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Romanian Monasteries

Located at the crossroads of West and East, Romanian soil resisted the heathen invasions over the centuries and served as a battlefield for three great empires: Habsburg, Turk and Russian. During restless times marked by the ambitions of great empires, the locals found refuge and salvation in the shelter of monasteries and churches erected against the fury of history.

The Walachia monasteries – in the south of Romania – convey the deeds of the native rulers who bravely fought back the Ottomans, and the monasteries from the north of Moldavia, Bucovina, made it through time and brought into the present by their frescos the legends of the 15-18th centuries. For their contribution to the enrichment of universal art, they were awarded the title of UNESCO monuments.

Putna Monastery (Suceava County) is built on the site where, ages ago, fell the arrow shot into the sky by Stephan the Great and Holy. Built between 1466 and 1470, Putna began a new era in the Romanian medieval art. Over the years, Putna was an important centre of native medieval culture. It gathered great scholars, calligraphers and miniaturists and authors of several works of great historical, literary and artistic value. The workshop from Putna contributed to the perfection of Moldavian embroideries and, implicitly, to the achievement of a unitary style, fitting in the composition’s decorative elements of painting, stone carving and miniature.

Voronet [Voronetz] Monastery (Suceava County) is probable the most accomplished example of Moldavian architecture and painting. Known as the Eastern ‘Sistine Chapel’, the monastery was founded in 1488 also by Stephan the Great and Holy. Its frescos unfold like a lively colored carpet, whose shades seem borrowed from the nature. The fame of Voronet is due especially to its exterior painting (16th century), realized on an inimitable blue background, and known throughout the world as the ‘blue of Voronet’. Daylight gives to these colors and especially to this hue of blue a particular beauty, which has today become and expression defining a specific Romanian color. Exposed to the winds and rains, silvered by the white frost, these paintings have preserved the splendor they had several hundred years ago.

Moldovita [Moldovitza] Monastery (Suceava County), a religious settlement built by the ruler Petru Rares in 1532, is another imposing example of the talent that defines exterior Moldavian painting. On the south façade, the two favorite themes of artists from the time of Petru Rares are shown: prayer for the dead and Ieseu’s tree. The most spectacular is considered, however, the fresco showing the fall of Constantinopole.

Suceavita [Sucevitza] Monastery (Suceava County) was the last monastery with frescos built in Bucovina. The place was founded by the Metropolitan Bishop Gheorghe Movila in 1584, on the site of a wooden church built in the 15th century, and the themes of its paintings are inspired by the history of the Christians church and the life of Greek and Roman culture. Green is the predominant color.

Arbore Monastery (Suceava County) was built in 1503 and impresses even today by the freshness of its colors and perfection of its paintings. The most beautiful paintings are those on the western outer wall. Scenes from Genesis and the Saints’ lives are painted here. The vivid characters, with red cheeks and extremely elegant clothes, have the grace of a ballerina and a springy gait.

Cozia Monastery (Valcea County). Located 23 km away from Ramnicu Valcea and aprox. 170 km from Bucharest, the monastery is the most beautiful legacy of the ruler Mircea the Old. Built in 1388, the place bears the mark of Wallachian architecture, shaped by Byzantine influences. Within the museum of the monastery one may find today collection of icons, coins and books.

Govora Monastery (Valcea County) is located 17 km away from Ramnicu Valcea and aprox. 165 km from Bucharest. The first church, built as the beginning of the 15th century by the Vlad Dracul (father of Vlad Tepes), was restored and extended several times up until the 10th century. Later on, in 1710, the ruler Constantin Brancoveanu decorated the interior with paintings in the artistic style that bears his name.

Arnota Monastery (Valcea County). Legend has it that the ruler Matei Basarab decided to build this monastery on the site of the household where he found shelter in a difficult time, that is he was chased by the Turks. Today, Arnota monastery is one of Romania’s most valuable monuments, famous for its architectural style, sculptures and paintings.

Curtea de Arges Monastery (Arges County) was founded by the ruler Neagoe Basarab (1512-1517). The legend goes that one day Neagoe Basarab was riding across the Wallachian lands, searching for a place to build the most beautiful church the world had ever seen. When he reached Curtea de Arges, the ruler asked master Manole and another seven masons to start working. The eight started to work, but everything they built during the day collapsed overnight. In order to get rid of the curse, they decided to sacrifice the first human being they saw. The person happened to be master Manole’s wife herself.

Another monument-monastery from Oltenia is Tismana Monastery (1377), built on a rock, 36 km away from Targu-Jiu. In Wallachia, you can visit, among other such buildings: Antim Monastery (1715) and Cernica Monstery (1607), both located in Bucharest; Dealu Monastery, built by Radu Cel Mare between 1495-1508 at Targoviste, one of the most valuable monuments of Wallachian medieval architecture; and Crasna Monastery (1824), located 120 km north from Bucharest, in Schiulesti village. In Banat, you can find Hodos-Bodrog Monastery, documentary evidence of which dates back to 1177, and Munar Monastery, whose age can not be precisely determined, its beginnings dating back approximately from the 11-15th centuries. In Transylvania, the visitor can see Sambata Monastery (Fagaras, nearby Brasov) founded in 1696 by the ruler Constantin Brancoveanu.

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Romania at a glance

Attractions

Voronet Monastery

Manastirea Sucevita | Sucevita Monastery

Sucevita Monastery

Manastirea Govora | Govora Monastery

Govora Monastery