Vatra Moldoviței – Monasteries, Hills and Hiking Trails

Vatra Moldoviţei combines impressive monastic culture with a landscape characterised by the Bucovina hills, mountains and hiking trails. If you are looking for a holiday apartment in Vatra Moldoviţei, Moldoviţa Monastery, the Via Transilvanica and the hiking trails on Obcina Mare are the main concrete destinations. This combination of religious buildings and landscape trails gives the place a diverse profile.

Moldoviţa Monastery and the Buna Vestire Church

At the centre of the Moldoviţa Monastery complex stands the Buna Vestire Church. It has an open porch and a tower above the pronaos. The monastery’s present-day church was built in 1532, and its exterior paintings were completed in 1537. The Moldoviţa Monastery Museum is housed in the clişarniţă. For those interested in culture, the present-day church and the museum in the clişarniţă stand side by side at this site. The open porch and the tower above the pronaos are two distinct architectural elements of the church building. The sequence of years, 1532 and 1537, distinguishes the construction of the present-day church from the completion of the exterior paintings.

The name Buna Vestire also appears at the entrance to Vatra Moldoviţei: the ruins of the Buna Vestire Church are located there, 300 metres from the present-day monastery. Mânăstirea Moldoviţa Monastery is also located in the vicinity of Vatra Moldoviţei. Mânâstirea Secrieş Monastery is situated in the surrounding area. Other Orthodox churches in the immediate vicinity include Biserica Ortodoxă Vatra Moldoviţei and Biserica Ortodoxă Paltinu. On cultural days, the ruins at the entrance to the village and the churches in the surrounding area can be considered separate destinations alongside the present-day monastery. The Orthodox churches in Vatra Moldoviţei and Paltinu supplement these monastic sites with two further religious buildings.

Hills, Peaks and Hiking Trails

The Runcul Boului mountain, the Vârful Ciocanului peak, the Dealul Vasile peak and the Dealul Arşiţa Tanului mountain are located in the vicinity of Vatra Moldoviţei. For hikers, the individual elevations can be viewed as separate destinations alongside the trails on Obcina Mare; the difficulty of any particular route is not derived from this. These four landscape features therefore offer different opportunities for observation and movement around Vatra Moldoviţei, without prescribing a fixed order.

Hiking trails on Obcina Mare begin from Vatra Moldoviţei. The Via Transilvanica also passes through Vatra Moldoviţei, crossing the Bucovina hills to the Mestecăniş Pass in Pojorâta. The Bucovina section of the Via Transilvanica runs from Putna Monastery through Vatra Moldoviţei to Poiana Stampei. Anyone planning a longer route can distinguish between the course across the Bucovina hills to the Mestecăniş Pass in Pojorâta and the Bucovina section from Putna Monastery to Poiana Stampei. Vatra Moldoviţei lies within the respective route in both descriptions.

Guidance for Choosing Your Location

Moldoviţa Monastery, with its church and museum, represents the historical destinations, while Obcina Mare, the Via Transilvanica and the surrounding peaks form the landscape focus. The municipality of Vatra Moldoviţei also has a tourist information centre.

For the overall travel overview: Comuna Vatra Moldoviței.