Moldavia 1; The Painted Monasteries

We enter the Moldavia region of Romania and the Eastern Carpathians; we are in the southern Bucovina sub region - what would now have been the northern Bucovina sub region has been the Republic of Moldova since the end of WWII.

There are 8 UNESCO World Heritage Site Monasteries in Bucovina ("The painted churches of Moldavia"); they are Byzantine Orthodox in style and noted for the external biblical frescoes (as well as the internal ones) which were used to educate the medieval population. The monasteries were founded during the reign of Prince Stephen the Great (1457-1504); Stefan cel Mare, a 15th-century Moldavian Prince,i s a national hero due to his epic battles with the Ottoman Empire in order to preserve the regions culturalidentity. We visit two of the five main Painted Monasteries; Moldovita and Sucevita.

Our first one is the Moldovita Monastery, actually a convent. It was founded as a protective barrier against the Muslim Ottoman conquerors from the East.
The second is the Sucevita Monastery, the largest of the monasteries in the region with massive towers and stone towers. See captions on photos for details.

Between visiting the two painted monasteries, we stop off to see a local tradition; Easter egg painting. Duck and goose eggs (also ostrich and emu eggs) are emptied. Beeswax is used to protect parts not to be coloured before dipping into a natural yellow dye, and the process is repeated with other natural dyes. The results are amazing.

After checking in at our accommodation, we enjoy a lovely meal.Läs mer