Putna Monastery, Bucovina, Romania | The tomb of Stephen the Great

By
Catalina

August 12, 2018

This post is also available in: Română

Putna Monastery, Bucovina, Romania – the tomb of Stephen the Great

Construction Year	1466
Type	Monastery
Style	Moldavian
Founder	Stephen the Great of Moldavia
Getting there	Car, bus (77 km away from the city of Suceava) Nearest train stations: Suceava The closest airports are located in Suceava (SCV) – www.aeroportsuceava.ro Iasi (IAS) – www.aeroport.ro.
When to visit	Tourist season (May to September) Monday – Sunday: 8:30 to 8:00 p.m. Off-season (October to April) Monday – Sunday: 9:00 to 5:00 p.m. Admission fee: 5 lei ($1.5) Camera/ Photo fee: 10 lei ($2.5)
Location	Strada Principala 201, Putna 727455, Suceava, Romania, Europe

Putna Monastery – History and Legends

According to legend this place was decided by Stephen the Great after shooting an arrow to the hill located near the monastery. The building was erected on the ground where the arrow hit.
The current church it’s not the one built by Prince Stephen.
Legend says that Stephen the Great, having once been defeated and wounded in battle and wandering around the country, at last, reached the dwelling place of Daniil the Hermit, who gave him food and shelter. In the middle of the night, the hermit took Stephen by the hand and led him out of the cell, pointing towards a certain spot in the distance and asking him three times in a row whether he saw anything there. The third time, the voivode answered that he saw some lights, to which the hermit replied that those were not lights, but angels, and that the place is sacred. He added that, if he wanted to defeat his enemies, he should build a monastery on that very spot.
The Putna Monastery houses the tombs of Stephen (nowadays, a place of pilgrimage) and several of his family members
The first monastery fortified by Stephen the Great was Putna monastery.
Only the Thesaurus’ Tower remains from the original fortification (1481).
The church ensemble is comprised of the church (centrally located), the access tower gate, the bell tower, sanctums, chapel, museum, turret, court, and the fortified wall surrounding the premises. During medieval times, fortified monasteries sheltered peasants and soldiers against Tartar invasions.
In the churchyard there is a museum worth visiting, the exhibits are hundreds of years old. Here you can see a piece of maple in which it says that Stephen’s arrow has stuck, a replica of the sword of the ruler, the grave covering of Stephen (1504), the grave covering of Mary of Mangop (second wife of Stephen), icons from 1500 and many more.
The church houses the tomb of Prince Stephen the Great. Alongside, there are the tombs of Mary (Stephen’s wife), Mary (Stephen’s daughter), his son Bogdan (ruler during 1504-1517), and his nephew Stefanita (ruler during 1517-1527).