The fame of the Bucovina monasteries reaches well beyond the borders of Romania. The churches were all built in the 15th and 16th centuries, during a time of great political and cultural development in Moldavia. The period is related to the 50-year rule of King Stephen the Great.
The frescoes are typical of Byzantine churches of that time, but what makes them so unique are the frescoes on the outside! Although they were painted more than 400 years ago, their gorgeous colors have been preserved despite being exposed to such harsh weather. The Bucovina monasteries were included in the Unesco World Heritage list in 1993. The gorgeous colours and details of the frescoes literally take your breath away.
Join Ciprian Slemcho and Monastery Tours for an unbelievable journey into the heart of rural Romania. Your personal tour guide will bring the stories of the monasteries to life on an unforgetable trip through history.
Afterward, we drove the few miles south to Voronet, the oldest of the monasteries. It has been dubbed the "Sistine Chapel of the East," and the comparison does Michelangelo credit. Swathed in a satiny indigo known as "Voronet blue," it was the most beautiful church I'd ever seen.
Read the full article in the Washington Post
The frescoes depict Biblical and other religious scenes, designed in segments almost like comic strips, to stir the imagination of the local people and thus educate them in the Orthodox spirit. Local touches bring realities to the people. Angels blow on traditional shepherd horns, sinners are depicted as pagans and Moses presents the Ten Commandments. The churches stand in the centres of the monastery complexes and have high pitched roofs that allow little sunlight.
