Basic things to do in Suceava and Bucovina

To make the things clear for anybody: Suceava is a city in the utmost northern part of Romania, and also an important district all around (I shall maybe remember you that Romania is divided and organized in 40 districts). Besides, the legendary region of Bucovina includes not only the district of Suceava, but also another Romanian district, as a part of Ucraina with the city of Chernowitz.

The fantastic church of Voronet, where the outside frescos are perfectly conservated after 600 years. The painting receipe is still unknown

If I didn't succeed to make the things clearer, I bag you pardon. I am not guilty about it, but the trembled history of this region! And now let's go back to work, let's go to the basics.

Suceava is nowadays a nice city with 100 000 inhabitants and has been for a few centuries the Capital of the Moldavia, a Romanian state from the Middle Age. Stefan cel Mare, a legendary Romanian ruling prince, set here for the first time the Capital in 1457. You can still visit the ruins of the Medieval fortress, trying to figure out the daily life of those times, and even the bad days when the ennemies came all around, trying to take the fortress and hereby the all country. Very impressive the huge deposits, but also the very small rooms, who are not at all looking like a royal residence. Not far the Mirauti church where Stefan Cel Mare ( The Big Stephen)  was entitled and confirmed as the ruling prince of Moldavia. Stephen the great is even today a living legend among the Romanians, there are many modern jokes having him as the main character. He enjoyed wine, he enjoyed women, he was hot blooded and heart harded (a human with sins as you and me). But beyond of that he was very brave while fighting, and thus very beloved and popular among the people.

The traditional Armenian church of Hagigadar from Suceava

Every year he used to have a fight against the foes, and if the results were positive ( usually they really were so) he build a church. There are many churches speaking a lot about that, and his following throne holders kept on this trend. Some of them even came to the brilliant idea to paint them outside, to make the Orthodoxe belief more popular among the locals (the church service was held in Slavonian, unknown to the most of the people). Five of these painted books of the Christian world are still today happy and proud eye witnesses of the good old times: Voronet, Dragomirna, Arbore, Sucevita, Moldovita. You can visit all of them from Suceava within a day, and you won't regret at all: they have fantastic proportion, the painting quality still hold on since 600 years, and beside are perfectly integrated in the environment. I shall not forget to mention that even UNESCO put them on the short list of the most important monuments worldwide.

Also very interesting in Suceava is the Armenian church, called Hagigadar. Very old and very proud is this fantastic community, and its members still cultivate an old habit: namely, when they come at Sunday to the church are supposed to go around the church three times, but not walking, and on their knees. Thus they thought to succeed in their most important plan or dream. On the 15th of August, the celebration of the Death of Virgin Mary, they are supposed to go in the same way on a longer distance, namely all the way from the base of the hill toward its peak.

The church Moldovita, not far from Suceava, is another must see in Bucovina

Posted in: Armenian traditions, culture tours in Romania, must do in Romania, must see in Romania, Romanian myths and legends, the painted monasteries of Northern Moldavia, urban culture in romania