Eastern and Central Europe (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

590 SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE

For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp596–7 and pp598–9

TIPS FOR DRIVERS

Starting point: Humor.

Length: 204 km (127 miles).

Getting there: Suceava is

440 km (273 miles) N of

Bucharest on the E85 Highway.

Moldovita is the only monastery

along the route that has a

shortage of guesthouses. The

monasteries are generally

open from 9am–5pm daily.

Bucovina Monasteries Tour q

The painted churches of Bucovina, a hilly

region in northwestern Moldavia, were the

illustrated Bibles of their time. Most were

con struc ted during the reign of Stephen the

Great (1457–1504), who welcomed Bulgarian

and Serbian Orthodox Christian monks

seeking refuge from the Ottoman Empire.

After each victory against the Ottomans,

Stephen commis sioned a church to be built.

Petru Rareş, his son, continued the tradition.

Their beauty and rarity has earned the mon as-

teries UNESCO World Heritage Site status.

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Putna 5

The most important

monastery in the region,

Putna was ransacked in the

17th century but has since

been restored. Stephen, two

of his wives, and his sons

Petru and Bogdan are

all buried here.

Sucevita 4

Founded in the late 16th

century, this church is famous

for its Ladder of Virtue mural,

which depicts monks trying to

climb to heaven with the help

of Christ and his angels.

Moldovița 3

Rebuilt in 1532, the

painted walls here

incor porate references

to the encroach ing

Ottoman Empire.

Humor 1

Founded in the 15th century

and rebuilt in 1530, the exterior

walls of this small church

feature impressive murals.

Voronet 2

This fortified monastery

was built in 1488 to cele-

brate a victory against the

Turks. The mural of The

Last Judgement on its

southern wall is notable

for its skilful incorporation

of Moldavian folk motifs.

KEY

Tour route

Minor road

Walking trail

Railway route

Sucevita Monastery, the last church to be

built before the Ottoman invasion

Suceava

30 km (19 miles)

Vatra

Moldovitei

Frumosul

Vama

Solca

Marginea

Voitinel

Vicovu

de Jos

Cacica

Frasin

Gura

Humorului