The Assumption Basilica of Cacica

Why come here

A neo-Gothic basilica raised by Polish miners, the only building of its kind on this whole list, and a chapel cut into salt in the mine next door. On 15 August tens of thousands of people gather here, of several confessions and nationalities, which happens nowhere else in Moldavia.

A national Marian sanctuary of the Catholic Church in Romania and, since the jubilee year 2000, a basilica minor, a title granted by Pope John Paul II. It was raised by the Catholic community gathered around the salt mine, mostly Poles brought from Galicia, and consecrated on 16 October 1904 by the archbishop of Lviv, Józef Bilczewski.

What you find only here

The only basilica minor in Bucovina

The title is granted by the pope, and few churches in Romania carry it. Cacica has had it since the jubilee year 2000, from John Paul II. The road there took four years and three steps, diocesan sanctuary in 1996, national sanctuary in 1997, basilica minor in 2000, and it started from an icon brought in 1809, a copy of the Black Madonna of Częstochowa. On 14 and 15 August the largest Catholic pilgrimage in Moldavia gathers here, and at the patron feast the liturgy is also served in Hungarian and in German.

In brief

Don't miss the hidden gems

You arrive in the courtyard and look around without knowing where. These are 3 places on the walls that people who know look for.

1. 1
   The chapel in the salt mine In the salt mine next door, underground.

   Cut into the mass of salt by the miners who worked here. The salt mine has hours and a ticket separate from the church's.

2. 2
   The clock bell tower On the main facade.

   Pressed red brick and cut stone, to a design made in Lviv. It is the only neo-Gothic building on the whole list.

3. 3
   The Polish villages around Solonețu Nou, Plesa, Poiana Micului.

   Communities that keep the language and the dress, a few kilometres away.

Curiosities: The Assumption Basilica of Cacica

Things that are less widely known, and that nobody tells you at the gate.

• The title of basilica minor, since 2000

  Pope John Paul II granted it in recognition of the scale of the Marian pilgrimages here. Few churches in Romania carry this title.

• The icon brought in 1809

  A copy of the Black Madonna of Częstochowa. Around it formed the cult that led, a century later, to the status of national sanctuary.

• Three steps up in rank, in four years

  Diocesan sanctuary in 1996, national sanctuary in 1997, basilica minor in 2000.

• Liturgies in several languages

  At the patron feast the liturgy is also served in Hungarian and in German, for the communities that come from far away.

• The statue of John Paul II

  Unveiled in 2010, in the square in front of the church, ten years after the title was granted.

How much time you need

If you only have 30 minutes: The basilica, then the salt mine if you have time.

Visiting rules

• Decent dress.
• The salt mine has its own hours, ticket and rules, separate from the church's.

When to go

What else is nearby

Suggested circuit: Cacica → Solonețu Nou → Poiana Micului, a day among the Polish villages.

Hours and fees change from one season to the next, and those above are the ones published on the monastery's own site. Checked in September 2026.