One of the most beautiful monasteries in Europe is the result of the collaboration between craftsmen from Moldova and Transylvania, during the rule of Petru Rareș, Prince of Moldavia, who also possessed major feuds in Transylvania. Moldoviţa Monastery is one of the most sublime expressions of the Moldavian Gothic architecture. In Moldoviţa, the first place of worship was built during the time of Prince Alexander the Good, in the early years of the fifteenth century. Nonetheless, this place of worship was destroyed, and in 1532, Petru Rareș decided to set up a new monastery, dedicated to the Annunciation.
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27-02-2015, 14:12
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- Author: admin
- Date: 27-02-2015, 14:12
Moldoviţa, the Most Beautiful Monastery Founded by Petru Rareș
Category: History / Moldova / Moldoviţa
One of the most beautiful monasteries in Europe is the result of the collaboration between craftsmen from Moldova and Transylvania, during the rule of Petru Rareș, Prince of Moldavia, who also possessed major feuds in Transylvania. Moldoviţa Monastery is one of the most sublime expressions of the Moldavian Gothic architecture. In Moldoviţa, the first place of worship was built during the time of Prince Alexander the Good, in the early years of the fifteenth century. Nonetheless, this place of worship was destroyed, and in 1532, Petru Rareș decided to set up a new monastery, dedicated to the Annunciation.
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27-02-2015, 13:57
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- Author: admin
- Date: 27-02-2015, 13:57
The Humor Monastery, a Wonderful Aristocratic Establishment
Category: History / Moldova / Humor
Humor is one of the most interesting monasteries in Moldova, founded by the great chancellor Toader Bubuiog. The church of the monastery was included on UNESCO’s list in 1993. The church is dedicated to both the Assumption of Mary and St. George, because it took over the patron of a prior place of worship. In the early Middle Ages, near today's Humor monastery, there was a monk hermitage which had a wooden church. During the reign of Alexander the Good (1400 - 1432), Humor’s feudal lord, the magistrate Ivan, built a stone church, and in 1473, Stephen the Great gave the church a Four Gospels Book, on which the prince is painted, while Mary offers him this book.
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27-02-2015, 13:52
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- Author: admin
- Date: 27-02-2015, 13:52
Dârjiu, the Only UNESCO Monument that Feeds its Inhabitants
Category: History / Transylvania / Dârjiu
Included in 1999, the church of Dârjiu is the only fortified Székely church on UNESCO’s world heritage list. The church was built after a Saxon model at the end of the thirteenth century. This stone church was provided with battlements and guard roads, which allowed the locals to fight the Tatar and Cuman invaders. The village of Dârjiu was first mentioned in a papal document issued in 1334.
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27-02-2015, 13:45
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- Author: admin
- Date: 27-02-2015, 13:45
Câlnic - from Noble Citadel to Fortress-Church
Category: History / Transylvania / Câlnic
Câlnic is one of the most interesting fortress-churches in southern Transylvania. It is one of several fortifications established here by the Saxons. The citadel was first mentioned in a document in the year 1267. More precisely, when one of greavii, a leader of the Saxon community, Chyl of Kelling, began the construction of a keep that would also serve as a tower-house. The keep was completed in 1272. The building, enlarged and strengthened, still stands today, and is known as the Siegfried Tower. The church of the village was built next to this medieval tower. Initially, the church was Roman Catholic, then Evangelical-Lutheran, serving both the noble Greava family of Kelling, as well as the community.
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27-02-2015, 13:36
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- Author: admin
- Date: 27-02-2015, 13:36
The Moldavian Cathedral, under the Patronage of Two Saints
Category: History / Moldova / Suceava
The history of Saint George’s Church in the monastery of Saint John the New in Suceava begins in 1514, when the prince of Moldavia, Bogdan III, decided to build a new metropolitan cathedral, after the old one had been destroyed by a Polish invasion. Bogdan III began construction of the church, which was completed in 1522 by his son, Ștefăniță Vodă. In the period between 1532 and 1534, the church was painted inside and out, at the request of Prince Petru Rares. In 1579, the Bishop Theofan of Râşca added a small porch. Between 1522 and 1677, this church operated as the Metropolitan Cathedral of Moldova. Even when Prince Lapusneanu moved the Moldavian capital from Suceava to Iaşi, from 1564 until 1677, the metropolitan residence remained in Suceava.
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27-02-2015, 13:32
- Views: 3529
- Author: admin
- Date: 27-02-2015, 13:32
Sighișoara, Dracula’s Medieval Citadel
Category: History / Transylvania / Sighişoara
Sighişoara, the best preserved medieval citadel in Transylvania, is the place where the historical character Vlad Tepeş was born, the one who inspired the most famous vampire story in the world, Dracula. Sighişoara is a beautiful place with an incredibly romantic vibe. The medieval fortress withstood fires and sieges, waves of plague, including cholera, Tatars and Turkish assaults. The old Saxon city was and still is a real historical gem, because little has changed over the centuries. Sighişoara is important not only for its military history, culture and the arts, but also for viticulture. Here was discovered for the first time in the interwar period, the most famous variety of Romanian grape-vines, Fetească Regală, from which the best Romanian white wine is produced.
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27-02-2015, 13:18
- Views: 5046
- Author: admin
- Date: 27-02-2015, 13:18
Saschiz, the Village of the Three Medieval Fortifications
Category: History / Transylvania
Saschiz has a most intriguing story. This South Transylvanian village was founded by the Székelys who colonized the area after the Hungarian Kingdom conquered Transylvania. At the time, Saschiz was placed under Saxon dominion, while the Székelys migrated to the Eastern Carpathians. Living under constant threat of Cuman, Mongol, Tatar, Turkish, Wallachian or Moldavian invasions, the residents of Saschiz built a genuine medieval citadel. In those days, Saschiz was known as the "Village of the seven churches." Not all have survived and nowadays the settlement is known as the village with three fortifications.
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4-02-2015, 19:59
- Views: 8279
- Author: admin
- Date: 4-02-2015, 19:59
The Church of Ieud, the Ultimate Expression of the Creative Genius of Maramureş
Category: History / Maramureș / Ieud
The wooden church of Ieud Deal is a masterpiece in itself. The Church is the most representative example of the value of Alexander Ponehalschi’s painting. The church was founded by nobles from the local family of Balea who had to climb the ladder of Maramureş’ aristocracy. The Greek Catholic Church of Ieud has an austere exterior appearance, which is toned down on the inside thanks to the refined sculpture of the consoles, as well as the bright colours of the mural. Since 1900, John Mihaly of Apşa included the church in Ieud among the most beautiful churches in Maramureş.
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4-02-2015, 19:54
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- Date: 4-02-2015, 19:54
The River of Fire in the church of Deseşti
Category: History / Maramureș / Deseşti
The Deseşti Church is representative for the eighteenth century Maramures architecture. The manner in which the remarkable mural and the iconostasis were made is post-Byzantine. There are several controversies on the exact dating of the church. Tit Bud dated it in 1770 and Alexander Baboş in 1780, when the inscriptions discovered by historians attested to the painting of this place of worship. The paintings cover all three classic rooms: the altar, the nave and the narthex. The inscription states that the painting of the church was paid for by the Boyars of the village.
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4-02-2015, 19:35
- Views: 5900
- Author: admin
- Date: 4-02-2015, 19:35
The Dacian Fortress of Băniţa
Category: History / Transylvania / Băniţa
The Dacian fortress in Băniţa has a peculiar configuration. The fortress leverages one of the most important points that dominate the Jiu Valley. Built during the reign of Burebista and fortified during the Dacian-Roman wars, the fortress was intended to protect the road to the capital of Dacia, Sarmisegetuza Regia.