by Elisa, Romania, 2003
Suceviţa Monastery is an Eastern Orthodox convent situated in the Noth-Eastern part of Romania. It is situated near the Suceviţa River, in the village Suceviţa, 18 km away from the city of Rădăuţi, Suceava County. It is located in the southern part of the historical region of Bukovina. It was built in 1585 by Ieremia Gheorghe and Simion Movila.
The architecture ot the church contains both Byzantine and gothic elements, and some elements typical to other painted churches of northern Moldavia. Both interior and exterior walls are covered by mural paintings, which are of great artistic value and depict biblical episodes from the Old and New Testament. The paintings date from around 1601, which makes Suceviţa one of the last monasteries to be decorated in the famous Moldavian style of exterior paintings.
The interior court of the monastic ensemble is almost square (100 by 104 meters) and is surrounded by high (6 m), wide (3 m) walls. There are several other defensive structures within the ensemble, including four towers (one in each corner). (From Wikipedia)
