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

Object

Images

 Moldovița Monastery

Data

GPS (47.657009124756; 25.571044921875)
district Suceava
region Vatra Moldoviţei
locality Vatra Moldoviţei
address
category Religious attractions
year 1532
ethnic Romanians

Description

The monastery was built during the reign of Petru Rareş, namely in 1532, then it was painted in 1537. This is one of the most important art elements built during his reign, reason for which it received a lot of gifts. The feast day of the church is „the Annunciation”, being protected by a wall with a length of 10 m, thickness of 1,2m and height of 6meters. On the eastern side, the wall has three massive towers, in the centre being the one placed above the main gate. The church has a trefoiled shape and is larger than the previous buildings, being noted through the harmony of the proportions, the beauty of the Moldavian style and the external painting of a large artistic value. The church can be accessed through a porch with high arcades and decorative Gothic elements. Of special value are the scenes still being kept, such as: the Doomsday, depicted on the eastern wall, the siege of Constantinople, depicted on the southern wall. Regrading the colors, the green and blue are predominant. In the church, of notice is the votive picture of Petru Rareş, his wife Elena and their sons Iliaş and Stephen. Between the years 1610 and 1612, upon the initiative of the bishop Efrem of Rădăuţi, the prior's house was built. It has some ornaments of Muntenian influence, being used as voivodal and episcopal residence. Today the ground floor of this building harbours a museum collection. Among the most valuable exhibits we mention: the epitaph of Stephen the Great (1494) and the one of the prior Anastasie (1484). This collection also exhibits „The Golden Apple” attributed by the Journalists` International Association (1975) for the efforts made by Romania in order to integrate the painted monasteries of Bukovina in the international tourism.