NATURE, ART AND RELIGION
THE MONASTERIES OF BUCOVINA

  • INTRODUCTION
    During our stay in Romania we took a trip to Bukovina , a Romanian region situated in the northern part of Moldavia. The name of Bukovina dates back to its annexation by the Hapsburgs in 1774 (which lasted until after WW I), and it means a land covered by beech forests. This part of Romania is especially beautiful, with a clean unspoiled nature, and a unique landscape . Here we visited the famous ortodox 'Painted Monasteries of Bucovina' .
    The churches and the monasteries are in perfect harmony with the mountains, forests and rivers of the surrounding landscape and meant to create a profound communion between the the human being and the sacred world being, having the sign of the Trascendental.The landscape helps conveying a meditative atmosphere.
    There are 48 monasteries in total ,seven of which have been included on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
    Some of them are surrounded by fortified walls, built to protect against invaders, expecially Turks. These unique monasteries and Byzantine churches with their exceptional exterior frescoes are among the most fascinating sights in Romania.
    The monasteries were built during the 15th-16th centuries at a time marked by the personalities of the Moldavian prince Stephen the Great (1457-1504), and of his son, Petru Rares (1530-1538; 1541-1546).
    Stephen the Great was an illustrious army commander, a defender of christendom and a prolific promoter of culture. In his time, monasteries were not decorated with exterior polychromous frescoes, but with colourful enameled ceramics placed around the steeples and below the cornices.
    It was only by the end of the 15th century, and then all along the 16th century, mainly during Petru Rares' time, that exterior mural paintings flourished in Moldavia. Its pictoral texts combine Byzantine forms and Western book miniature painting with Romanian folk tradition and intended to teach Christianity to the illiterate by means of pictures.
    At those times, in fact ,peasant armies would gather for battle inside the monasteries' walls, and to educate and entertain the illiterate soldiers and camp-followers the exteriors of the churches were adorned with paintings of biblical stories and other Christian themes, including a number of anti-Ottoman messages.The Bucovinean churches represent definitely an open Bible.
    Although the north-facing walls of most monasteries have been damaged by centuries of rain and wind blowing from Russia, the images on the other walls have astonishingly retained their original vivacity, including the remarkable intensity of colour .
    Our itinerary covers the painted monasteries near Suceava : Humor, Voronet, Moldovita, Sucevita ,Putna and the small village of Radauti
  • Humor Monastery

    Humor Monastery is set on a hill top in one of the most fascinating valleys of the Suceava county landscapes where the river Humor flows. This natural setting is associated with an original architectural and decorative diversity. The Church of the Humor Monastery was founded in 1530 under the reign of Petru Rares and was decorated with its marvellous frescoes by the artist Toma from Suceava in 1535. The church was dedicated to the Assumption of the Mother of the God .
    Nearby there are the ruins of another church, older than the Church of Humor Monastery, those ruins belong to an ancient church which was constructed during the reign of Alexander the Kind in 1415.
    Several series of images representing scenes of Holy Virgin's Life, portraits of the saints and the cycle of Christ Passion as well as other sacred images, according to the Orthodox tradition, complete this great collection of fresco-paintings
    Among them the most precious are the icon of the Achathis Hymn of the Virgin , the icon of the Assumption of the Mother of the God, the portraits of the great Hermits of christianity and Angels which date back to the XV century


  • Voronet Monastery

    The monastery, built in 1488 by Stephen the Great, is a marvellous example of Romanian-Byzantine art and iconography.
    The 16th century monastery was made up of four churches, painted in blues, greens and reddish brown (from oriental madder pigment) but nowdays only a church has survived , entitled to ST George , may be one of the most impressive.
    The predominant colour of the artwork at Voronet is the worldwide famous vivid "blue of Veronet", obtained by a dust made from lapislazzuli that serves as a background to the designs.
    The frescoes, painted between 1547 and 1550, have often been addressed as " the Bible of the Poor" because they represent the main dogma of the Ortodox religion.

    Among them, no doubt the real masperpiece of art is the magnificent "Last Judgement ". This fresco and the brilliant colour of external walls have earned Voronet the name of 'Sistine Chapel of the East' as the famous italian painter Michelangelo used the same colour later to paint the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel in Rome
  • Moldovita Monastery

    Built in 1532 by Prince Petru Rares, this monastery is located on the stone ruins of a former monastery and includes inside its walls the Church of the Annunciation whose distincive features are the rised naos , the open exonarthex with its three tall arches on the west facade, the gothic windows and doors, and an octagonal plan.
    A vaulted gateway leads through the gate tower into the compound. The arch of the gateway is decorated with carved stone rosettes. In the northwest corner of the compound is a two-storey building, the former treasury house. Now the building is the monastery museum.
    The collection includes embroideries, icons, liturgical books, archaeological finds and the church seat of Petru Rare?.
    The church was painted in 1537 both inside and outside . The exterior painting of the Church of the Annunciation is the best preserved among all the painted churches of Bucovina.
    Just under the eaves are 105 niches, each painted with an angel. On the western pillar, just to the left of the entrance and the tall opening of the south façade, there are three Military Saints on prancing horses and with either a lance or a sword in hand. Farthest up is St. George, then St. Demetrius and St. Mercurius.
  • Sucevita Monastery

    Initially built as a fortress, Sucevita is the last decorated monastery of Bucovina ,standing in the middle of a breathtaking mountain background which has earned it the name of " green jewel".
    The powerful and well kept stone fortification walls and towers have best preserved the paintings from decay.
    Sucevita' glorious frescoes show a strong influence of Russian art and follow the tradition of the 16th century. A legend carved in the walls of the fortress tells us about a woman that worked 30 years for the construction of Sucevita, by carrying stones from the mountains. Her face is now sculptured for eternity in a rock.
  • Putna Monastery

    One Kilometer far from the village bearing the same name, the Putna Monastery has a very interesting story regarding its location.
    The chronicles said that Stephen the Great launched his arrow from the top of a mountain that was in the neighborhood of the monastery and on the very place the arrow fell, the sanctuary or the altar was built.
    Putna was the greatest monastery ever built by Stephen the Great , so glorious that its paintings were covered in gold.
    Owing to several fires, wars and earthquakes, the external golden paintings were destroyed, but the interior remained mostly untouched, for the delight of its visitors.
    The Pronaos hosts the marble tombstones of Stephen the Great ,his two wives and some relatives of his.
  • Radauti
    In this small village at the bottom of the eastern Carphazian mountains we visited the oldest stone church of Moldavia, "Sfantu Nicolae" (St NICHOLAUS),built by Bogdan I ( 1359-65) in Romanic style with gotic and bizantine decorations