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THE PAINTED CHURCHES OF BUCOVINA
Putna Monastery he imposing Putna
TMonastery is situat-
ed about 30 km northwest from the town of R\d\u]i, near the Putna River. High, forested hills and wild landscape surround the monastery and the village with the same name. A bell donated by Stephen the Great in 1490.
Stephen the Great built the monastery as his burial place between 1466 and 1469, and the Church of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin was consecrated one year later. The first superior was Archimandrite Ioasaf from Neam] Monastery, the first important monastic centre in Moldavia. The superior was accompanied by calligraphers, who were the first teachers of the new monastery school that followed the example of the school of Neam]. It started as a
The ruins of the 15th century monastic buildings
Bell Tower
Gate Tower
The abbot’ s residence, also known as the “princely house”, was built in 1982 in the old Moldavian style.
PUTNA MONASTERY school of rhetoric, logic and grammar for future chroniclers and clerical staff, but soon Putna became one of the most significant cultural centres in the country. Besides the above subjects, the school also taught music, astronomy and theology. There were workshops of manuscript illuminators, embroiderers, gold and silversmiths, as well as a library, a scriptorium and a hospital. Putna was an exceptional centre of learning at a time when, in this part of Europe, there were universities only in Prague, Vienna and Krakow, and a school of the Patriarch in Constantinople. Only three years after the monastery was completed, a fire destroyed it, but it was immediately rebuilt. It was destroyed again in 1653 by the Cossack army of Timu[ Hmelni]chi, the son-in-law of Prince Vasile Lupu. The present church was practically rebuilt between 1653 and 1662 by Vasile Lupu and his successors. The ground plan follows the plan of the original edifice, as could be ascertained when the foundations of the first church were excavated from 1968 to 1970.
The monks’ cells were built in the 19th century.
Chapel
The monastery museum has an important collection of mediaeval art objects, mainly from the time of Stephen the Great and his immediate successors.
Stephen the Great built the massive tower of the treasures in 1481, and it is the only structure of the original monastery that still stands. The library of the monastery is placed on the upper floors of the tower.
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During the 17th and 18th centuries, the monastery was pillaged and repaired many times. Of the original compound, only the polygonal treasure tower abutting the western wall still stands. On the east façade of this tower is a commemorative inscription, which reads: "The well-honouring Prince of the whole country of Moldavia, Stephen, son of Prince Bogdan, built and made this tower and the wall surrounding the monastery in the year 6989 (1481) on 1 May". Also the monastery walls have been rebuilt several times, and the excavated remains of the 15th century wall show that the original compound was smaller than the present one. The north wall dates from the 1850s, while the south one is from the 1750s. The west wall has parts built in the 17th and th 18 centuries, and on the east wall there are fragments from the 15th century. The present solid gate tower was built in 1757 on the location of the tower built by Stephen the Great. The original commemorative inscription and the Moldavian coat of arms were recuperated and placed on the façade of the new tower. The structure is also known as the Eminescu Tower, after the national poet Mihai Eminescu, who stayed here during the 400th anniversary of the monastery, celebrated in 1871. Beside it stands the tall four-storeyed bell tower that dates from 1882. The church was unusually large for its time, but the explanation was that it was built to be the burial place of the Prince, his family and his successors. The thick walls are made of massive blocks of stone, and twelve buttresses support the walls. Originally there were only six, and the other six were added during the 17th and 18th centuries. Although the present church follows the ground plan of a typical 15th and 16th century Moldavian church, it has many architectural and decorative features that are typical of 17th century churches. The exterior walls are not the smooth façades of earlier times, but two rows of blind arcades go around the building, smaller ones above the twisted stone cable, and tall ones below it. The stone cable motif was first used in the church of the Dragomirna Monastery in 1609. The tall windows of the exonarthex, three on the west façade and one each on the north and south façades, follow the shape and size of the tall blind arcades. Their upper parts are decorated with intricately carved stone tracery. All the other windows are much smaller, with pointed arches and square carved stone frames. It had been usual to have only one window in each of the three apses, but here there are three windows in each apse, another late influence. Also the lantern tower differs from the
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The two-tiered lantern tower of the church is decorated with twisted pilasters.
Exonarthex he entrance to the church goes through T two lateral doors. Two groined vaults span the exonarthex, which is an unpainted room full of light from the five big windows. It is possible that the exonarthex was added to the construction later in the 17th century. Fragments of mural painting have been discovered on the east wall, but in areas that are no longer visi-
THE PAINTED CHURCHES OF BUCOVINA ble: under the present floor level and in the attic, behind the vaults. This might mean that the east wall used to be the painted west façade of the church, and the new floor and vaults hid the remaining fragments of paint. In the exonarthex, there are two important tombs. On the north side of the room is the tombstone of Metropolitan Teoctist who crowned Stephen the Great, who died in 1478. On the south side is the tombstone of Metropolitan Iacob Putneanul, who died in 1778.
Pronaos he entrance to the pronaos goes T through a doorway with a richly carved receding Gothic frame. The room is square, with a high stellar vault and four rather small windows. On the south side of the room, there are two crypts: of Bogdan III the
PUTNA MONASTERY
A portrait of Stephen the Great on “The Four Gospels of Humor”, illuminated in 1473.
Blind, whose tombstone is carved with: "This is the tombstone of the right believer Prince Bogdan, son of Stephen the Great who founded this holy establishment, who was transferred to these eternal places in year 7025 (1517), on 20 April, at midnight"; and of his sister Maria (d. 1518). On the north side are crypts of Maria, the second wife of Petru Rare[ (d. 1529), and of Prince {tef\ni]\, the grandson of Stephen the Great (d. 1527).
the stone is carved: "I, the well honoured Prince Stephen, founder and builder of this holy establishment, lie here. Who was transferred to these eternal places in year 7…, month… and reigned ….years". The date not filled in shows that the tombstone had been prepared before the Prince died. The exact date of his death and the duration of his
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the north side of the chamber are the tombstones of Maria of Mangop, the second wife of the Prince (d. 1477); and the tombstones of two of the Prince's sons, Bogdan (d. 1479) and Petru (d. 1480).
Naos the naos rises the lantern tower on Above
The tomb of Stephen the Great in the burial chamber. It is made of white marble and decorated with floral motifs.
small window each, the light pours in mainly through the windows of the lantern tower, the "Heaven" of the church. In the new churches with six windows, it is the naos itself that is the most lighted part, and the Celestial heights of the tower are somehow relegated to a secondary position. Also the east apse, the chancel, has three windows, instead of the single small window of earlier times. Since the 18th century, and until a few years ago, the church remained unpainted, which is very unusual
Burial Chamber wo small domes cover the burial T chamber. At the time of the rebuilding, the original full wall between the chamber and the naos was replaced with two thick pillars that support three archways. This was a Walachian influence, very much in vogue during the 17th century. On the south side of the room, there is a stone baldachin, under which is placed the marble tombstone of Stephen the Great. On
for an Orthodox religious establishment. Historical chronicles tell us, though, that “…the paintings were covered with gold both inside and outside the church…”, which lets us understand that originally the church was richly painted, not only inside, but probably also outside. Considering that the church was built to be the burial place of a great prince, it is natural to assume that it was painted in fact by the finest artists of the time. The new paintings follow the usual iconographic programme.
The iconostasis in the naos of the church.
The tower of the treasures was built in 1481, together with the monastery walls. Its walls are two metres wide and designed to resist a siege.
reign were embroidered on the tomb cover. Beside the tomb of Stephen the Great is the tombstone of Princess Maria Voichi]a (d. 1511). She was his third wife and the daughter of the Walachian Prince Radu the Beautiful. On
the oblique arches of the Moldavian vaulting system. The two apses have three windows each, which changes the atmosphere of the room considerably. In the traditional Moldavian churches, where the apses have only one
New gilded paintings on the tower of the naos, with Christ Pantocrator on the dome.