The last touring day in Romania was completely full- we started in Gura Humorului and ended in Iasi - started with painted monasteries of UNESCO fame and ended with Jewish history and sites near the border with Moldova. The final day of Romania - as we make our farewells to Cornl at the border in the morning and transfer to Natasha in Moldova along with Valentin for our new driver. We have grown fond of Cornl who is extremely knowledgeable - he is quiet but has a terrific sense of humor and we have really enjoyed spending this time with him.
As we had come into the Moldovia region of Romania (not to be confused with the country of Moldova - which is next door) we started seeing a great deal of farm houses with the local tin work on the roof lines and on the gates and all sorts of decorated parts of their homes. Every one of them was different and nearly every one was extremely beautifully done detailed metal work.
here are a few photos of one of them that we slowed down for so I could take a few pictures-
but on to the churches- the stunning frescoed churches-
The eight UNESCO World Heritage churches of northern Moldavia were built from the late 15th century to the late 16th century, their external walls covered in fresco paintings, are masterpieces inspired by Byzantine art. They are authentic and particularly well preserved. Far from being mere wall decorations, the paintings form a systematic covering on all the facades and represent complete cycles of religious themes.Their exceptional composition, the elegance of the characters, and the harmony of the colors blend perfectly with the surrounding countryside. (from the UNESCO website)
so the three monasteries we visited before leaving the area of Bucovina are the Voronet, the Humorului and the Moldovita... and I have lots of information on each of them because they are super famous.
Humor Monastery located in Mănăstirea Humorului, about three miles north of the town of Gura Humorului where we had stayed last night. It is a monastery for nuns dedicated to the Dormition of Virgin Mary. It was constructed in 1530 and the monastery was built over the foundation of a previous monastery that dated from around 1415. The Humor monastery was closed in 1786 and was not reopened until 1990. Humor was one of the first of Moldavia's painted monasteries to be frescoed and, along with Voroneţ, is probably the best preserved. The dominant colour of the frescoes is a reddish brown. The master painter responsible for Humor's frescoes, which were painted in 1535, is one Toma of Suceava.
The subjects of the frescoes at Humor include the Siege of Constantinople and the Last Judgment, common on the exterior of the painted monasteries of Bucovina, but also the Hymn to the Virgin inspired by the poem of Patriarch Sergius of Constantinople relating to the miraculous intervention of the Theotokos in saving the city from Persian conquest in 626. The Persians are, however, depicted as Turks which is a common device in these monasteries, their paintings being used in part for political propaganda in addition to their spiritual meaning. (my how things have changed in five hundred years- LOL- NOT!)
The Voroneț Monastery is a medieval monastery in the Romanian village of Voroneț, now a part of the town Gura Humorului. It is one of the famous painted monasteries from southern Bukovina, in Suceava County. The monastery was constructed by Stephen the Great in 1488 over a period of 3 months and 3 weeks to commemorate the victory at Battle of Vaslui. Often known as the "Sistine Chapel of the East", the frescoes at Voroneț feature an intense shade of blue known in Romania as "Voroneț blue."
The monastery is located to the south of Gura Humorului, in the valley of the Voroneț River. The legend of the origin of the church unites two men central to Romanian history: the founder of the monastery, Stephen the Great, and Saint Daniil the Hermit, the first abbot of the monastery. The tomb of Saint Daniil is located within the monastery.
Voroneţ was known for its school of calligraphy, where priests, monks and friars learned to read, write and translate religious texts. The school produced two notable copies of Romanian translations of the Bible: The Codex of Voroneț, discovered in 1871, and The Psalter of Voroneț, found in 1882. These books are now held at the Romanian Academy. The monastery was deserted soon after 1775, when the Habsburg Monarchy annexed the northern part of Moldavia. The monastic community returned to Voroneț in 1991. Since their return, those living in the monastery have constructed housing for the resident nuns, a chapel, fountains, stables, barns, and a house for pilgrims.
The main church of Saint George at Voroneț Monastery is possibly the most famous church in Romania. It is known throughout the world for its exterior frescoes of bright and intense colours, and for the hundreds of well-preserved figures placed against the renowned azurite background. The small windows, their rectangular frames of crossed rods and the receding pointed or shouldered arches of the interior doorframes are Gothic. The south and north doors of the exonarthex of 1547 have rectangular frames, which indicate a transition period from Gothic to Renaissance. But, above them, on each wall is a tall window with a flamboyant Gothic arch. The whole west façade is without any openings, which indicates that from the beginning the intention was to reserve it for frescoes.
and the third- still as breathtaking as the first two- was the Moldovita -
The Moldovița Monastery is a Romanian Orthodox monastery situated in the commune of Vatra Moldoviței. Moldovița was built in 1532 by Petru Rareș, who was Stefan the Great's illegitimate son. It was founded as a protective barrier against the Muslim Ottoman conquerors from the East.
It is one of the eight monasteries in Northern Moldavia with frescoes painted on the outer walls. Sister Maika, who has been living in the monastery for more than 50 years, says that it is "the holy scriptures in color". Moldovița's frescoes were painted by Toma of Suceava in 1537. They are filled with yellow accents and are well preserved. The predominantly yellow-and-blue paintings on its exterior represent recurring themes in Christian Orthodox art: a procession of saints leads up to the Virgin enthroned with the Child in her lap, above the narrow east window; the "Tree of Jesse" springs from a recumbent Jesse at the foot of the wall to marshal the ancestry of Christ around the Holy Family; The "Siege of Constantinople" commemorates the intervention of the Virgin in saving the city of Constantinople from Persian attack in A.D. 626.
Tall arches open the porch to the outside and daylight. Within it, "The Last Judgment" covers the entire surface of the west wall with its river of fire and its depiction of the sea giving up its dead to judgment. Moldovița and Humor are the last churches built with an open porch, a hidden place above the burial-vault, and with Gothic-style windows and doors.
Note: all blue text above is from wikipedia entry on the painted churches of Romania-
each of the three had its own style and color scheme- and in every location there was some part of the frescoes that really drew my attention (that "aesthetic arrest" concept) in the Humor it was the clothing of the men with its incredible patterns-
in the Voronet it was River of Fire depiction-
with the hand of god holding the life in balance - weighing it with angels on one side and satan on the other-
in the Moldovita it was the intensity of the colors - and the animation of the painted subjects-
Each a special place- and I am sure the other five would be amazing to see as well-
they did have plenty of postcards if you were averse to paying the photography fee... which of course I was happy to pay so I could share these with you...
we headed on the road- another fairly long journey ahead - to almost the border with the country of Moldova and the Jewish sites of Iasi (pronounced YASH) but along the way we found a road side cafe for a quick lunch - and a humorous menu - bad news was they had no stuffed cabbage but the good news was they did have Magnum bars! LOL which sounded much better than the numerous preparations of CRAP they had on offer...
so next up the very very last Romanian post from Iasi- stay tuned!
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