Moldavia

Holidays In Moldavia

The fortified, orthodox monasteries, which house the churches, were generally built in the latter half of the 16th century as defences from Turkish attacks. The armies would gather inside the defensive walls and, in order to educate them – they could not all enter the churches to see the interior frescoes or understand the liturgy – the outside of the churches, which were located within the fortifications, were painted with immense frescoes – one could almost call them cartoons – in the most vivid colours. These vivid colours are still well preserved in several of the churches, notably in the monasteries of Voronet, Moldovita, Sucevita and Humor. The monasteries now house vibrant religious communities and there has been a notable religious revival in the last 20 years.

We have chosen the village of Sucevita as our base for visiting the monasteries which can very easily all be reached by car from Sucevita.  Sucevita is a large linear village with a selection of restaurants and has a high alpine feel.  It is surrounded by forests of firs, spruce, beech and hornbeam. There is also good accommodation at the three stars Casa Elena in Voronet.  The Casa also has an excellent traditional restaurant.