Moldavian Monasteries Tour

3 Nights Tour

Moldovita Monastery

A legendary country, situated in the north of Moldavia, bathed in a diffuse light which filters the colors and mixes them with the blue sky to show them to the tourist as if they were in an art album on which you can read: VORONET, HUMOR, ARBORE, SUCEVITA, MOLDOVITA. The 15th - 16th centuries - the times when the monasteries were built in Bucovina - are marked by the personality of Stephen the Great. He ruled for almost half a century (1457 - 1504) and he knew how to shape his country to fit the pace and rhythm of his epoch. During Stephen the Great's reign a new architectural style was born: the Moldavian style would later enter the history of universal art. It defined a harmonious mixture of folk artistic traditions with Gothic and Byzantine influences that had come from Serbia, Russia, Poland. One of the most amazing treasures of Moldavian art is the outside frescoes of the monasteries. The frescoes - a real "illustrated Bible"- are unique in the world and are of an unparalleled artistic value also confirmed by UNESCO specialists. The fresco - "the most difficult and the most daring way of painting" as Michelangelo used to call it - has lasted in Bucovina for almost five centuries.

DAYS

1st day

Departure Bucharest – Piatra Neamt – Targu Neamt with a stop for lunch on the way.
Visit of Varatec Monastery (a beautiful and elegant monument, built in 1808. In this monastery is the grave of Veronica Micle, the muse and girl-friend of Romanian greatest poet, Mihail Eminescu).
Visit of Agapia Monastery (made between 1642-1647 originally as a wooden church, then restored in the actual structure. The interior was painted in 1858 by our greatest painter, Nicolae Grigorescu, at the age of 20. Due to their artistic value, these paintings can be considered a real art gallery).
Departure to Nemtisor, near Neamt Monastery
Accommodation at Nemtisor in a classy hotel, with spectacular panorama

2nd day:

Visit the Sucevita and Moldovita Monastery (built by ruler Petru Rares in 1532, with inner frescos from 1537, is one of the biggest churches from the glory period of Moldavian style. Wonderful paintings (for example, the scene of "Siege over Constantinopole" is impressive through its artistic force and dramatic depiction).
Visit of Voronet Monastery (surnamed "The Sixtin Chapel of the East", depicts a fairy-tale world, painted on a "piece of heaven". This "jewel of Bucovina" was built by Romanian great ruler Stefan the Great in 1488. Daylight gives to the colors and especially to the famous "Voronet blue" a unique clarity.
Accommodation at Nemtisor in a classy hotel, with spectacular panorama

3rd day:

Visit Neamt Monastery, Sihastria and Secu Monastries.
After lunch, visit Neamt Fortress and Humulesti Village, the birthplace of Ion Creanga, famous romanian writer. His memorial house is a perfect preserved old style peasant house from 18-19th century Moldavia.