The Painted Monastaries

The Painted Monasteries

Last week Nancy and I traveled by train to the Romanian town of Guru Humorilui. It was a six hour trip to the Bucovina region of the section of the country known as Moldovia. Scattered amongst the towns and villages of the area are a number of monasteries built when Columbus was navigating on his journeys to America. What makes these places unique is not their age, for many things are as old, nor their size, for they are mostly small, but it is their art and particularly its durability

The story is that King Stefan the elder, after each victory over the Turks, then invading Romania, pledged a monastery to God in thanks for the triumph. An arrow was shot from the highest hilltop and where it landed there the central church was constructed. Around the churchyard walls were erected in case the Turks came back. On the church walls were painted all sorts of scenes from the Bible and the gruesome imaginations of the painters. These walls were painted inside and out. Five hundred years and most of the paint is still there, the story still readable. These are nothing like the frescos of Italy, similar instead to a more direct and primitive impulse, yet done with skill and style.

The monasteries are operated by Greek Orthodox nuns and the sites remain quiet, reflective places even though they are a major tourist attraction and one of the prime draws for travelers to Romania. We visited four, hiring a driver for the day. Each site is roughly fifteen or twenty kilometers from the other and the drive over the rolling hills and through the towns and pastures of the region was as inspirational as the monasteries themselves.

The weather was overcast and I have but one good picture. I include it above, along with a contrasting photo of the Church of St. Stephen (the Saint, not the King referred to earlier) in Budapest. Built roughly at the same time, the contrasts are striking. Next posting I’ll write about our visit to Hungary. I also have completed a rough draft of a new short fiction. If you’d like a copy let me know with an email at snowridge2000@yahoo.com and I’ll send it along.