Sucevița Monastery is an

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...

convent situated in the Northeastern part of

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. It is situated near the Suceviţa River, in the village Sucevița, 18 km away from the city of Rădăuţi,

Suceava County Suceava County () is a county ('' ro, județ'') of Romania. Most of its territory lies in the southern part of the historical region of Bukovina, while the remainder forms part of Western Moldavia proper. The county seat is the historical town ...

. It is located in the southern part of the historical region of

Bukovina Bukovinagerman: Bukowina or ; hu, Bukovina; pl, Bukowina; ro, Bucovina; uk, Буковина, ; see also other languages. is a historical region, variously described as part of either Central or Eastern Europe (or both).Klaus Peter Berge ...

(northwestern

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...

). It was built in 1585 by

Ieremia Movilă Ieremia Movilă ( pl, Jeremi Mohyła uk, Єремія Могила), (c. 1555 – 10 July 1606) was a Voivode (Prince) of Moldavia between August 1595 and May 1600, and again between September 1600 and July 10, 1606. Rule A boyar of the Movil ...

, Gheorghe Movilă and Simion Movilă. The architecture of the church contains both

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

and

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

elements, and some elements typical to other

painted churches of northern Moldavia The north of the Moldavia region in Romania preserves numerous religious buildings as a testimony of the Moldavian architectural style developed in the Principality of Moldavia starting from the 14th century. Of these, eight Romanian Orthodox C ...

. Both interior and exterior walls are covered by mural paintings, which are of great artistic value and depict biblical episodes from the

Old Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England * Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, M ...

and

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chris ...

. The paintings date from around 1601, which makes Sucevița one of the last monasteries to be decorated in the famous Moldavian style of exterior paintings. The interior court of the monastic ensemble is almost square (100 by 104 meters) and is surrounded by high (6 m), wide (3 m) walls. There are several other defensive structures within the ensemble, including four towers (one on each corner). Sucevița was a princely residence as well as a fortified monastery. The thick walls today shelter a museum that presents an outstanding collection of historical and art objects. The tomb covers of Ieremia and Simion Movilă – rich portraits embroidered in silver thread – together with ecclesiastical silverware, books and illuminated manuscripts, offer eloquent testimony to Sucevița's importance first as a manuscript workshop, then as a printing center. In 2010, the monastery has been inscribed by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

on its list of

World Heritage Sites A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

, as one of the Painted churches of Moldavia.

Burials

Gallery

Image:Ihopulele EOS 30D0210 Sucevita.jpg, View of the ensemble, with the walls in the background File:Sucevita.jpg, Different angle Image:Suczawica (Sucevita), krzyż na dziedzińcu klasztornym.jpg, Cross the courtyard of the monastery File:Suczawica (Sucevita), monastyr, fragment fresku, stworzenie Ewy.jpg, The fresco in the monastery File:Mănăstirea Suceviţa5.jpg, One of the four towers File:Suceviţa.PNG, Entrance

References

External links

Sucevița Monastery
*Romania's Painted Churches
Mănăstirea Suceviţa (pe TravelWorld.ro)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sucevita Monastery Christian monasteries established in the 16th century 1585 establishments in Europe Churches of Moldavia 16th-century establishments in Romania

Burials

Gallery

See also

References

External links