Voronets Monastery. Voronet Monastery in Romania Voronet Monastery. Founding legend
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We spent the whole day visiting the famous painted monasteries of Bukovina. There are almost two dozen medieval monasteries in the foothills of the Carpathians. The most famous among them is the Voronets Monastery.
Voronets Monastery. Founding legend
The Moldavian ruler Stefan III the Great, preparing for the battle with the Ottoman Turks, went to Daniel the Hermit. The Lord decided to ask him for advice and blessings. Daniel had the gift of foresight and promised Stefan heavenly help if he made a vow to found a monastery in Voronets, hitherto unprecedented.
Fresco depicting Daniel the Hermit (right) from the Voronets Monastery
Daniel the Hermit ordered the monastery to be dedicated to Saint George the Victorious, the patron saint of the Orthodox army. Stephen the Great met Suleiman Pasha at the Battle of Vaslui. It happened on January 10, 1475. Thirteen years later, in 1488, Stefan ordered the construction of a temple in honor of St. George.
Voronets Monastery. Neighborhood
On the way to the Voronets monastery, we drove through the town of Hura-Humorului. At the end of the road there is an extensive paid parking lot. Around it there are many souvenir shops and guest houses for pilgrims.
The village and monastery stand on the banks of the river. At the beginning of May the river was almost dry. But, judging by the rocky riverbed and tree trunks, a stormy mountain stream rushes here in early spring.
There is a village street along the river where you can park your car for free. Follow the sign to the monastery gate. At the entrance to the monastery there is a table with visiting rules. Smoking and inappropriate clothing are prohibited on the premises.
Entrance to the monastery is paid, you have to pay separately for photos. It cost 20 lei for two people, and they don’t allow rent in the church. The ticket office and souvenir kiosk are located in the gate tower.
Voronets Monastery. Architectural ensemble
We are accustomed to Russian monasteries that resemble fortified cities. Many Western monasteries also occupy vast areas. These are, for example, . But Romanian monasteries are very small. The powerful stone walls serve as a reminder of the constant Turkish threat. Along the walls there are cell buildings and outbuildings.
It seemed to me that the cells were built quite recently. It is possible that this is so, because the Austrian authorities closed the monastery in 1786. The Church of St. George was converted into a parish. During Ceausescu's time, the communist regime closed many Romanian churches. The Voronets Monastery was restored only in 1991.
Voronets Monastery. Church of St. George
The main temple of the monastery was built in four months in 1488 according to the vow of Stephen the Great. The votive fresco, which we were unable to photograph, depicts the temple builder with a model of the church.
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Initially, the temple consisted only of a naos (central room for worshipers), topped with a tower reaching into the sky. The naos is surrounded by three semicircular apses. The altar occupies the eastern apse. In 1547, Metropolitan Grigoriu Rosca ordered the construction of a narthex, that is, the vestibule of the temple.
The architecture of the church is an early example of a special Moldavian style. It combines Byzantine, Gothic and Moldavian architectural details. Byzantium is represented by a three-part naos in plan, topped with a tower. Gothic style was reflected in the pointed arches of the windows and buttresses, and local features were expressed in the niches on the cornice and the blind arcade on the apses.
Voronets Monastery. Frescoes
Unfortunately, we were not able not only to photograph the interior frescoes, but even to enter the church. We arrived at the Voronets Monastery on Sunday morning, when the second liturgy was going on. The church was literally packed with people.
The naos preserves paintings from the late 15th century from the time of Stephen the Great. Frescoes of the Passion of the Lord include the Entry into Jerusalem, the Prayer on the Mount of Olives and the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.
On the inner wall separating the naos and narthex, the chety-menaion, that is, the Orthodox calendar with images of saints and martyrs, is written.
Grigoriu Rosca was an outstanding theologian and personally monitored the work of the unknown master monks. As a result, they managed to create a mural of exceptional beauty and expressiveness. Romanian frescoes are compared with the paintings of the Sistine Chapel, St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice, and the temples of Siena and Assisi.
The Western wall is entirely occupied by the Last Judgment.
On the southern wall is the Tree of Jesse.
Next to the Tree of Jesse on the southern wall you can see the Passion of the Lord and the life of St. Nicholas.
Under the lancet window, the ancient masters painted an excellent Savior. On His left is the Mother of God, on His right hand is John the Baptist. We have already shown a fresco with the founder of the monastery, Saint Daniel the Hermit. Next to him they wrote Metropolitan Grigoriu Rosca. He is rightfully considered the second founder of the church. The inscriptions on the frescoes are in Cyrillic, because the Romanians switched to the Latin alphabet only in the middle of the 19th century.
The Deesis on the eastern wall includes dozens of figures of saints and forms a real procession. It occupies the apse and buttresses of the church.
Over the past centuries, bad weather has severely damaged and in some places destroyed the frescoes of the northern wall. In the uppermost register, scenes of the life of Adam and Eve in Eden, the Fall and expulsion from Paradise are preserved. In the lower registers, the Annunciation, Mary and Elizabeth and other episodes of the Apocrypha have survived.
The Voronet Monastery is considered one of the most famous monuments of Romanian Orthodox culture. It is not for nothing that UNESCO included Voronets on the World Cultural Heritage List 25 years ago.
Voronet Monastery (Romanian: Mănăstirea Voroneț) is one of the monasteries of Southern Bukovina, located in the village of Voronet, in northeastern Romania near the city of Gura Humorului. The monastery is famous for its temple - the Church of St. George the Victorious, painted both on the inside and on the outside. and included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1993.
The monastery was founded by the ruler of the Principality of Moldova, Stefan III the Great, in honor of the victory in the Battle of Vaslui and was built from May to November 1488. According to legend, Stefan, at one of the unfavorable moments for him in the war with the Ottoman Empire, came to the monk Daniel the Hermit who lived in Voronets for advice. After winning the battle, he kept his promise to Daniel and founded a monastery in Voronets, dedicating the main church to St. George, who brought victory in the battle. The church was built in a record time: three months and three weeks, as stated in the memorial inscription located above the entrance to the temple.
This is one of the most valuable monasteries founded by Stephen the Great. Few monuments of religious architecture in the north of Moldova have been preserved in their original form. The narthex of the church was added in 1547 by Metropolitan Gregory Roshka; At the same time, the external painting of the facades was completed. The outer walls are painted from the foundation to the cornices, and the western wall of the narthex is completely closed.
The church is small in size (25.5 m without the vestibule, 7.7 m - the length of the naos and pronaos, 10.5 m in width including the side apses).
At first, the Voronets monastery was for men, but monastic life was interrupted in 1786. Restored in 1991, the monastery resumed its activities as a convent. The church is built of stone, has a trefoil shape, and the interior space is traditionally divided into the altar, naos, pronaos and narthex. The apses of the naos are little pronounced; The naos is separated from the pronaos by a wall more than 1 meter thick.
The interior and exterior paintings, completed in 1534-1535 and 1547, are impressive with painterly techniques and colors, characterized by harmony of colors, compositional dynamics and monumentality. The entire external painting and the famous blue color of the Voronets Monastery have no analogues in the world.
The interior paintings of the monastery date mostly from the time of Stephen the Great; The painting of the votive in the naos depicts Stephen the Great next to his wife Maria Voykitsa, a little girl and the future ruler Bogdan.
The Last Judgment scene painted in 1547 on the western façade earned the monument the name Sistine Chapel of the East; on the south side there is a scene of the Tree of Jesse; on the left side of the entrance you can see the images of Metropolitan Gregory Roshka and the pious Daniel the Hermit, and above him, next to the Scripture, there is an iconographic composition of the Deesis. Some biblical stories presented by the artists were secularized, thus the lives of the saints were brought closer to Moldavian customs and activities. So, Adam plows the land, and Eve spins. The scenes of the martyrdom of St. John the New from Cetati Alba and the delivery of the relics to Suceava are filled with particular drama.
The stone bell tower contains two bells donated to the monastery by Stephen the Great. In the courtyard you can see traces of other medieval buildings: cells, royal chambers, now destroyed.
The Voronet Monastery is one of the first Moldovan monuments, distinguished by its own style, a unique synthesis of Byzantine, Gothic and national elements.
There is a rural cemetery right in front of the monastery. The village of Voronets is very close to the monastery.
By the way, the original walls have not been preserved. The monastery was besieged many times, but the church was always left untouched.
Fortress walls.
The tower from the back side.
Church of St. George. the main shrine of the monastery. The paintings on the external walls were painted by Suceava masters. In general, history has not preserved the names of these artists; the most famous is considered to be a certain Thomas, also from Suceava. But where these masters studied, apparently it was not without Rus'. And many of the very names of villages and rivers in this part of Romania have Slavic roots. The word Voronets is clearly not Romanian and is of Slavic origin. The influence of Rus' (in particular the Muscovite kingdom, Kyiv clergy and Galician merchants (they had the shortest and most efficient trade route along the Dniester) is undeniable, the paintings on the wooden facade of the church in Drohobych (which are barely visible now) came to mind). Rus' was also the main one trading partner of Wallachia and the Principality of Moldova.
And Moldavian Gothic (as some call it). Original and unique temples... The paintings are barely visible on the north side of the temple. Under Stephen the Great, no one had yet painted temples on the outer walls. The initiator was Prince Petru Rares, under him the outer walls of churches were first painted, again... when the Principality of Moldova actually became a vassal of the Ottoman Empire.
South side. Fresco of the Last Judgment, it was painted in 1547. The predominant color is blue; the church is often called the Blue Church.
Unique paintings.
Next to real animals, a lion and an elephant, you can see a dragon and a pegasus (winged horse).
Ancient frescoes were also preserved inside the church, but it was difficult to get there. Almost the entire church (it is not very spacious, the walls are still the same thickness) was filled with people, believers who came here from other villages, tourists and local Voronets people, that’s why the photo failed
Wooden gate to the cemetery.
There is a small wooden chapel here.
the village of Voronets and the foothills of the Carpathians.
The Voronets River is sleeping now. But in the spring the water flow is tens of times greater, and floods occur. These are the barriers made from blocks filled with stones.
the town of Redeuti (Ukrainian Radivtsi) (many towns and villages near Suceava also have Ukrainian names, by the way, at the entrance to the city there is a sign in two languages.) And the Bogdan monastery. One of the oldest churches in the Moldavian principality has been preserved from what was once a monastery. It is dated 1359.
There is almost complete absence of light inside.
Again, the interweaving of Gothic, Byzantine architecture and Moldavian style. This is probably the oldest church of its kind.
Old frescoes on the walls
But the iconostasis is from modern times.
Bell tower 1781.
Another old church in the town of Siret. (12 km from Radivtsi) It was built in the 14th century. Siret is the first capital of the Moldavian principality, in close proximity to the Ukrainian-Romanian border. By the way, before the First World War, approximately 45% of Ukrainians lived in the city. And now there is a Ukrainian Greek Catholic church in Siret, and in the cemetery there are graves with Ukrainian surnames. In Siret there are buildings from the Austrian era and once there was a princely castle (which has not survived)
The inscription is in three languages. Romanian, English and Ukrainian.
The Church of the Holy Trinity was built in 1358. It is considered the oldest church in the principality. And here the Byzantine style is more pronounced. Complete absence of Gothic.
The Voronets Monastery in honor of the Holy Great Martyr George the Victorious is located 36 km from the city of Suceava. It was built between May 26 and September 14, 1488, in four and a half months, which was a record for that time. This is one of the most valuable monasteries founded by Stephen the Great. Few monuments of religious architecture in the north of Moldova have been preserved in their original form. The narthex of the church was added in 1547 by Metropolitan Gregory Roshka; At the same time, the external painting of the facades was completed. The outer walls are painted from the foundation to the cornices, and the western wall of the narthex is completely closed.
The church is small in size (25.5 m without the vestibule, 7.7 m - the length of the naos and pronaos, 10.5 m in width including the side apses).
At first, the Voronets monastery was for men, but monastic life was interrupted in 1786. Restored in 1991, the monastery resumed its activities as a convent. The church is built of stone, has a trefoil shape, and the interior space is traditionally divided into the altar, naos, pronaos and narthex. The apses of the naos are little pronounced; The naos is separated from the pronaos by a wall more than 1 meter thick.
The interior and exterior paintings, completed in 1534-1535 and 1547, are impressive with painterly techniques and colors, characterized by harmony of colors, compositional dynamics and monumentality. The entire external painting and the famous blue color of the Voronets Monastery have no analogues in the world.
The interior paintings of the monastery date mostly from the time of Stephen the Great; The painting of the votive in the naos depicts Stephen the Great next to his wife Maria Voykitsa, a little girl and the future ruler Bogdan.
Scene Last Judgment, painted in 1547 on the western façade, gave the monument its name Sistine Chapel of the East; there is a stage on the south side Tree of Jesse; on the left side of the entrance you can see the images of Metropolitan Gregory Roshka and the pious Daniel the Hermit, and above him, next to the Scripture, there is an iconographic composition Deesis. Some biblical stories presented by the artists were secularized, thus the lives of the saints were brought closer to Moldavian customs and activities. So, Adam plows the land, and Eve spins. The scenes of the martyrdom of St. John the New from Cetati Alba and the delivery of the relics to Suceava are filled with particular drama.
Experts believe that in terms of scale, decorative effect and brilliance of polychrome, the painting of the Voronets monastery is higher than the compositions of Athos and Camposanto (Pisa), worthy to be on a par with the Sistine Chapel in Rome, with the painting of San Marco (Venice), Siena, Assisi, Orvieto. The originality of the artist lies in his courage, which allowed him to depict Moldovan musical instruments (bučum, kobza), local landscape, national clothes and towels in biblical scenes - all on a blue background - the unique blue of Voronets.
The Voronet Monastery was built on the site of a wooden church where Daniel the Hermit, one of the most revered saints of Moldova, lived. He lived in a cell carved into a rock in the valley of the Putna stream, which has survived to this day, and later in a cell near the recently built Voronets monastery, of which he was abbot. Ion Neculce, in his book “O samă de cuvinte” (Selected Words), states that Daniel was one of the confessors and advisers of Stephen the Great, to whom he suggested the idea of building the Voronet monastery. The disciples and believers considered Daniel to be “saintly” after his death. His face with a halo was painted for the first time on the external wall at the entrance to the Voronets Church. The grave of Daniel the Hermit is located in the church, as is the grave of Metropolitan Gregory Rosca, who is considered the second patron of the church.
The stone bell tower contains two bells donated to the monastery by Stephen the Great. In the courtyard you can see traces of other medieval buildings: cells, royal chambers, now destroyed.
The Voronet Monastery is one of the first Moldovan monuments, distinguished by its own style, a unique synthesis of Byzantine, Gothic and national elements.