iconographic representations of
twelve Old Testament Prophets and the heavenly powers:
Cherubim,
Seraphim and
Angels. The prophets, shown in 1.8-meter medallions, hold symbolic representations in their hands, foreshadowing the Theotokos and the
incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Hetoimasia represents the throne of the Last Judgment, and historically an empty throne with a
Gospel Book on it was placed in the chamber of church councils to represent Christ, at the
First Council of Ephesus in 431. The theme is inspired by the
Voroneț Monastery exterior (1547) and the Monreale Cathedral's apse (12th-century).
Psalm 89:14 (gr-Ps.88:14-15) is inscribed in a ring shape around the Hetoimasia mosaic. On the vault between the nave and the narthex, the central image placed alongside the angelic powers, is the
Saviour's Veil mosaic. This theme is derived from churches in northern Moldova, such as Moldovița, as well as from the
Vardzia cave monastery in Georgia.
Narthex Dominating the narthex dome at about 50 meters high is the
Oranta mosaic, depicted within a glory supported by sixteen radially disposed archangels. The pendentives below feature medallions of four hymnographer saints:
Cosmas the Melodist (southeast),
Joseph the Hymnographer (southwest),
John of Damascus (northwest), and
Romanos the Melodist (northeast) who is the author of the Nativity Kontakion. The Oranta theme is derived from the monasteries of Voroneț, Humor, and Probota, having been developed in Northern Moldavia. On the vaults and
lunettes below the dome, up to 44 meters in height, the course of the Virgin Mary's life is iconographically represented between the two cardinal points of her earthly existence, respectively the
Nativity of the Theotokos on the south side and the
Dormition of the Theotokos (Koimesis) on the north side. The nativity theme is inspired by the Nativity of the Theotokos fresco from the
Studenica Monastery (12th-century) and the Chora Church mosaics (14th-century) from the life of Mary cycle, specifically the themes Nativity of the Theotokos and "The Virgin caressed by her parents". Among the
Twelve Great Feasts, these feasts mark the beginning and the end of the
liturgical year. On the intrados of the large vaults surrounding the narthex, the
Annunciation Kontakion (en-Champion Leader; ro-Lady Protector) is inscribed on the east side, while the
Axion Estin (It is Truly Meet) hymn is inscribed on the west side.
Dome Exterior The dominant feature of the cathedral is its huge
elongated dome, which reaches a total height of 133 meters (ground - top cross). The cathedral also boasts the world's
tallest exterior dome without the lantern-cross, standing at 120.3 meters, and at the top of the
lantern, the cathedral rises to 126.3 meters from the ground. The
Pantocrator cupola has an interior height of 106.3 meters from the floor, surpassing the interior dome height of St. Peter's Basilica, which measures 101.8 meters from the basilica's floor. The cupola's diameter is 16.8 meters inside, with 18 meters of concrete forming a hemispherical shape, and the concrete dome was completed on 24 May 2019. The dome is surrounded by six towers, and at the western end is the
bell tower (campanile), which stands 86.8 meters tall (without a cross), containing the world's largest free-swinging church bell. Both the dome and the hexadecagonal outer cupola are features inspired by the
tempietto shape of St. Peter's Basilica. The outer dome's façade shares similarities with the northern façade and choir of the
Sacré-Cœur Basilica, Paris. The bell tower's façade is also found at the
Saint Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia. The dome's peristyle, surrounded by sixteen arches, is inspired by the
Dormition of the Theotokos Cathedral, Cluj-Napoca. The dome is set on a rectangular-octagonal
drum, which covers an area of 1,350 square meters. A row of circular shields, adorned with the Cross of Saint Andrew, encircles the dome. The main accessible part for visitors is the dome's
peristyle with sixteen arches, which is supported by a continuous colonnade measuring 93 meters in circumference and 29.4 meters in diameter. The arcades are supported by scallop-shaped
capitals of the simplified
Corinthian order. Large
stained glass windows, mounted around the dome, each composed of seven modules, measure 11.45 meters high by 1.35 meters wide. Above the peristyle is the belvedere dome, surrounded by a balustraded balcony at a height of 97.8 meters from the ground, positioned behind small semi-oval windows. Above this
attic rises the cupola, which is covered with gilded copper and ribbed in accordance with the columns' spacing. The outer cupola is pierced by sixteen small skylights just below the lantern, but these are barely visible to an onlooker from the ground level. The inner cupola-lantern connection is achieved by a spiral metallized
staircase. The roofing sheet used for the cathedral is an CuAl5Zn5Sn1
special brass alloy, branded as Tecu Gold and supplied by the German company KME. With a composition of 91.55% copper, 4% aluminium, 4% zinc, and 0.3% tin, the Tecu Gold has a slightly darker shade than the
Nordic gold alloy found in euro cents. The total roofing area used for the cathedral and its annexes is 19,913 square meters, and it cost about 1.7 million euros.
Interior The inner dome consists of two parts supported by two rows of
pendentives, covering a total area of 4,200 square meters of mosaic, and the highest point of the dome's ceiling rises 106.25 meters above the floor of the nave. The upper dome, covering 2,830 square meters with a diameter of 16.8 meters, is supported by pendentives at a height of 52.75 meters. It features mosaics depicting:
Christ Pantocrator; registers of the nine heavenly powers; the sixteen-fold repetition of Holy, a reference to the Orthodox
Trisagion; thirty-two apostles and prophets; the angelic liturgy with angels bearing the
Epitaphios on their shoulders; and the cosmos theme with the sun, moon, and stars. The lower dome, with a diameter of 25.2 meters and an area of 1,370 square meters, is supported by pendentives at a height of 40.35 meters. It includes the main scenes of the great feasts: the
Ascension of Jesus (north), the
Transfiguration of Jesus (west), the
Baptism of Jesus (south), and the
Descent of the Holy Spirit (east), each of these mosaics measuring 160 square meters. The dome features a vernacular North-Moldavian vaulting system, structured as two overlapping rhombuses that create an eight-pendentive vault pattern. The small vaults between the pendentives convey an eschatological message consistent with the depiction of the Pantocrator in
Tetramorph: the
Eternal High Priest,
Emmanuel, the
Angel of Great Counsel, and the
Ancient of Days. According to Daniel Codrescu, the cathedral's iconographer, "the iconographic ensemble of the Pantocrator dome, integrated into a theological vision, is a poetic meditation on how nature itself becomes a kind of silent yet eloquent sermon concerning the Creator". Between the angelic liturgy and the cosmic themes, two Psalms are inscribed in a ring-shaped form, represented in the iconographic ensemble from left to right:
Psalm 148:1 with 148:3 and
Psalm 19:1-2 (gr-Ps.18:1-2). The
Nicene Creed is inscribed on the annular drum, at the junction of the upper and lower domes. Centered against the cosmos' background is the Cross of
Constantine the Great, inscribed with
Matthew 24:30 about the sign of the Son of Man. Constantine ended the
Tetrarchy and paved the way for the
Christianization of the Roman Empire. This cross is inspired by the fresco in the narthex dome of the
Saint Rousanou Monastery in Meteora and the mosaic in the apse of the
Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv. The iconographic theme of the sun and moon is found mainly in the Genesis mosaic in the atrium of St. Mark's Basilica in Venice, the narthex dome of Saint Rousanou Monastery in Meteora, at the entrance to
Kykkos Monastery in Cyprus, and in some monasteries in
Bukovina. The Pantocrator cupola covers about 450 square meters, and of this area, the Pantocrator mosaic accounts for 150 square meters, with the remaining surface dedicated to the mosaic of the
nine heavenly powers. The Pantocrator mosaic, with a diameter of 12 meters and a facial span of 4.5 meters, was created between 2024 and 2025 and required 2.4 tons of tesserae. Christ is depicted wearing a blue mantle and a purple-yellow robe, symbolizing His strength, austerity, and almightiness as the
King of kings. The arched eyebrows accentuate the horizontal lines of the arms, and the nose intersects these horizontal lines, creating a symbolic cross. Two Psalms are inscribed in a ring shape around the Pantocrator mosaic, represented in the iconographic ensemble from left to right:
Psalm 80:14-15 (gr-Ps.79:15-16) and
Psalm 33:13 (gr-Ps.32:13). The Pantocrator mosaic is mainly inspired by the Deisis mosaic in Hagia Sophia (1261), the one in the southern dome of the Chora Church (14th century), the one in the central dome of the
Pammakaristos Church (13th century), all from Istanbul, and the Pantocrator fresco from
Panagia tou Araka (1192) in Cyprus.
Altar The vaulted altar apse reaches an interior height of 42.2 meters from the cathedral floor, and the altar's mosaic decoration, including its ambulatory and the iconostasis, covers about 3,400 square meters. Below the Theotokos Platytera icon are nine windows, which allow light to enter, symbolizing the nine biblical odes and emphasizing the description of the Queen of Heavens. One of the initial ideas was to create a Theotokos mosaic similar to the one in Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, but on a grander scale. Following the
conversion of the Hagia Sophia into a mosque, the coordinator of the iconographers' team, Daniel Codrescu, expressed his hope that the Theotokos of the National Cathedral in Bucharest would symbolically succeed the one in
Constantinople. The mosaic from the late 6th-century apse of the Byzantine church
Panagia Angeloktisti in the village of Kiti, Cyprus, is also notable. The angels hold a scepter and a globe, symbolizing the offering of earthly dominion to Christ and the Virgin. The angels' wings appear to be crafted from peacock feathers, a symbol of eternal life, and the
rotulus in the Christ Child's left hand represents the supreme law. The upper register of the hemicycle centrally features the
Tabernacle of the Congregation, which foreshadowed the Mother of God in the Old Testament. This biblical scene is inspired by 14th-century Byzantine churches, specifically
Saint Nicholas in Curtea de Argeş and
Holy Apostles in Thessaloniki. Flanking the central scene are two Old Testament scenes:
Abraham's Sacrifice on the left and
Melchizedek’s offering of Tribute on the right. The latter scene is adapted from the
Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe, Ravenna. The middle register centrally depicts the establishment of the New Testament through the
Partaking of the Apostles (Communion of the Apostles). On the left is the Holy Trinity in the form of
Abraham's Hospitality, and on the right is the Prophet Elijah being fed by ravens. The Apostles’ Partaking mosaic measures 22 meters in length by 7 meters in height, with the Savior figure being 4 meters tall.
Judas is depicted with his back turned to the Savior, his halo detached behind him, and iconographic detail taken from
Sucevița Monastery. Among the sources of inspiration include the mosaic in the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv (11th century), along with its museum, and the fresco in the
Church of St. George, Staro Nagoričane. The lowest register is dedicated to eighteen Romanian saint hierarchs, and the final section of the altar is the vestment wall, which includes nine stained-glass windows depicting saints. The main mosaic in the altar ambulatory is the Angel of Great Counsel (en-
Isaiah 9:6; gr-Isaiah 9:5). This depiction is inspired by the Angel of Wisdom from
Visoki Dečani Monastery, the Christ Pantocrator from
Sant'Angelo in Formis, and the 14th-century Archangel Michael icon from the
Byzantine Museum in Athens. This is an eschatological theme where the rotulus and the concave diamond halo, by emphasizing the Ascension's mandorla, highlight the message that the world must be prepared for the Second Coming of Christ the Lord. The
soleas in front of the iconostasis, including its seven steps, is 12 meters wide and covers 300 square meters. The
bema, which comprises the altar and the soleas, accounts for 600 square meters of liturgical space, expanding to over 700 square meters when including the altar ambulatory. The floor of the altar is covered with marble and Rușchița stone. The marble models used include Muse Campagne, Caffe Latte, Sun Red, White Sivec, White Onyx, and Yellow Onyx.
Iconostasis The
iconostasis of the People's Salvation Cathedral is the largest Orthodox iconostasis in the world, measuring 23.8 meters long and 17.1 meters high. On one side, the iconostasis features a 407-square-meter mosaic (wall-to-wall), composed of over 4 million
tesserae weighing 8 tons, and with adhesive 10 tons. Along with the thickened side edges, the entire 1.26-meter-thick structure with over 800 square meters of mosaic on both sides reaches 24.3 meters in length, and the whole structure, including ornaments and the crucifix, weighs around 1,300 tons. The
royal doors has an inner vaulted opening measuring 4.28 meters high by 2.5 meters wide. Its framework is covered with 12.4 tons of
Onyx, a stone sourced from Iran that adorns the doors of the iconostasis. Ancient in origin, Onyx is notably the first gemstone mentioned in the Old Testament, found in the
Garden of Eden (
Genesis 2:12). A team of over 45 mosaic and fresco specialists worked for ten months to create the cathedral's iconostasis, led by iconographer Daniel Codrescu. The front of the iconostasis features 45 icons with 130 portraits placed across four registers. The first register holds six royal icons, each measuring 2.15 meters wide by 3.75 meters high; the second features the
Last Supper (center) and the
twelve Great Feasts; the third features the
Holy Trinity (center) and the
twelve Apostles; and the fourth displays the Theotokos (center) and the
twelve Prophets of the
Old Testament. Iconostases typically feature four royal icons, but this one has six, allowing us to represent the two patronal feasts: the Ascension of the Lord and Saint Apostle Andrew. The icons of
Saint Nicholas and
Saint John the Baptist, two of the most beloved saints in Romanian culture, are placed on the left. Uniquely, the Holy Trinity is represented in the register of the Holy Apostles, occupying the place usually reserved for Christ the
Righteous Judge. This latter icon has been moved to the register of the Royal Icon of the
Savior Jesus Christ. The upper register of the iconostasis's rear face centrally features the Last Supper, which serves as a complement to the liturgical representation of the Partaking of the Apostles in the altar hemicycle. On the left, the scene depicts
Jesus Christ washing the feet of the disciples. It is a ritual practiced on
Holy Thursday (Maundy Thursday). On the right, two scenes are shown: the
road to Emmaus appearance and the
Supper at Emmaus. The middle and lower registers are dedicated to nineteen Romanian saints. The iconostasis and the altar are joined by two walls, each featuring three saints. The 5-meter-high Crucifix rises 23 meters above the cathedral floor, and it is flanked by the mosaics of the Theotokos and Saint
John the Apostle. A copy of this pelican from the back of the Crucifix, can be seen as a circular mosaic imprinted on the nave floor of the Bălăneanu-Iancu Nou Church, Bucharest. Inscribed on the reverse of the Theotokos mosaic is the passage: "The queen stood at Your right hand, arrayed in a vestment of gold and gloriously adorned" (en-
Ps.45:9; gr-Ps.44:11); and on the back of the Saint John the Apostle mosaic is the quote: "Your Own of Your Own, we offer to You on behalf of all and for all" (from the
Anaphora Liturgy of the Byzantine Rite). The sides of the cross are decorated with a golden interlace pattern set against a red background. The interlace recalls the archaic motif of the braided rope as a symbol of eternal life. The braiding motif is present at the Romanian monasteries of Curtea de Argeș, Putna or Dragomina. The red color signifies the sacrificial blood of the cross and the royal power of the Lord. Among the sources of inspiration are the crucifixes of
Cimabue and
Giotto, alongside the crucifix paintings from
Saint Catherine's Monastery (12th-century),
Studenica Monastery (1208), and
St. Mary Peribleptos Church, Ohrid (13th-century).
Other notable elements Courtyard The cathedral's courtyard features six annexes, and the most important will be St. John's House and St. Paul's House (totaling 3,511 square meters), which provide rooms for clergy pilgrims. These buildings will also house the missionary cultural center, complete with classrooms, seminars, a library, and exhibition spaces. To the west of the cathedral, two curved
porticos (totaling 2,080 square meters) mark the main entrance to the ensemble's enclosure, alongside two L-shaped porticos (totaling 5,159 square meters) on either side of the esplanade. Under the cathedral chapel, at a depth of 16 meters, only technical spaces for installations will be arranged. Also at this level, 42 crypts will be prepared for the Patriarchs of Romania and four atomic bunkers. The Holy Altar of the chapel is dedicated to
Saint John James the Chozebite and
Daniil Sihastrul, because they both lived a part of their lives in a cave. Daniil Sihastrul was a renowned Romanian Orthodox spiritual guide, hermit, abbot of
Voroneț Monastery, and advisor to
Stephen the Great. He encouraged Stephen the Great to fight for the defense of
Christendom, and to build holy places after each battle won against invaders. Canonized by the Romanian Patriarchate in 1992, he is commemorated on 18 December.
Bells The cathedral has the world's largest free-swinging church bell, surpassing the
Saint Peter's bell (Petersglocke) in the
Cologne Cathedral. The bell is made of 78% copper and 22% tin (both at 99.99% purity), and has a very low beat: C3 (en) – C0 (de) – Do2 (ro), with 130.8 Hz. The cathedral has six bells weighing a total of 32,243 kilograms, and the sound of the big bell is heard from 15 to 20 kilometers. For the biggest bell 425,000 euros were paid, and the total value of the six bells totalled roughly 550,000 euros. A team of twenty-five experts from Italy, Germany, Austria, Croatia, and Romania worked on the great bell of the People's Salvation Cathedral. The leader of this team was the Italian campanologist Flavio Zambotto, who said: "The team worked eight months on this bell, and it's made of premium alloys at the highest standards. We worked on the smallest details, and with 99.99% purity, the acoustic tolerance is 0%. I've had the honor of working on several famous bells, every bell is like a son to me, and the bell of the National Cathedral in Bucharest is magnificent, among the best in the world. All the acoustic parameters are superlative, and the sound is sober, very strong, long, and it leaves a mark on you". The sound of the big bell in the People's Salvation Cathedral in Bucharest was chosen specifically to resemble the sound of the famous
Pummerin bell in
Saint Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna. However, compared to the Pummerin, the Bucharest bell sounds longer, and is lower and stronger. The big bell is rung only on major holidays and declared national days. The sounds of the six bells span two complete octaves. == Further details ==