Situated at south from the city Craiova, in the proximity of a forest from the border of Jiu, the Saint Nicholas Monastery Sadova was initially a foundation of the Craiovești aristocrats. They built up around the year 1520 a wooden church, on the place on which Matei Basarab built up a church made of walls, between the years 1632 and 1633.
The construction of the new establishment is connected with a legend according to whom Matei Basarab, who faught against the Turks at Scheia Ciobanului, in the area of Bechet, he arrived with the troops at Sadova.
After he prayed at the icon of Saint Nicholas from here, he promised that, if he will defeat in the battle, he will built up a church from walls.
On the 26th of August 1632 he won the battle and, becoming the prince of the country, he starts the construction.
Together with his wife, Elena, he founds more churches and monasteries, among which Sarindari and Plumbuita from Bucharest, Căldărușani, Maxineni, Govora and Arnota, where he is buried.
The church of the Sadova Monastery was completely reconditioned after the year 1900, being consecrated in 1904, in the presence of King Carol.
After the existent documents and especially from the paintings of the monastery, comes out the fact that it sheltered at first monks, but in 1959 becomes a community of nuns. However they were obligated to leave the place of worship following the decree 410, and the church was transformed in a chrism church.
In 1992 the monastic life from here re-begun and the establishment was populated with nuns, and in 1994 it became again to the community of monks, as it was initially.
The church is made from brick, with thick walls, built up on a foundation of boulders of stones.
It has an opened porch, quite capacious. Between the nave and the narthex there are two lateral thick piers, which separate the two rooms.
They support the porch on which the tower rests, of an octagonal shape, covered with plates of asbestos-cement.
The roof of the church is from galvanized plate, and the boarded floor, mosaic.
The wall are broken down by big, double windows and, in the interior, there is kept a fair amount of the original painting, cleaned in 1904.
In the exterior, a median thick belt, contorted, divides the walls in two registers. Both are embellished with cubicles, the ones from above having extremely elegant ornaments.
Under the cornice there is a saw belt, formed of three rows of bricks.
The recommence of the monastic life also imposed the reparation of the church and of the surrounding buildings,. giving back the place of worship its discrete beauty from the aforetime.
