Orsova, Romania: Mraconia Monastery

Wait, wait ... that building in the center of the photo is a monastery? It seems a little crowded for that.

Indeed it is. And it's been around for a while - about 1,000 years in various forms. You just can't see the road that runs by it.

History hasn't been kind to the place, as various groups such as the Turks and the Austrians have popped up every so often to destroy it. The 1700s were a particularly tough time for the monastery). The Communists allowed it to be a parish church for a couple of decades. Then the dam was built on the Danube, and the facility had to be rebuilt again because the water level went up. The locals call the ruins of the old place "The Underwater Monastery."

But happily, the facility was rebuilt in 1989, and it became a monastery again in 2007. It adds a little culture to the boat ride on the Danube.