Arbore Monastery

It all started when Luca Arbore, great boyar and nephew of Stephen the Great, built a domain for his large family, comparable to voivodeship settlements. And in less than half a year, in 1502, he also built a church, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, as a premonition. In 1523, because he did not renounce his faith, Luca Arbore will be beheaded, along with his sons. The founder thus ends up like Saint John the Baptist, protector of his church. Their graves are in the church.

At no other monastery in Moldova will you find frescoes like those at Arbore. Here, Byzantine art merges with that of the Renaissance and Western Gothic. The background is green, unlike Voronet, where blue predominates. The green used outside is in five shades and 47 nuances, in combination with other colors. The painting is a brilliant beginning of the Moldavian style, developed in later churches, taken over even on Mount Athos.

Over time the church was looted. It was left without a roof and for a hundred years tall trees grew on it, whose roots are not known how they will have stuck into the walls, because the vaults were very little cracked. The church remained standing, unmoved, and the saints of the icons on the vault of the nave or in the altar were almost not touched.

 

Its acoustics are also exceptional. Legend has it that there would be bottles with sand in the walls, according to an Italian method, to give the sound purity and ample echo.

In 1993 it was included in the UNESCO list, and from 2022 it was reopened to the monastic community and visitors.

 

If you have arrived here, it means that you will have something to tell and something to think about! Every year, on August 29, when the patron saint of the church and the commune is celebrated, all the people from Arbore, wherever they are, return home.

 

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The style of the church harmoniously combines the post-Romanesque pattern with the Moldavian architecture, by integrating some Gothic lines.

The building was built of raw stone and brick, its unique element being the height of the nave and the thickness of the walls. In addition, the monastic complex has no towers, because it is part of the medium-sized churches, built by the Moldavian boyars, and the right to raise towers belonged only to the ruler.

Inside, the place has harmonious proportions, provided by the low arches, without spirals, the slopes and the system of Moldavian arches. The pronaos stands out, being much larger than in other churches of the period, having an almost square shape. Between the pronaos and the nave rises a thick wall, opened by a portal elegantly decorated with crossed wands.

The frescoes present at Arbore Monastery were made in post-Byzantine style, with strong Renaissance and Gothic influences. The exterior painting was degraded when the church was left roofless, but following careful cleaning, it has regained much of its original beauty.

In the pronaos there are scenes from the life of St. John the Baptist, such as Herod's Banquet and the Beheading of St. John the Baptist. Also here can be seen the icon of the Virgin Mary with the Baby Jesus, as well as the portrait of St. Macrina killing the devil. Instead, in the nave there are representations of the Passion of the Savior and the scene of the Crucifixion.

During the period when the acacias are in bloom, the commune hosts the "Acacia Flower" Folklore Festival, then on August 29 the patron saint of the church is celebrated, and on the second day of Christmas the Housewives' Ball is organized, where the residents come dressed in folk costumes.

In the vicinity of the objective, you can find a number of tourist attractions that it would be a shame to miss. So, after you have visited Arbore Monastery, you can also stop at other places of worship in the area, such as Bogdana Monastery, Humor Monastery or the wooden church from Botoșana, or discover the "Samuil and Eugenia Ioneț" Museum of Ethnography”, Black Ceramic Center from Marginea, Zoo and Stud Farm from Rădăuți.