monasteries
ther very important
touristic attractions are
the painted monasteries in Bucovina. Most of them were built more than 500 years ago by the ruler Stephen the Great who used to build one after each battle he won against the Ottoman Empire.
Almost all of them have all their outside walls painted with biblical scenes. The most renown is the Voroneț monastery, often nicknamed the Sistine Chapel of the East . The main colour used for its paintings is the “Voroneț blue”, whose recipe for preparing is still unknown to these days.
The monasteries in Bucovina are all part of the UNESCO World Heritage. The most popular ones are Voroneț, Sucevița, Moldovița, Arbore, Putna, Neamț and Agapia.
In Putna monastery, although not painted on the outside, you can see the grave of Stephen the Great, the ruler who built all of them.
O