This ancient monastery is located in a picturesque place in front of the ancient Trajan road, 17 km from Orsowy. During the centuries of its existence the monastery was called in different ways: the monastery of the Danube valley, the monastery of the Mrakun valley, the monastery Orshova or Ogradena-Veche. It was erected in the place where the observations of the ships on the Danube were originally conducted: the river narrowed here, and it was difficult for the two ships to leave. Today, the monastery of Marakonia is known as a "sunken monastery" or "underwater monastery."

Monastery of Mrakonia was assigned a hard fate. The partially preserved building dates back to 1523, although the monastery itself was founded earlier, around the middle of the 15th century, when monks, fleeing from the Turks, took refuge in Orsha. During the Russian-Turkish war in the late 18th century, the monastery was destroyed, because it was right in the middle of a hot battle. In 1931, work began on its restoration, and construction was completed by the roof construction in 1947.

But the monastery was not destined to stand for long . The next catastrophe occurred after the construction of a hydroelectric power station in the Iron Gate Gorge in 1967 . As a result of the dam creation, the surrounding areas flooded and the monastery completely went under water . For a long time it remained there until until the end of the 20th century it was decided to put on this place church in memory of the monastery . The works were started in 1993 . and finished only at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries . The new monastery church that can be seen here today is dedicated to the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel and Holy Trinity .

Monastery of Darkness is made of stone and forms a cross in the plan. From the original church, which today is hidden under water, only the doors and candelabra are preserved - nowadays they can be seen in the parish museum.

When the water in the Danube collapses, the cross-shaped ruins of the monastery can be seen with the naked eye.

A few hundred meters from the monastery, at the narrow entrance to the gulf formed by the Danube, there is another local landmark on the rocky cliff - the sculpture of Decebala . It's more correct to call it a relief , because the sculpture is a 40-meter face carved into a sheer rock . This is the portrait of the last ruler of Dacia, who fought against the Roman invasion led by Trajan, for the independence of the land that belongs to modern Romania . The sculpture was created from 1994 . till 2004 . 12 masters, and this is the highest stone statue in Europe .

Practical information

The monastery stands on the Danube bank, about 17 km from Orsowy, and it is easy to get there by car