Voronet Monastery

Church of St. George, Voronet Monastery

Eight churches of Moldavia in northern Romania have been recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Sites for the distinct Byzantine inspired frescoes with religious themes that cover their exterior walls. Built between the late 15th and 16th centuries, these churches are remarkably well preserved. I had the opportunity to visit four of these churches namely, the Church of the Beheading of St. John in Arbore, the Church of the Annunciation in Moldovita, the Church of the Resurrection in Sucevita and St. George in Voronet. The Church of St. George has been singled out for the vibrant blue color background of its frescoes which was made from lapis lazuli, among other elements. This particular shade is referred to as Voronet Blue.

The Church of St. George was completed in just three months and three weeks. It was built by Stefan the Great, Voivode of Moldavia, in 1488 to commemorate his victory over the Ottoman Turks in the Battle of Vaslui. The photo above is of the eastern wall and portrays the saints and doctors of the Orthodox Church. The frescoes were meant to teach the Scripture and should be viewed slowly to appreciate its stories.

Voronet Monastery was abandoned in 1775 due to the Hapsburg occupation. The monks didn’t return until 1991, two hundred years later. Today, nuns live on monastery grounds and they administer the daily operations of the Church.

Notice the Voronet Blue hue of the fresco on the southern wall. This section is protected from the wind and is better preserved than the northern wall where most of the paintings have been washed out.

A beautiful Gothic inspired arched window sits above the painting of Jesus Christ at entrance to the church.

St. George fighting the dragon

Last Judgement

On the western wall of the Church is the Last Judgement. This fresco has been dubbed the Sistine Chapel of the East.

In the center of the fresco is the Trinity - God the Father is on the top row enshrined in a medallion as is God the Son right below him. The Holy Spirit represented by a dove is directly below the medallion of Jesus.

In this image, The Holy Spirit is sitting on the throne just below the cross and is flanked on both sides by kneeling saints. Directly below is the hand of God holding a scale that is weighing the soul of the dead. Angels fight off demons who are pulling down the scale.

This section of the mural shows St. Peter leading the good people to the door of paradise. Behind the door is Mary seated between two angels and St. John the Baptist carrying a patriarchal or Orthodox cross.

Awaiting judgment are the enemies of Moldavia, namely the Turks, Tatars, Jews, popes and kings. Note the turbaned heads on the upper row.

Each of the monasteries designated as a UNESCO heritage site has a distinct personality from the others. It’s best to spend a few days in Bucovina to explore these unique monasteries and churches at leisure.

How to get there:

By plane: there are flights to Suceava International Airport from Bucharest. Suceava is approximately 29km or 18 miles from Bucovina. Suceava’s Monastery of St. John the New is one of the eight churches included in the UNESCO heritage sites.

By train: check rome2rio.com for details.

By private guide: I toured northern Romania with a trusted guide, Nicholas Experience Tours. The nice thing about a private tour is that it is more leisurely and there was no pressure to rush to the next site nor to catch the sightseeing bus. It also meant that I could choose the places I wanted to visit on the way north from Bucharest.

About Bucovina: explorebucovina.com.

*****

Images by TravelswithCharie

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