Voronet Monastery: Romanian Sistine Chapel. Voronet Monastery Voronet Monastery Romania
![Voronet Monastery: Romanian Sistine Chapel. Voronet Monastery Voronet Monastery Romania](https://i1.wp.com/nakopeike.ru/wp-content/uploads/Stenyi-monastyirya-v-Vorontse.jpg)
Voronets is a small village in Romania, near the city of Gura Humorului. We couldn’t help but go there and here’s why. It is in the town of Voronets that the pearl of Eastern Europe is located - the Voronets Monastery. This is a unique building, but not in architectural terms, the Voronet Monastery was built, after all, in the monastery style typical of Romania in the 15th century, but the paintings, frescoes, are... something unsurpassed. From the monastery, only the Church of St. George the Victorious has survived to this day. There is nothing like it anywhere in the world. Stefan III, ruler of the Principality of Moldova, founded it in 1488. This has been preserved.
For the heavenly azure of the frescoes, the Voronets Monastery is called nothing less than the Sistine Chapel of Eastern Europe. Scenes of the Last Judgment are painted on the outside of the monastery in rich blue shades and original techniques, the secrets of which are lost forever.
On some frescoes, the colors do not lose their original brightness and saturation, and have survived in their original form to this day. Inside the monastery, the walls and ceiling are also decorated with frescoes depicting biblical scenes.
The Voronet Monastery in the 15th century was surrounded by an external wall, it contained monastic cells, and the territory of the monastery contained the main motifs of the heraldry of the 15th century, inherent in the monastic Romanian style. The apses of the Church of St. George, the portico and the cella with the tower are all from the 15th century and delight our eyes and awaken our imagination even today.
I would like to tell you about one more interesting recording that has come down to us in its original form. It evokes affection, despite the fact that at one time it most likely caused censure. This is an inscription made on the walls of the church by some Hans, in German in 1607, “Hans was here.”
The Church of St. George is the only surviving monastery building, perhaps due to the fact that St. Daniel the Hermit, who guards it, rests here?
Since 1993, the Voronet Monastery has become a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as evidenced by the entry in the UNESCO list of “Churches of the Historical Region of Moldova”.
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.
Moscow-Antalya-3. Romania: Voronet Monastery. Day 3. June 30th, 2011
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So, while looking around, we quietly drove up to Voronets. The monastery itself was not yet visible, but there was a high fence, a parking lot, where we even managed to find some shade, as well as a market where all sorts of popular nonsense was sold. After wandering around a bit, we found an entrance that didn’t stand out in any way, and, after reading the announcement about the uniform, we stomped back to the car to change my clothes. Thank God, there were no problems with the wardrobe, we had half an apartment in the trunk! :)) So instead of a T-shirt and shorts, I was wearing a decent dress, and a light shirt to cover my shoulders. Finally, having purchased tickets, we got inside the fence.
And there we immediately saw what we wanted, namely the Church of St. George the Victorious:
The monastery is small, to be honest. Not the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, yes.)) But it’s not every day that you get to see a religious building where the icons are not inside, but outside. Looks very interesting..))
No one knows the exact date of foundation of the monastery, but legend says that the monastery was built in 1488 by ruler Stefan III the Great - in honor of the brilliant victory over the Ottomans in the Battle of Vaslui. Before the battle, Stefan turned to a monk who lived in Voronets, Daniel the Hermit, for advice. He promised the saint that if he defeated the enemy, a monastery would appear in the village - and he kept his word.
Of course, the church was especially successful: small, pretty, like a toy, with a cute twist in the form of frescoes. We looked at them carefully:
In fact, the Serpent and I are not very religious, we mostly profess indifference, but those who are in the know will probably see familiar stories there:
We decided to go around the church in a circle since we had already arrived, fortunately there was no distance..))
Inside the church, at the entrance, there was a brisk trade in shrines:
A group of foreigners listened attentively to the guide:
I also stopped to listen, but soon realized that the information received flew right through my ears, without stopping inside for a minute. In general, as usual..)))
Citizens periodically approached some iron structures, the shape of which strongly resembled coffins. It turned out that they were lighting candles:
From the inside out, the church no longer looked so elegant:
Either the wind is blowing more from that side, or they haven’t been supplied with paint for a long time:
And finally, we took a look inside. And I must say that the strict aunt who sold us the ticket (and who, it seemed, wanted to sell everything else she had on display in her shop)
... she sternly warned us that taking photos inside the church was not allowed. But I am for freedom of speech and photographs, besides, I won’t be me if I don’t break the law at least a little, right?.. ;)) So, seizing the moment when there were fewer people around, I took a couple of shots.
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.