Dragomirna Monastery
Fabulously situated amid rolling fields (a mere 15 min. by car from Suceava), these monumental defensive walls secured one of Bucovina's most elegant churches. While it's not on the UNESCO list and does not feature exterior frescoes, the combination of Georgian, Armenian, and Byzantine architectural elements has created a building that is akin to a beautiful stone spaceship, graced by a 42m (138 ft.) tower (undergoing many years of restoration). Pay your entry fee to the nun behind the souvenir counter in the entryway, where you can buy a decorative egg covered with beads studiously applied with beeswax by one of the 60 nuns who live here. Then venture into the nave. Unlike the other monastic churches, this one is very active, with Mass held from 8:30am until noon; try to come for this beautiful Orthodox ritual. Before leaving, ask the ticketing nun to show you the museum of medieval art, reached via the stairway near the entrance to the complex. Among various religious relics is the rather phallic candle of consecration, made from beeswax by Bishop Anastasie Crimca, who established the church between 1602 and 1609, when the candle was first lit.
Fabulously situated amid rolling fields (a mere 15 min. by car from Suceava), these monumental defensive walls secured one of Bucovina's most elegant churches. While it's not on the UNESCO list and does not feature exterior frescoes, the combination of Georgian, Armenian, and Byzantine architectural elements has created a building that is akin to a beautiful stone spaceship, graced by a 42m (138 ft.) tower (undergoing many years of restoration). Pay your entry fee to the nun behind the souvenir counter in the entryway, where you can buy a decorative egg covered with beads studiously applied with beeswax by one of the 60 nuns who live here. Then venture into the nave. Unlike the other monastic churches, this one is very active, with Mass held from 8:30am until noon; try to come for this beautiful Orthodox ritual. Before leaving, ask the ticketing nun to show you the museum of medieval art, reached via the stairway near the entrance to the complex. Among various religious relics is the rather phallic candle of consecration, made from beeswax by Bishop Anastasie Crimca, who established the church between 1602 and 1609, when the candle was first lit.
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