Dragomirna Monastery: Churches, Museum and Cycling Route

Churches and Architectural History

The Great Church of Dragomirna Monastery was completed in 1609 and consecrated on 1 September of the same year. The church is 9.60 metres wide, and its spire reaches a height of 42 metres. It uses traditional architectural elements of the Moldavian style, with influences from neighbouring countries. Unworked stone can be seen on the façades; the decorative pilasters are made of hewn and polished stone blocks. Only the naos and the altar preserve original Byzantine frescoes.

The Small Church, the former hermit church of Dragomirna Monastery, has an open polygonal porch on columns. The inscription above its entrance dates the beginning of the monastery to 1602. The fortification walls were built in 1627 by the ruler Miron Barnovschi. The fortified complex includes a bell tower and four defensive towers at the four corners of the enclosure. The walls are approximately 11 metres high.

Further destinations for your travel planning: Rădăuţi, Moldova-Sulița, Gura Humorului, Văleni-Stânișoara, Cacica, Poiana Negrii, Vatra Dornei and Fălticeni.

Museum and Manuscripts

The former Egumenia or refectory building of Dragomirna Monastery now houses the Monastery Museum. The museum contains manuscripts from 1609, 1610, 1611 and 1616. The Dragomirna Psalter manuscript from 1616 is written on parchment and comprises 25 gatherings.

A school for calligraphers and miniaturists existed in Dragomirna; manuscripts from this school are kept in the Monastery Museum. Following the model of the illustrated Psalter manuscript from 1616, the monastery's painting school produced reproductions of its illustrations and texts. The exhibition rooms of the Anastasie Crimca Museum at Dragomirna Monastery include a Gothic hall, the cell of Saint Paisius, a lapidarium, a room for facsimiles of miniatures and a room for parish seals.

Surroundings and Directions

Dragomirna Monastery lies within fortification walls and is reflected in a nearby lake. In the immediate surroundings of Dragomirna, the beech reserve is approximately 97 percent natural in origin and covers around 134.80 hectares. In the immediate surroundings of the monastery, the beech reserve can be reached via the forest path known as “Trei meri”, along a route of 1.6 kilometres.

The official route to Dragomirna Monastery leads through Mitocu Dragomirnei; the monastery is reached approximately 3 kilometres after the village. In the immediate surroundings of the monastery, Fântâna Doamnei lies about one kilometre to the north, by the Dragomirna stream and beside the path leading from Dragomirna village into the forest.

Cycling Route

A cycling loop begins near the lake by Dragomirna Monastery. The Dragomirna–Călinești–Dragomirna cycling route is rated moderately difficult and is 45.8 kilometres long. It follows forest and gravel roads and passes through the surrounding forests, hills and villages.

To the higher-level travel overview: Suceava.