Historical and ethnographic heritage – part of the sustainable
development of tourism in Bukovina
HERITAGE
MIS-ETC Code: 829

Object

Images

”Saint Nicholas” Wooden Church

Data

GPS (47.240077972412; 25.696437835693)
district Suceava
region Broşteni
locality Broşteni
address
category Religious attractions
year Sec.XVIII
ethnic Romanians

Description

Known as ”Ion Creangă”Church-Museum, it was built in the second half of the XVIIIth century in the village (today town) of Broșteni. Over time, the religious edifice had a double role, namey that of parish church and school. Among the pupils who went to this school is Ion Creangă, who lived in Broșteni during the period from 1848 and until 1849. Today, the church is a museum. The edifice was made of fir and yew by the inhabitants of Broșteni village with the help of the inhabitants of the neighbouring villages, being built on the site of an older church. The master builders were Petru Erei and his brother Ioniță, who were brought from Bukovina. On the framework of the church porch there is an inscription, carved in wood, of which only broken fragments can be deciphered: ”Let it be known that this Holy and Godly church was made by me Erei Petru with my brother Ionita”. They performed this work under the guidance of a monk named Daniil from Voroneț, during that period Broșteni being part of Braniștea Voronețului. The church was used by the Broșteni parishioners for almost one hundred years, until 1865, when the landowner Alecu Baloș (Balj) contributed to the construction of a larger church, of stone and brick. This church existed until 1917, when it was demolished by the Austro-Hungarian troops and the material was transported with the cable car on the Afiniș hill, in order to build the objectives necessary for the army during the First World War. In 1883, with the visit of the King Carol the Ist to Broșteni, it was ordered that the old wood church to be covered and to be preserved as a ”cherished old jewel”, where all old books and things to be collected and kept. In the year 1950, the wood church was turned into a village museum of ethnography, popular art and local history under the name of ”Ion Creangă” Church-Museum, while the near-by masonry church works as parish church.The church is built out of fir beams chipped in four edges in dovetail, being reinforced with yew wood and nails forged by master blacksmith. This place of worship was built on a foundation of stone tiles. The wide eaves are supported by consoles placed in recesses decorated with the rosette motif. The roof is high, with steep slopes and covered with fish-scales shingles. This place of worship is foreseen with a south-side opened church-porch with a tower bell rising above. Over time, this edifice underwent no modifications, this being its original shape. The roof though was restored several times, the last time in 2004. The entry to the church is made from the porch, through the door placed in the southern wall of the narthex. The church has never been painted at the inside. The iconostas is made out of a single piece of wood, with naïve painting, depicting scenes like ”The last supper”, ”Saint Nicholas” or the 12 orthodox feasts.