The Beautiful heritage of Romania: the monasteries

Cultural trip throughout religious monuments

The most beautiful monastery in Moldavia, and perhaps, the most beautiful in the entire country, which is world-wide recognized and considered as symbol of Romania, is the stunning Voronec. The blue of the outside walls is so beautiful and gets different grades of colour, depending of the time of the day and how the sun shines of it. Many painters tried restoring the church, but they encountered difficulties in recreating this marvellous colour


By ROXANA CIUPARIU
from Bucharest, ROMANIA


Romania is famous for many things, such as Dracula - which is more or less a founded legend, the House of the People - the second largest building in the world after Pentagon, but also for its superb monasteries, with the colourful orthodox paintings that decorate the insides, but also the beauty of the outside mural paintings, with colours whose composition is an enigma, since they could never be recreated. Legends and mysticism surrounds them and makes them an exciting trip for any visitor.

Bucovina area

One of the richest places in monasteries, and a conglomerate of numerous of our beautiful monasteries is in the north of Moldavia, namely Bucovina.

There is the beautiful Putna, build in the second half of the 17th century, lodging the tomb of the great Moldavian ruler Stefan cel Mare who managed to hold its power in a time of Ottoman invasion. Also, the legend goes that after every victory he built a monastery or church. He lost only two battles in his lifetime and won 44.

The Sucevica monastery, a masterpiece of mural paintings is also famous for being founded not by a noble hand, but by regular people, which made the people feel very attach to it sentimentally.

The most beautiful monastery in Moldavia, and perhaps, the most beautiful in the entire country, which is world-wide recognized and considered as symbol of Romania, is the stunning Voronec. The blue of the outside walls is so beautiful and gets different grades of colour, depending of the time of the day and how the sun shines of it. Many painters tried restoring the church, but they encountered difficulties in recreating this marvellous colour. Until now, it is still unknown what ingredients were exactly used for this colour, although suppositions are that some plants in the neighbourhood were used, plants now gone forever or near extinction.

Other monasteries worthy of mentioning are Moldovica, Humor, Slatina, Patrauci. Majority of the churches in Bucovina are under the patrimony of UNESCO.

Maramures

The churches in the area are a representation of wooden-build churches, with a high and slim tower. Wood churches and monasteries can still be encountered in Europe, especially in orthodox areas, with the impressive religious building found in Russia. Eight of these wood masterpieces in Maramures are on the UNESCO list, due to their beauty, their style and what they represent for the history of the place.

In general these types of churches are quite dark inside, because of lack of high roof and the presence of few, little windows. Worthy mentioning are the ones at Bârsana, Budesti, Plopis and Rogoz.

Cozia and Arges

Other two monasteries, located more to the South of the country are Cozia Monastery and Curtea de Arges (Arges Court) Monastery.

The first one, 75 km distance from Sibiu, was built by the ruler Mircea cel Batrân around 1386, and is one of the oldest religious locations in the country. The ruler's tomb can be found in the church, alongside the one of his mother, which, as it happened a lot in that time when old women were left alone in the world, became a nun. The monastery's museum perceives no tax, which contributes to making it the most visited monastery in Romania.

The other famous monastery, Curtea de Arges, is mostly famous due to the legend of dab Manole. Requested by that time's ruler of the area, Neagoe Basarab, to build a monastery, Manole and his men encountered difficulties in building the edifice: what they built at day was collapsing out of the blue at night. One night he dreamt that if the first female relative of any of the men who would visit the next day was to be incorporated in the walls, the construction will last. He told the dream to the other men, whom, scared, announced their wives not to come visit them. Only Manole did not announce his wife, Ana, whom came. Torne by pain, he told her they will play a game and she has to resist until the end. And, although she begged him to have pity on her and their unborn child, Manole managed to builder into the wall and hence, since that day, the construction never felt. When it was all over, the ruler was so impressed that he exiled all the constructors on the roof to die there, so they won't be able to build another monastery as beautiful as or even more beautiful than this. Manole built some wings and tried to fly, but he felt and where he felt now is a fountain. The legend also tells that in some nights, from the wall where Ana is supposed to be buried one can hear a woman crying.

The church also hold the relics of Saint Filofteea, whom was murdered by her father with an axe when she was 12 because she cared too much about other people, often giving to the poor even her own things. The story goes that her body could not be lifted until someone started mentioning the names of monasteries. When Curtea de Arges came up, here body became easy and, hence, she was deposited in the church.

A tour among some of the most beautiful monasteries in Romania makes one understand that God has not forgotten this country, and these special places have been created with love and passion. Those who truly feel different once entering the courtyard of a monastery never forget that experience.


(Published: 12.09.2009.)