Romanian Monasteries

7/30/2019 Romanian Monasteries

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Romanian Monasteries

There is Indeed no other place in the world than Bucovina in Northern Moldavia, where a group of Orthodox monasteri

with their exterior mural paintings are to be seen. These Painted Monasteries are part of UNESCOs World Heritage for th

rarity and beauty. Another group are the Wooden Churches of Maramures, unique examples that combine Gothic style w

traditional timber construction.

With many photos and extensive information this website presents the unique and rich cultural heritage of Bucovin

Maramures, and Romania in general extensive travel information and guides, pictures, monasteries, churches, attractioand destinations all over Romania.

Bucovina is among the most attractive and frequented touristic area on Romanias map. It is not by chance that this a re

famous today in the whole world, was honored in 1975 with the international Pomme dOr prize, by the Internation

Federation of Journalists and Writers of Tourism and the ancient architectural monuments with inside and outside frescoe

from this part of the world were appointed by UNESCO in the list of the universal art monuments.

The impressive number of churches to be found in Bucovina, Romania, with their fine exterior and interior frescoes, ha

been preserved and handed down from mediaeval times, and because of their uniqueness and artistic value, were added

UNESCOs World Cultural Heritage List in 1993. There is, indeed, no other place in the world where such a group

churches, with such high quality exterior frescoes, are to be seen.

Summary: The Austrians gave the name Die Buchenland, The Land of Beech Woods to the area. Historical Bucovina w

about twice its present size, but the northern part now belongs to the Ukraine as a result of the Soviet-German Ribbentro

Molotov Pact of August 1940. What remains, forms partly the modern administrative county of Suceava. The county

Suceava is bound in the north by the Ukraine, and in the west by the Romanian region of Transylvania, with its counti

Bistria-Nsud and Maramure along the ridges of the Carpathians. On the eastern and southern sides are Moldavi

counties: Botoani and Iai in the east, Neam, Harghita and Mure in the sout

Bucovina is a synthesis of the variety, harmony and beauty of Romanian landscape, its richness of relief with mountain

tablelands, gorges, hills, fields, and valleys, its rivers, streams and lakes, its forests, flora and fauna.

The Eastern Carpathians extend from the Ukrainian frontier in the north to the Prahova River Valley far south. These a

the sub-Carpathians occupy the western two-thirds of Bucovina, while in the east lies the Suceava plateau. The mounta

region is made up of a series of parallel ranges (named obcini), oriented in a roughly north-south direction.

In broad terms, the climate of this region is temperate continental, but the physical conditions have created two major su

categories: the mountain and the plateau climate.


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The annual average temperatures vary between 0 oC on the highest mountains, 6 oC on the western side of the Obci

Mare, and around 7-8 oC on the plateaux. These temperatures are low when compared with the rest of Moldavia, b

Bucovinas climate is dominated by its mountain ranges. Long winters with much snow, and cool wet summers, are speci

to this area. Average yearly precipitation is 700 mm.

Mountains between the monasteries of Moldovita and Sucevita offer breathtaking views.

The forest reserve of Sltioara, near the Raru peak, encompasses one of the oldest woods in Romania, some of the tre

being over 400 years old. Multitudes of wild flowers range in colour from white to electric blue, pink to dark purple, o

possibly the most beautiful meadows in the country.

One of the natural reserves, on the terraces of Poiana Stampei, is for rare flowering plants. This is a paradise for bees, a

apiculture, one of the oldest occupations in Romania, is practised widely.

Tall mountain ranges cover the western parts of

Bucovina.

Isolated farms and small villages nestle between the hills.

Contemporary monuments are found occasionally.

Small villages isolated between the mountains.


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Small farms.

Hayrick

Isolated houses between the mountains.

Summary: Life in the rural environment is simple and complex at the same time: people still follow strict rules of behavio

and maintain ancient traditions, but modern life brings conflicting values even to the remotest villages. A land harmoniou

inhabited by various nationalities, Bucovina has withstood the most radical transformations of time and fashion, and h

preserved its unforgettable way of life.

Small family farms often raise poultry, besides hens, also ducks, geese and turkeys.

A typical farmyard in Bucovina generally includes the main house opposite the gate, the summer kitchen to the right, t

stable and hay barn to the left, a lower shed between the house and the barn, and a well and a kennel. When seve

generations live within the same yard, the parents or grandparents move to the summer kitchen, which becomes

secondary dwelling, with only one room and a hall. A typical farmyard in Bucovina generally includes the main hou

opposite the gate, the summer kitchen to the right, the stable and hay barn to the left, a lower shed between the house a

the barn, and a well and a kennel. When several generations live within the same yard, the parents or grandparents mov

to the summer kitchen, which becomes a secondary dwelling, with only one room and a hall.


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The walls of this farmhouse are only partly covered with rendering and show the log structure.

A peasant of average means had some hectares of land on the outskirts of the village. The land around the farm w

exploited for daily living, while the products obtained from the land farther away were sold, or exchanged, to assure th

living of the family throughout the year. The structure of the village differs for example from a village in Neam, where t

houses are lined along the main road, with an orchard behind the house and only a bed of flowers in front of it. In Bucovin

each house has its own well in the yard, while in Neam a common well is found by the road.

A man wearing traditional clothes for the Sunday service. Both his coat and his waistcoat are embroidered.

The folk costume is still worn daily by the old, while the younger generations wear uniform western clothes. They rare

wear traditional clothes apart from special occasions. The mens costume includes white trousers (iari), which have lo

legs to fold them several times over, as protection against humidity; a white shirt with mainly geometrical embroidery

black or brown; and a waistcoat (bundi) with the white leather turned out and the fur turned in, decorated with floral

geometrical motifs and with marten fur trimmings. Men also wear belts, either woven or made of leather. Sometimes t

leather belt is worn on top of the woollen one. The width of the belt depends on the altitude of the village the higher the village, the wider the belt. The future bride cut, sewed and embroidered the suit of her husband-to-be during the on

year-long engagement.

Women wear a similar waistcoat but the decoration is more colourful. The womens shirt is richly adorned with floral

geometrical motifs. It is said that the full decoration of the Bucovinean shirts recalls the decoration of the painted churche

Women wear one-piece wrap-around skirts (catrine) on top of the knee-length shirt, tied with a wide woven belt.


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There are specific clothes for the cold seasons, autumn and winter. The suman, used in autumn, is made of a very th

woollen felt cloth. The cojoc, is a knee-length fur coat, with the fur turned inside and the skin outside, decorated w

embroidered flowers.

The people of Bucovina not only greet strangers, but also offer a place to sleep, not for financial gain but because they a

hospitable, and consider it an honour to open the door of their house. And when hungry, the best traditional dishes a

served mmlig (maize polenta) with fresh cheese and cream, eggs, pork sausages, sarmale (cabbage or vine leav

stuffed with meat and rice), yoghurt, soup or rcituri (jellied meat). Nearly all food is heavy, and digestion is helped with

glass of uica (plum brandy). This is the only alcoholic drink commonly used, and is often drunk from the same glass beverybody at the table.

Various soups and bor (soup soured with fermented husk of wheat) are eaten every day. A thick mixture of boiled whe

grain, coliv, a patty-like cake for commemorating the dead is still prepared and eaten on special occasions.

Oven-baked dishes are usually flour-based cakes and pies. In poale-n bru -pies, cheese is wrapped in dough, in vrz

cabbage is used instead as filling (varz=cabbage). Of the traditional Easter baked goods, pasc is specific to the countrysid

and cozonac has its roots in the towns. Pasc is made of a rolled out sheet of yeast dough, covered with a mixture

cottage cheese, cream, eggs and sugar, decorated with a figure of a cross made with the dough, and baked in a round t

Cozonac is made of a sheet of the same dough, covered with nuts, rolled and baked in a high tin.

The people of Bucovina are famous sheep and cow breeders, and make very good milk products, which within the region

Moldavia face competition only from those made in the zone of Neam. Both Suceava and Neam are hilly, with an altitud

of 400 m 1,000 m, with beautiful meadows and good grass. The pastoral year starts in April and ends in October. Durin

this period the sheep stay at the sheepfold, outside the village, under the care of a shepherd. The owners of the she

receive milk and cheese periodically, depending on the number of their sheep. The shepherds are paid in produce rath

than money.

The same way of bartering was also used at flour mills when grinding grain, or at wine presses when crushing raisin

Nowadays, modern wine presses can be found in almost every house, but flour mills are owned by small companies, an

the payment is partly in flour and partly in money.

Bucovina is also known for its well-bred domestic birds and pigs, as well as for its excellent potato, cabbage, cauliflower an

fruit crops, especially apples, pears, plums and cherries. Cereals are also cultivated, but the crop is mainly meant to cov

the requirements of the homestead. Wood processing has always been one of the main occupations in Bucovina.

Among the traditional mask plays The Goat is one of the most frequently performed.


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The life of the Romanian peasant has always been structured around the yearly cycle of labour, agriculture, anim

husbandry, hunting, fishing and beekeeping. The life of a peasant has always meant making the land productive, not w

the aim of becoming rich, but simply to assure a good living for his family. The yearly cycle is also followed in traditions an

beliefs, many related to a good crop and placating the spirits.

Among the most important traditional beliefs are the ancestors spirits, which are said to return among the living during t

winter holidays from Christmas to Epiphany. They do not come with harm in mind and are paid due respect. This belief

mainly visible in the mask playing tradition of this time of the year, with the Old Man and the Old Woman the most usu

personages. If these spirits delay the return to their own land there is a risk that they could turn dangerous. In order chase them away, garlic is put at the windows of the houses. The same mask playing tradition recounts also beliefs in th

supernatural powers of animals, such as the bear (symbolizing protection and strength), the goat, the ram, the ostric

which are represented with realistic masks.

VORONET

Year Built: 1488

Built by: Stephen the Great

Location: Vorone, Suceava County

Summary: The Church of St. George of the Vorone Monastery is possibly the most famous church of Romania. It is know

throughout the world for its exterior frescoes of bright and intense colours, and for the hundreds of well-preserved figur

placed against the renowned azurite background. The church of Vorone that Stephen the Great built included the chanc

the naos with its tower, and the pronaos.


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The Church of St. George seen from the southeast

The monastery is located on a riverbank, at the end of the long and narrow village of the same name, near the town of Gu

Humorului. The age of the monastic site is not known. A legend tells us that Stephen the Great, in a moment of crisis durin

a war against the Turks, came to Daniel the Hermit at his skete in Vorone and asked for advice. After he won the batt

against the Turks, keeping his promise to the monk, the prince built a new church, dedicated to St. George, the bringer

victory in battle. This is the present church that was built on the site of an older wooden church, the scanty remains

which have not been dated. The renowned researcher George Bal wrote in the 1920s that the churches of this period, a

in part also those built in the following century, were Byzantine churches built with Gothic hands.The structure and t

interior spatial solutions were linked to the Byzantine and south Slavic tradition.

South faade with scenes from the lives of Sts. Nicholas and John the New.

The exterior, with its buttresses and door and window frames were related to Western European High Gothic. T

influences spread from Transylvania and Poland with craftsmen who were invited especially to build churches.

The Church of St. George is dated with the commemorative inscription placed above the original entrance, now in t

exonarthex: I, Prince Stephen, by Gods mercy leading the Country of Moldavia, son of Prince Bogdan, started to build th

foundation at the Monastery of Vorone, dedicated to the Saint and Worshipped and Great Martyr and Victorious Georg

in the year 6996 (1488) the month of May, 26, the Monday after the Descent of the Holy Spirit, and completed it in th

same year, in the month of September, 14. The text shows that the church was built in less than four months. This tells

something about the high professional level of construction at the time, especially taking into account that the Church of S

Elijah in Suceava was built exactly at the same time.


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The Last Judgment on the west faade of the Church of St. George.

The church of Vorone that Stephen the Great built included the chancel, the naos with its tower, and the pronaos, whi

means that its plan was identical to the churches of Patrauti, St. Elijah and Miliui. In 1547, the Metropolitan Bishop

Moldavia Grigore Roca added the exonarthex to the west end of the church. The small windows, their rectangular fram

of crossed rods and the receding pointed or shouldered arches of the interior doorframes are Gothic. The south and nor

doors of the exonarthex of 1547 have rectangular frames, which indicate a transition period from Gothic to RenaissancBut, above them, on each wall is a tall window with a flamboyant Gothic arch. The whole west faade is without an

openings, which indicates that the intention of Metropolitan Roca was since the beginning to reserve it for frescoes.

The commemorative inscription of the Church of St. George is placed above the original entrance, which at present lea

from the exonarthex to the pronaos.

The exonarthex, as recounted above, was added by the Metropolitan Grigore Roca in 1547. This addition changed the loof the small church, which up to now had been nearly identical with the still existing churches of Ptrui and St. Elijah

Suceava. The exonarthex is a rectangular space with a transversal barrel vault. The west wall is without an opening, but

both lateral walls there is an entrance and a tall Gothic window.

During the half century that separates the paintings of the exonarthex from those of the naos, Moldavian art had evolve

from sober and rigorous to more complex, decorative and lively. Floral decorations fill all available empty space, divi

scenes and registers, and accentuate architectural elements such as niches and arches. The clothes of the figures turn fro

simple into sumptuous, and the bleak landscapes are now filled with vegetation. Details win ground where earlier spiritu

intensity was most important.


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Voronet is 4 km south of Gura Humorului where you can find accommodations and travel information. The town can b

reached by railway after a 47 km ride from Suceava and 32 km from Campulung Moldovenesc, while by road the distan

on E 58 is 36 km to both Suceava and Campulung Moldovenesc.

Contact: Address: Voronet commune, Gura Humorului, 725300, Suceava County

Phone: + 40 (230) 235325 Mobil: + 40 (744) 560001

General view of the Voronet Monastery. General view of the Voronet Monastery.

Details from faade of Voronet Monastery.

The vault of the exonarthex depicts

The Menology.


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Saints and Holy Women are painted on the

Lower register of the pronaos.

SUCEVITA

Year Built: 1583

Construit de: Built by: Ieremia, Simion and Gheorghe Movil

Location: Sucevia, Suceava County

Summary: This classic Moldavian church with its five rooms, shows the first new architectural tendencies: smaller niche

and three bases for the tower. The frescoes are very remarkable, colourful and well preserved.

Sucevita Monastery.


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Three Movil brothers built the Church of the Resurrection of Sucevia around 1583. The church is the only painted churc

that was not founded by a ruling prince, although the Movils were descendants of Petru Rare on their mothers sid

Quite soon after the monastery was built Ieremia Movil became the ruler of Moldavia, and his brother Simion reigned

Walachia. The third brother, Gheorghe, who was during that period the Bishop of Rdui, rose to become the Metropolit

of Moldavia.

The church was painted around 1595, nearly half a century after its sister churches. It is considered the last flowering

the custom of painting the church faades that mark the reigns of Stephen the Great and Petru Rare. Building and painti

a church that closely resembled the edifices their ancestors raised decades before, was a way for the Movils to claim to part of the royal line of Stephen the Great.

East apse of the church.

At the same time, though, the monastic compound of Sucevia and its buildings herald the architectural innovations of thfollowing century.

The massive precinct walls were built after 1595, during the reign of Ieremia Movil. Each wall is nearly 100 metres lon

three metres wide and more than six metres tall, and create the atmosphere of a mediaeval fortress. The walls a

strengthened with buttresses, bulwarks and imposing towers. Narrow loopholes in the upper part of the walls indicate th

a defensive catwalk encircled the compound.

Each of the five towers has a different plan. The square gate tower with its pointed octagonal turret is in the middle of th

north wall. A vaulted gateway, with heavy buttresses on either side, leads through to the compound. Above the arch of th

gateway is a semicircular niche with a painting of The Resurrection and the carved coat of arms of Moldavia. Above t

gateway, there are two storeys with rooms.


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Sucevita Monastery general view.

On the first floor is a small chapel dedicated to the Annunciation. The northwest tower is the bell tower of the monastery

is the most massive one of them all, with three three-tiered buttresses on the outside. The buttresses were added later,

were the gate tower buttresses. On the ground floor is a small laboratory for the restoration of icons, where trained nu

work. On the top floor is the belfry with four big arched openings. The two bells that Ieremia Movil donated in 1605 a

still used daily. The other three towers are octagonal but each different from the other: the northeast tower has thr

storeys, the southeast five and the southwest two.

The south faade of the Church of the Resurrection.

A wooden glazed gallery was built on the north wall during the 19th century.The slender wooden turret has the date 18

carved on it.The existing monastic buildings abut the east wall. The central part is original, and houses, besides the nun

cells, a museum with embroideries, manuscripts, religious objects and icons. The Church of the Resurrection, although st

built on the model of the classic Moldavian church, shows the first new architectural tendencies.

The church has the five rooms of a large Moldavian monastery church: the chancel, naos, burial chamber, pronaos a

exonarthex. On the apses are tall niches, but they no longer reach nearly to the eaves as before. The row of small nich

that used to go around the church faades has been omitted.

The tower is for the first time placed on three bases, a practice that was followed some years later in Dragomirna. On eith

side of the exonarthex are two small open porches of Walachian influence.


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General view of the north wall of the exonarthex.

The porches were added quite soon after the church was built, by Ieremia Movil himself.

The votive painting in the naos shows a small porch on the south faade of the model of the church that the Prince holds

his hand. The two porches are not identical. Two pillars and two pilasters, all square, support the south porch. On thre

sides are ogee-arched openings, and the entrance is from the south. The entrance to the north porch is from the east.

Here there are altogether six openings, two on each side. In the outer corners are round twisted pillars. The pillars betwe

them are hexagonal, and striped horizontally with red brick decoration.

The frescoes are very remarkable, colourful and well preserved. The number of scenes and personages is higher than in a

other church in Moldavia. Unlike most other cases, the names of the painters are known: the brothers Ion and Sofron

who carried out the work from 1595 to 1596.

Sucevita is situated 19km southwest of Radauti on DN 17A. In Radauti you can find accommodations and travel informatio

The town is 37 km northwest of Suceava that can be reached on the main European roads E85, E58, but also on the railw

Bucharest-Chernivtsi-Lvov or by air. The city has an airport with flights to Bucharest and even abroad.

Contact: Address: Sucevita, 727510, Suceava County Phone: + 40 (230) 417110 Mobil: + 40 (744) 155952

Church Of Sucevita Monastery. Sucevita Monastery, general view.


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Sucevita Monastery seen from southwest.

A scene from the naos.

General view of the Sucevita Monastery.

The painted vault of Sucevita Monastery


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Sts. Peter and Paul on the tower drum.

The impressive Ladder of St. John of Sinai on

the north faade of Sucevita church.

The Prayer of All Saints on the south apse

of Sucevita church.

MOLDOVITA


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Year Built: 1532

Built by: Prince Petru Rare

Location: Vatra Moldoviei, Suceava County

Summary: The most distinctive feature of the Church of the Annunciation is the open exonarthex with its three tall arch

on the west faade. The exterior paintings are the best preserved of all the churches of Bucovina.

The church seen from the east.

Alexander the Kind built the first monastery in Moldovia on the banks of the Moldovia River at the beginning of the 15

century. The site chosen was far from other villages, in the middle of the forest. He donated lands and Tartar slaves to t

establishment, and the first community around the compound was created. The monastery is mentioned for the first tim

in a document of 1402, and successive other documents tell of new donations. There is no record of how, or when, t

monastery was destroyed, but possibly an earthquake ruined it at the beginning of the 16th century.

Only low stone ruins remain of the first church. It was built of rough blocks of stone on a triconch plan, with three apse

Originally, it had only a chancel, a naos and a narrow pronaos. When the monastic community increased in size, a secon

much larger, pronaos was built to the west end of the edifice. As is the case with many other monasteries built during th


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first century of Moldavias existence, such as Probota and Humor, Moldovita was also re-founded by Petru Rare. The ne

church was built in 1532 in a different location, several hundred metres uphill from the river.

General view of Moldovita Monastery

Petru Rare founded the present Church of the Annunciation, as is confirmed by the commemorative inscription on t

south faade of the church, to the left of the entrance. The church is built on the usual triconch plan of three apses used f

all monastic establishments. The church is rather long, as it has, besides the obligatory chancel, naos and pronaos, a bur

chamber and an exonarthex. A graceful octagonal lantern tower with four windows stands above the naos, and a hidde

treasury room was built above the burial chamber. The open exonarthex with large openings is its most distinctive featu

built on the model of the Church of Humor.

The long faades are smooth, except for a row of small niches that surrounds the whole church. The three apses a

decorated with tall niches that reach almost to the eaves. The four big pronaos windows have pointed Gothic arches an

stone tracery in the upper part. The other five windows are much smaller, with slightly pointed arches and a square fram

of crossed rods.

A nun hammering a toaca in the yard of Moldovita Monastery.


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The church was painted in 1537 both inside and outside. The significant stylistic differences between various scenes indica

that there must have been several painters at work in Moldovia.

In 1607 Bishop Efrem of Rdui built the solid precinct wall with three towers. The gate tower and the southeast corn

tower are square, but the northeast corner tower is round. A vaulted gateway leads through the gate tower into t

compound. The arch of the gateway is decorated with carved stone rosettes. In the northwest corner of the compound i

two-storey building, the former clisiarnia, or treasury house. Now the building is the monastery museum. The collecti

includes embroideries, icons, liturgical books, archaeological finds and the church seat of Petru Rare.The exterior painti

of the Church of the Annunciation is the best preserved among all the painted churches of Bucovina. Especially on the souand east faades, there are paintings that have not been faded by the passage of time, and that are able to suggest ho

bright the decorated faades were during the reign of Prince Rare.

Just under the eaves are 105 niches, each painted with an angel. On the western pillar, just to the left of the entrance a

the tall opening of the south faade, there are three Military Saints on prancing horses and with either a lance or a sword

hand. Farthest up is St. George, then St. Demetrius and St. Mercurius.

South faade of the church.

On the south faade is the Akathistos Hymn as usual. The 24 stanzas of the Hymn cover four registers. First come the twel

historical stanzas that recount the birth of Christ: The Annunciation, The Conception, The Virgin Mary Meets St. Elizabet

The Doubting of Joseph, The Birth of Christ, The Way of the Three Magi to Bethlehem, The Adoration of the Magi, Th

Return of the Three Magi, The Flight to Egypt, and The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple.

The church of Moldovita Monastery.

The inner painting is faithful to the tradition, but The Crucifixion (placed in the naos) is considered the most valuable wo

on this theme from the churches of Bucovina. In the apse of the altar, the scene from The Last Supper presents Jesus Chr

in the center. The richness of the figurative and decorative elements is impressive, what the painting of Holy Mary

concerned, placed in the arch of the pronaos. The same can be said about the Gracious Mother of God, painting placed

the tympanon of the portal. The color specific to Modovita Monastery is yellow.


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The museum of the monastery holds manuscripts dating the 15th century, manuscripts which make references to the w

the monastery school used to be organized and to any other general cultural activities.

The most valuable manuscripts are the ones that date from the 15th century, which are true treasures of culture and feud

art. Today, they are kept in the library of the Dragomirna Monastery. The Four Gospels (1613) and a psalm book (161

were written calligraphically in here. Moldovita Monastery is one of the few monuments that contain original assemblies

carved furniture. The princely chair of Petru Raress time (the 16th century) is the most valuable work of this kind

Moldavia. The embroidery works offered by the voivode Stefan the Great (the 15th century) are as well precious.

In the courtyard of the Moldovita Monastery.

Although the monastery is visited by hundreds of people daily, the nuns that live there can hardly be seen, as they lead

very reserved life. They either work in the household, in the painting and embroidery workshops or they use their talent

create icons in miniature from porcelain dust. The nuns have a silent face, specific to the hermits living in the mountain

They always keep their heads pointed to the ground, as a sign of obedience towards the divinity. They straighten the

heads only when they pray looking at the icons and saying Hallelujah.

Moldovita Monastery is 27 km north of Cmpulung Moldovenesc. In Cmpulung Moldovenesc you can fi

accommodations and travel information. Cmpulung Moldovenesc is 72 km from Suceava on E58. Suceava can be reache

on the main European roads E85, E58, but also on the railway Bucharest-Chernivtsi-Lvov or by air. The city has an airpo

with flights to Bucharest and even abroad.

Contact: Address: Vatra Moldovitei, 727595, Suceava County

Phone: + 40 (230) 336348 Mobil: + 40 (744) 615458


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PUTNA

Year Built: 1466-1469

Built by: Stephen the Great

Location: Putna, Suceava County

Summary: The present church was practically rebuilt between 1653 and 1662 by Vasile Lupu and his successors.

View of the church from the south-east.

The imposing Putna Monastery is situated about 30 km northwest from the town of Radauti, near the Putna River. Hig

forested hills and wild landscape surround the monastery and the village with the same name.

Stephen the Great built the monastery as his burial place between 1466 and 1469, and the Church of the Assumption of th

Holy Virgin was consecrated one year later.


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The monastery museum has an important collection of mediaeval art objects, mainly from the time of Stephen the Gre

and his immediate successors.

The first superior was Archimandrite Ioasaf from Neamt Monastery, the first important monastic centre in Moldavia. T

superior was accompanied by calligraphers, who were the first teachers of the new monastery school that followed t

example of the school of Neam. It started as a school of rhetoric, logic and grammar for future chroniclers and clerical sta

but soon Putna became one of the most significant cultural centres in the country.

Only three years after the monastery was completed, a fire destroyed it, but it was immediately rebuilt. It was destroyagain in 1653 by the Cossack army of Timu Hmelnichi, the son-in-law of Prince Vasile Lupu. The present church w

practically rebuilt between 1653 and 1662 by Vasile Lupu and his successors. The ground plan follows the plan of th

original edifice, as could be ascertained when the foundations of the first church were excavated from 1968 to 197

The tomb of Stephen the Great in Putna Monastery.

The monastery museum.

Stephen the Great ruled for half a century, 1457-1504. He earned his surname Great for his several successful militacampaigns against the infidel Turks. He is also famous for building and influencing the building of dozens of churches a

monasteries all over Moldavia. Allegedly he founded a religious edifice after each important military victory. In the Put

monastery, is found the tomb of king Stephen the Great and several of his family members. His tomb became a place

pilgrimage. The icon waves and the tomb covers are evidence of the creative spirit of the Moldavian artists of Stephen t

Greats time.

The church was unusually large for its time, but the explanation was that it was built to be the burial place of the Prince,

family and his successors. The thick walls are made of massive blocks of stone, and twelve buttresses support the wa

Originally there were only six, and the other six were added during the 17th and 18th centuries.

The whole south wing of the monastery was rebuilt to house a big conference room.

Although the present church follows the ground plan of a typical 15th and 16th century Moldavian church, it has ma

architectural and decorative features that are typical of 17th century churches. The exterior walls are not the smoo

faades of earlier times, but two rows of blind arcades go around the building, smaller ones above the twisted stone cab

and tall ones below it.The stone cable motif was first used in the church of the Dragomirna Monastery in 1609.

The tall windows of the exonarthex, three on the west faade and one each on the north and south faades, follow t

shape and size of the tall blind arcades. Their upper parts are decorated with intricately carved stone tracery. All the oth


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windows are much smaller, with pointed arches and square carved stone frames. It had been usual to have only on

window in each of the three apses, but here there are three windows in each apse, another late influence.

Church of Putna Monastery.

Also the lantern tower differs from the traditional ones: it is two-tiered. On the lower octagonal part, there is a sm

window on each side with a twisted Baroque pilaster in between them. On the upper, narrower part, there are the usu

four windows.The entrance to the church goes through two lateral doors. Two groined vaults span the exonarthex, which

an unpainted room full of light from the five big windows. It is possible that the exonarthex was added to the constructiolater in the 17th century. Fragments of mural painting have been discovered on the east wall, but in areas that are no long

visible: under the present floor level and in the attic, behind the vaults.

Putna Monastery, general view.

Putna is in the valley of the Putna River, 22km northwest of Radauti on DN 2H. In Radauti you can find accommodations a

travel information. The town is 37 km northwest of Suceava, following E85 for 22km and then turning left on DN 2H for 1

km, on the plain between the Suceava and Sucevita Rivers. Suceava can be reached on the main European roads E85, E5

but also on the railway Bucharest-Chernivtsi-Lvov or by air. The city has an airport with flights to Bucharest and ev

abroad.

Contact Address: Putna, 727455, Suceava County Phone: + 40 (230) 414055


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Putna Monastery.

Putna Monastery.Putna Iconostasis.

HUMOR

Year Built: 1530

Built by: Great Chancellor Toader Bubuiog

Location: Humor, Suceava County

Summary:The Church of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin is without the tower typical to the churches of the region, as

was built by a nobleman, and not by a ruling prince. Its open exonarthex is the first of its kind in Bucovina.


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The church of Humor seen from the east.

The monastery of Humor is up the Humor River, near the town of Gura Humorului, among wooded hills. Around it, in t

river valley, the village has grown that bears the name of the monastery, Manastirea Humorului.

The ruins of the first church of Humor Monastery, or Homor, as it was known at that time, are about 500 m down the roa

A document issued by Alexander the Kind in 1415 confirmed that Judge Ivan (Oana) had built a monastery in Homor. Judg

Ivan was a wealthy boyar who also had houses and a stone church in Tulova. The ruins show a small monastic church wi

three apses, and possibly a dome above the naos, as indicated by the massive supporting pilasters in the corners of t

room. A square pronaos was added to the structure some time later. The church was built of massive blocks of ston

decorated outside with enamelled ceramic discs and painted inside, as fragments of paint recovered by archaeologis

show.

The church of Humor seen from the south-west.

During the 15th century, Humor was among the most important monasteries in the country. In 1483 Stephen the Gre

ordered calligrapher Nicodim, monk of the Putna Monastery, to copy The Four Gospels, a manuscript decorated wi

miniatures. The model was the manuscript of Gavril Uric, made in 1429, but The Four Gospels of Humor includes a uniqu

portrait of the Prince kneeling in front of the Holy Virgin and the Child. Some years later, the manuscript was bound

hammered silver.


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It is not known why a monastery of such importance was ruined. But many other monasteries faced the same fate aroun

the same time. It is possible that some kind of disaster caused their partial collapse during the 3rd decade of the 16

century.

The Last Judgment seen through the window openings of the west faade.

The open exonarthex of the Humor church is the first of its kind in Bucovina, and later imitated only in the architecture

the church of Moldovia. Already in the last decade of the 15th century, the church of Balinesti had been built with a sm

open porch on the south side of the building. In 1522, only eight years before Humor, the church of Parhauti had been bu

with a two-storeyed open exonarthex, which due to its lower roof and only two openings at ground level, seems a clos

space. Humor, where the four big openings limit a larger part of the exonarthex than the pillars between them, is truly

open space, a transitional area between the exterior and the interior.

The east wall and the vault of the exonarthex are reserved for a single ample composition, The Last Judgment, following t

example of the St. Nicholas Church of Probota. The noble figure of Christ is Adam and Eve. Below them is the Hand of G

holding the scales to weigh the souls, and the Archangel Michael defending poor souls from the devils. The whole left siof the wall shows on three registers groups of Righteous, Saints, Holy Women, Martyrs and Prophets . St. Peter is leadi

them towards Paradise , a garden on a white background, where the Virgin Mary and the three patriarchs, Abraham, Isa

and Jacob, wait for the saved souls.

The entrance to the open exonarthex is framed with scenes of saints and holy men.

Petru Rare started to rebuild the older ruined churches. In 1530, the same year he started building his burial place

Probota, also the construction of a new church, dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin, was begun in Humor. T

initiative seems to have been of Rare, as stated on the commemorative inscription on the south faade of the church, b

the new founder was a nobleman, the Great Chancellor Toader, named in later documents Bubuiog or Boboiog. He w

married to Anastasia, the daughter of the highest nobleman in Stephen the Greats court, Chancellor Ioan Tutu, founder

Balinesti Church.

Anastasia is portrayed as a small child on the votive painting of Blineti. All that is known about Toader Bubuiog is that

was very faithful to Stephen the Great, and then to his successors Bogdan II, Stefanita and Petru Rare,and that he was se

on missions to neighbouring sovereigns. The monastery was plundered several times during the next centuries, as recordin The Four Gospelsof Humor, which itself was stolen several times and always bought back.

The most well-known raid was led by the son-inlaw of Prince Vasile Lupu in 1653, during a power struggle between th

prince and his rival to the throne.

One recently restored 16th century Imperial icon: The Assumption of the Holy Virgin.


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Vasile Lupu had already fortified the monastery in 1641, by building a precinct wall and a tall watch tower, the only part st

remaining of the defences. Seemingly, they were not of much help.

In 1775, the new Austrian administration of Bucovina abolished the monastery. The church was transformed into a par

church, and the monastic buildings were abandoned and ruined. In the 1980s, a new church was built for the parish of t

village, and the former monastery church was opened for visits. The monastic community was refounded in 1992, and

1993, together with six other churches with exterior frescoes, the church of Humor was included in the World Heritag

List.Although the church of the Assumption of the Virgin is not smaller than the other painted churches, the absence of th

tower and the comparatively low roofline give the impression of reduced dimensions. On the faades can be found all tthemes that are also found on the faades of the other churches painted during the reigns of Petru Rare.

Obviously, the very well preserved frescoes on the south faade have assured the fame of Humor. Only the lowest regis

has been eroded.A row of niches runs all around the church, in which are depicted Angels. Between the niches ae Seraphs

Humor is 6 km north of Gura Humorului on DJ 177. In Gura Humorului you can find accommodations and travel informatio

Gura Humorului can be reached by railway after a 47 km ride from Suceava and 32 km from Cmpulung Moldovenesc, wh

by road the distance on E 58 is 36 km to both Suceava and Cmpulung Moldovenesc. Suceava can be reached on the ma

European roads E85, E58, but also on the railway Bucharest-Chernivtsi-Lvov or by air. The city has an airport with flights

Bucharest and even abroad.

Contact:

Address: Manastirea Humorului commune, 727355, Suceava County

Phone: + 40 (230) 231411; Mobil: +40 (744) 827316;

E-mail: [email protected]

Romanian Monasteries

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