Radio România Internațional

Tag: monastery

  • The Fagaras Citadel, among the world’s most beautiful such edifices

    The Fagaras Citadel, among the world’s most beautiful such edifices

    Our stopover today is Brasov County, where we will get to know one of Romania’s best-preserved monuments. A great number of publications worldwide have written that it is one of the world’s most beautiful citadels. The Fagaras Citadel, for which construction works were completed in the 16th century, was besieged 26 times, but it was never conquered. Today, on the premises, inside the citadel, we can find the Valer Literat, Fagaras Country Museum, whose doors have been opened for us by the director, Elena Băjenaru.



    The Fagaras Citadel, the Fagaras Country area’s most important historical monument, is a historical monument built over 600 years ago by Wallachia’s ruling princes. It is a citadel for which, as we speak, the final stage is carried, of a restoration project implemented with European funding. In our citadel, the tourist has access crossing a wooden bridge, rebuilt as part of the project, just as it was in the 17th century. It is a citadel which, as we speak, is one of Romania’s best-preserved defense citadels, surrounded by a moat, also built sometime in mid-16th century. It is a citadel surrounded by two massive defense walls with four bastions. Actually, this citadel, which has a perfectly developed defense system, has never been conquered in an armed confrontation, yet it was looted several times.



    Before entering the museum and before visiting the castle, the tourists can take an outer circuit of the premises. With details on that, here is Elena Bajenaru once again.



    They can see the bastions, the two defense walls, they can take a walk along the sentry road, rebuilt and restored just as it was in the 17th century. In one of the bastions an exhibition is to be mounted, dedicated to the Fagaras Citadel’s guard. We have a citadel guard and we re-enact a ceremony for the opening and closing of the gates, just as it was in the 17th century, during the reign of one of the citadel’s princesses, Anna Bornemisza. Then they can enter a very beautiful inner courtyard, in the middle of which the 17th century fountain was restored. They can climb up the stairs and, beginning with the 1st floor, they can enter the museum. In the museum, we present one ne hand, the history of the Fagaras Country, an area with a very rich history. They can also have the chance to see period realignments as part of that exhibition circuit. We have restored the Hall of the Assembly, the Assembly of Transylvania, Transylvania’s Government and Parliament as it was at that time, we restored the bedroom of one of the Fagaras Citadel’s princesses, Anna Bornemisza and, of course, access is also provided to exhibitions of decorative art, fine arts, peasant crafts, or temporary exhibitions. On the second floor we have arranged four rooms. We call them the Throne Hall. In the 17th century record books, they were entered as The Great Palace, there where the Transylvanian princes received in audience the envoys of the European powers. Miron Costin, but also the king of Poland, Sobiesky, were accommodated in this room. Now these four rooms have a cultural purpose. We stage cultural events, classical and medieval music concerts, cultural activities in general, and they are spectacular.



    The citadel’s restoration project will be completed by the end of May, while as soon as that is achieved, beginning June 1st, the ceremony for the opening and closing of the gates will be resumed. Then you can see the citadel guard, made of 12 soldiers clad in the 17th century armour and there is also one of the citadel’s princesses who will show up, reading a document issued around the year 1678. In another move, the director of the Valer Literat, Fagaras Country Museum, Elena Bajenaru said, it is interesting we can establish a connection between torture and the citadel, for at least two reasons.



    In the citadel, after 1700, a torture mechanism was brought, known as the Iron Maid. It is a mechanism that was first documented in Spain, somewhere around 1515, when the one who was sentenced to death was sent to kiss, as a last homage, an image of the Virgin Mary hanging on the body of that mechanism. The culprit approached the mechanism and, as he was stepping on a manhole, a couple of knives darted from behind, penetrating the body of the one who was sentenced. The manhole snapped open and the body fell into a channel where several spears were placed, having the points upwards. The channel communicated with Olt river, flowing 700-800 away from the citadel. Then the Făgăraș Citadel has a Prison Cell Tower that used to be a pretty tough medieval prison, as well as a communist prison for a decade, between 1950 and 1960, with almost 5,000 political detainees being imprisoned here.



    During the summer season, which is drawing near, if you hit the Fagaras Citadel, you can take part in unforgettable events.



    Elena Bajenaru once again.



    Apart from the cultural projects, temporary exhibitions, book launches, we stage a medieval festival in the last weekend of August. It is a medieval festival with knightly orders participating, from Transylvania and elsewhere in Romania. We have medieval theatre performances, medieval music concerts, classical music concerts, medieval theatre, combat demonstrations, smithy workshops, everything that was and can still be associated with the activities revolving around this medieval citadel. Then, on our way out of the exhibition circuit, we have a very well-stocked souvenir shop. We also have citadel guides in English and Hungarian, we have books in English about Transylvania, about the most important monuments Romania has, apart from what we usually offer as souvenirs to go with the Fagaras Citadel.



    Nearby Fagaras Citadel there are two other monuments the director of the Valer Literat Fagaras Country Museum, Elena Bajenaru, strongly recommends the tourists to visit, should they spend more time in the area.



    First of all, I should send them to visit the church built by Brâncoveanu in late 17th century, somewhere around 1697, for two reasons, at least. The church is endowed with a very beautiful painting, made by Preda the Painter, also because the altar piece of that little church could be viewed as the most beautiful altar piece of the entire Brancoveanu-era art. It also lies very close to the citadel, so it is worth visiting it. I should also recommend tourists to visit the Roman-Catholic Church, a former Franciscan monastery, which also lies close by . It is known as one of Transylvania’s first churches with a Baroque-style painting.



    So here we have an interesting tourist destination. Beginning June the 1st, it waits for you with its doors wide open, but also with very many and extremely diverse events.




  • The Wooden Church in the village of Urși

    The Wooden Church in the village of Urși

    The
    restauration of this small church in Valcea county, southern Romania, which
    started in 2009 and was completed in 2020 thanks to the funds obtained through
    donations and the volunteer work of numerous students, architects and
    professional painting conservators, has become not only a model to imitate but
    also a way to learn how they used to build things at that time. According to
    architect Raluca Munteanu, who got involved with the restoration works, the
    church, which was dedicated to the Annunciation and the Archangel Michael, was
    built between 1757-1784.






    Raluca Munteanu: The church we see today isn’t likely to be
    the church that was built first, as we ‘ve learnt that it survived a
    devastating fire in 1883 and subsequently underwent a series of restauration
    works. An 1843 inscription placed at its entrance mentions founder Nicolae
    Milcoveanu who did the restauration works and the church’s extremely valuable
    wall paintings date back to the same year. Nicolae Milcoveanu wasn’t a boyar, but a
    wealthy local who got actively involved in the community life like they used to
    back then. He repaired the church and gave it back to the community.


    However,
    the woodcarvers, those who actually built the church, remained anonymous until
    nowadays, though the painters were mentioned, Gheorghe, Nicolaie and Ioan.
    Gheorghe was seemingly one of the locals, as architect Raluca Munteanu
    believes.






    Raluca Munteanu: They could have been locals who got their
    inspiration from the monasteries in the area, mainly from the Hurezi monastery,
    which served, as one can easily notice, as model for the other churches in the
    area. However, documents are pretty scare in the area and it is possible that
    the names of the builders had been known to the locals, but as they didn’t have
    the routine of documenting events, their names remain unknown to us. A strange
    thing though is that we know the names of the painters… In the case of these
    village churches, few names of their builders are known. We only know they were
    well-trained professionals and went from one place to the other to build
    churches in the neighborhood. An expert painter can nowadays identify the way
    in which local style was passed down from generation to generation.




    The
    dimensions of this church are also illustrative for the village community but
    also for the wood exploitation capabilities of the region. The small church in
    Ursi is almost 8 meters long, 6 meters wide and maybe measures 2 meters and 40
    centimeters from the floor up to its ceiling. With its roof, the church’s total
    height stands at 4 meters and 50 centimeters, says Raluca Munteanu adding that its
    architecture doesn’t belong to any particular style.




    Raluca Munteanu: This is a vernacular church built as
    pragmatically as they possibly could at that time. It is a simple construction
    made with the materials they abundantly had at that time, like wood, for
    instance. This type of dovetail joints can be found all over Europe as it was
    the easiest and cheapest way to build something. At the same time, wood was
    also cheap and easy to come by in these mountainous areas. The church was
    functional and adjusted to meet the requirements of the religious services of
    the Orthodox Church and it doesn’t have anything special as compared to the
    other wooden churches in the region. It complies with the requirements of the
    Orthodox religion and the pattern of its buildings, both in terms of interior
    compartmentalization and functionality. Like I said its decorations were
    influenced by the paintings of the Hurezi monastery and are organized in keeping
    with the Orthodox rituals. What is special, not only for this region but for a
    larger area is the builders’ decision to adorn the church with wooden frescoes
    as these two techniques, the frescoes and the wooden paintings are known to be
    incompatible. Painters here employed a technique used at wall-painted
    monasteries, also known as fresco painting, which is executed upon freshly laid
    lime plaster and is different from secco painting techniques, which are applied
    to dried plaster.




    The church’s frail mural painting and its
    premises have been completely refurbished and given back to the parishioners
    concurrently with another concrete church recently built in the village.




    (bill)



  • Ceausescu’s ruthless demolition of Romania’s historical monuments

    Ceausescu’s ruthless demolition of Romania’s historical monuments

    The southern area of
    Bucharest up until 1986 used to play host to the largest Christian Orthodox
    monastic compound in South-eastern Europe. It is known as the Vacaresti
    monastery. For long the compound had been rated the area’s most important
    landmark. Today, the denomination of Vacaresti still exists because of the
    boulevard taking us all the way up to Piata Sudului, the southern marketplace
    and the nature park, lying quite close to the place where the monastery once stood,
    four decades ago.


    The then Socialist Republic
    of Romania’s legislative assembly on October 29, 1974 voted into law the bill
    on urban and rural planning. It was actually a demolition policy of part of the
    city center of Bucharest, according to Nicolae Ceausescu’s vision. Until 1977,
    such a policy had been implemented on a limited scale, with details being
    especially taken into account. But the 1977 earthquake occurred, which prompted
    Ceausescu to implement the policy on a
    very large scale. Demolition was brutal, while the great thoroughfares were
    severely cut. And that lead up to the disappearance of tens of thousands of
    lodgings, private residences, one-of-a-kind buildings, such as the Brancoveanu
    Hospital or the Mina Minovici Forensic Medicine Institute as well as a great
    number of churches. The great Vacaresti monastery was one of the Orthodox
    worship places that back then was fatally brought down.


    The compound was erected
    between 1717 and 1722 by then the Wallachian ruling prince Nicolae Mavrocordat.
    He was the first Phanariot prince the Ottoman Empire appointed in the Romanian
    Principalities. The compound stretched on a surface area of some 18,000 square
    meters, having two precincts. It was built on the Martisor hill, a green area with
    lots of orchards. The architect G. M. Cantacuzino thought the Vacaresti monastery
    was QUOTE, the epitome of the master builders’ craft who were trained in the
    Brancoveanu art school, UNQUOTE.


    At the behest of the
    Bucharest Municipality’s History Museum, a documentary film was made in the
    early 1970. The Vacaresti Road is the only such film that survived in the
    archives. It provides a detailed presentation of the huge monastery that later
    disappeared. Today’s viewers may find the images of the past building all the
    more precious, since the worship place is no more. We have selected two
    excerpts from the film’s screenplay. The first one explains the importance of
    the Wallachian architectural tradition in the centuries prior to the building
    of the Vacaresti compound.


    The
    construction of the Vacaresti settlement began in the spring of 1716, on the
    slope of a hill generously overlooking the city of Bucharest, and was completed
    in 1722. Its founder was Nicolae Mavrocordat, a prince whose enthronement
    inaugurates the age of the Phanariot ruling princes in Wallachia, according to
    the text of the stone-written inscription in Romanian. The most famous
    Wallachian buildings were the Princely Church in Curtea de Arges, Cozia,
    founded by Mircea the Elder, the Mihai Voda Monastery, which at that time was
    uphill as compared to the city of Bucharest, while Radu Voda was downhill
    from the city, then there was the Sf. Gheorghe/Saint George church in
    Bucharest, while the most famous of them was the monastery Brancoveanu founded
    in Hurezi. These were the monuments that inspired ruling prince Nicolae
    Mavrocordat’s master builders when they erected the Vacaresti monastery.


    Mavrocordaț ruling princes’
    monastery was the culmination point of the arts in the 18th century
    in Wallachia. Here the most important sculpture works were found, such as the
    columns, the base reliefs, the church decorations, inside and outside the
    premises. Vacaresti boasted a large library, a wine cellar, buildings and
    outhouses of the monastic community. Below is the second excerpt from the
    screenplay of the documentary film about the Vacaresti compound. It focuses on
    the special attention Nicolae Mavrocordat gave to the monastery he founded.
    Proof of that are the generous donations the prince made to the monastery. A
    well-deserved credit was given to the prince by posterity.


    The ruling
    prince endowed the monastery he founded, also ruling that, using its revenues,
    ‘strangers should be welcomed, the naked ones should be dressed, the hungry
    should be fed, the diseased should be tended to, those who were thrust in the
    dungeon should be treated with clemency’. When, in September 1730, Nicolae
    Mavrocordat was killed by the plague, he was buried in the church of the
    monastery, in a beautiful marble tomb, with the carved armories of the two
    principalities over which he ruled.


    In the second half of the 19th
    century, the Vacaresti monastery changed its destination, in the wake of more
    than a century of monastic and spiritual life. During the 1848 revolution that flared up all across Europe, the Wallachian revolutionary leaders were
    imprisoned in the hospital of the monastery by the Russian army. So we’re not
    wrong saying the monastery was turned into a penitentiary, also due to its
    construction design. In the first precinct, ruling prince Nicolae Mavrocordat
    had a princely seat built and a guard house for the troops providing his
    security. In 1868 the monastery officially became a prison where those who
    plotted against the state were incarcerated, while the church and the second
    precinct retained their initial purpose. Icons of Romanian culture were imprisoned
    in Vacaresti, such as writers Liviu Rebreanu, Tudor Arghezi, Ioan Slavici. The
    founder, in 1927, of the fascist movement named Archangel Michael’s Legion,
    Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, was imprisoned there too. Codreanu confessed he was
    inspired by an icon in the church. When in 1948 the communist regime was
    completely instated in Romania, political opponents as well as laypeople were
    imprisoned in Vacaresti. One of them was the Greek-catholic bishop Vasile
    Aftenie.


    But the threat of
    disappearance was looming large over the Vacaresti compound in the early 1980s.
    Construction projects of a gigantic congress hall, of a huge stadium, of a
    sports facility and a court house prompted the then authorities to rule the
    demolition of the compound. Specialists made desperate efforts to save the
    compound; it was to no avail. Ceausescu himself issued the demolition order, on
    December 2nd, 1984. After the demolition, the crosses, the columns
    and all the sculpted pieces were for their most part stored in the Mogosoaia
    palace. A small part of them was stored in the Stavropoleos church.


    In 1990, the suggestion had
    been made to rebuild the whole compound from scratch, but a shopping mall was
    built there instead.



    .

  • The Hurezi Monastery

    The Hurezi Monastery


    The Hurezi Monastery, commissioned by Romanian ruler Constantin Brancoveanu in his 2nd year of rule, namely in 1689, is located in the town of Horezu, in the Romanian county of Valcea (south west). From the very beginning it was conceived as an impressive place of worship, a necropolis for the ruler and his family. Beheaded on the sultan’s order 300 years ago, on August 16th, together with his four sons, for refusing to convert to Islam, Constantin Brancoveanu was canonized by the Romanian Orthodox Church to honour his death as a martyr and the long period of peace, of 25 years, which was instated in Wallachia during his rule. That enabled him to commission many places of worship and palaces and to develop the so-called “Brancoveanu style” inaugurated in Hurezi, his first monastery.



    Sister Ecaterina Olteanu, a nun and a guide at the Hurezi Monastery, will next speak about how the monastery was built: “Brancoveanu had a very long rule without conflicts and wars because he was a good Christian and also a fine diplomat. Enjoying a long period of peace, he could attend to many of the country’s problems: economic, cultural and religious. After acceding to the throne, he only fought one fight in Zarnesti, on the territory of the then Transylvania. Afterwards he set the foundation of his first church, the Hurezi Monastery. 4 years before being anointed ruler, he had bought the Hurezi estate, where there were no constructions at all. The estate boasted a large forest, home to a large population of owls, whose singing can be heard even nowadays. “



    In order to build the Hurezi Monastery, Brancoveanu had summoned extremely talented craftsmen: painters, bricklayers, masons, and woodcarvers. Their names were recorded in manuscripts, while their portraits are still visible on the church’s walls, thus breaking the medieval tradition, which said the workers must remain unknown. The entire monastery is actually a compound consisting of smaller and bigger buildings, each with its own significance and artistic value.



    Here is sister Ecaterina Olteanu with a brief presentation of the premises as they appear to visitors: “After you have entered the gate, first you see the gardens and go up an alley with chestnut trees on either side. Then you go to the second yard, which has a fountain of Hrisant, one of the abbots who added another building to the premises on the Southern side. Then there comes the last yard, where the church is located. But besides those yards, there lies a hermitage on every cardinal point. The one in the South, for instance, is the Village Church. Like all the old monasteries that one has its own infirmary, built by the ruler’s wife. Because there weren’t hospitals at that time, monks and nuns were treated and quarantined here in the infirmary, where they mostly used herbs to cure diseases. All the hermitages can be visited today, but the infirmary isn’t functional anymore.”



    But of course, visitors are mostly attracted by the monastery church displaying original decorative motifs at its entrance. Sister Ecaterina Olteanu: “Before entering the church, we have a kind of portico that extends with the narthex, supported by 10 pillars and displaying lavish paintings. The same kind of portico is at Cozia Monastery for instance, which also has paintings in the Brancoveanu style, despite being older. Evidence of that style can be found in other monasteries in the Olt Valley, such as the One Piece of Wood Monastery, Bistrita and Surpatele, founded by Lady Maria, Brancoveany’s wife. The extraordinary architecture of Hurezi Monastery displays local features from Curtea de Arges, such as the two spires, one erected on top of the nave, the other on top of the narthex. Another element of similarity is the floral line dividing the exterior façade in two. The floral line is carved in stone. The window sashes are also carved in stone, while their upper part displays round mouldings that remained unpainted”.



    Another element of attraction, this time situated inside the church, is the iconostasis, carved in golden linden wood, reaching almost ten meters in height. Like other places of worship, the paintings there are outstanding.



    Ever since its foundation in 1872, Hurezi has been a monastic center, first sheltering monks and today operating as a nunnery. To this day it is the widest and best preserved medieval architecture complex from the former Romanian Principalities, at present a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

  • The Hurezi Monastery

    The Hurezi Monastery


    The Hurezi Monastery, commissioned by Romanian ruler Constantin Brancoveanu in his 2nd year of rule, namely in 1689, is located in the town of Horezu, in the Romanian county of Valcea (south west). From the very beginning it was conceived as an impressive place of worship, a necropolis for the ruler and his family. Beheaded on the sultan’s order 300 years ago, on August 16th, together with his four sons, for refusing to convert to Islam, Constantin Brancoveanu was canonized by the Romanian Orthodox Church to honour his death as a martyr and the long period of peace, of 25 years, which was instated in Wallachia during his rule. That enabled him to commission many places of worship and palaces and to develop the so-called “Brancoveanu style” inaugurated in Hurezi, his first monastery.



    Sister Ecaterina Olteanu, a nun and a guide at the Hurezi Monastery, will next speak about how the monastery was built: “Brancoveanu had a very long rule without conflicts and wars because he was a good Christian and also a fine diplomat. Enjoying a long period of peace, he could attend to many of the country’s problems: economic, cultural and religious. After acceding to the throne, he only fought one fight in Zarnesti, on the territory of the then Transylvania. Afterwards he set the foundation of his first church, the Hurezi Monastery. 4 years before being anointed ruler, he had bought the Hurezi estate, where there were no constructions at all. The estate boasted a large forest, home to a large population of owls, whose singing can be heard even nowadays. “



    In order to build the Hurezi Monastery, Brancoveanu had summoned extremely talented craftsmen: painters, bricklayers, masons, and woodcarvers. Their names were recorded in manuscripts, while their portraits are still visible on the church’s walls, thus breaking the medieval tradition, which said the workers must remain unknown. The entire monastery is actually a compound consisting of smaller and bigger buildings, each with its own significance and artistic value.



    Here is sister Ecaterina Olteanu with a brief presentation of the premises as they appear to visitors: “After you have entered the gate, first you see the gardens and go up an alley with chestnut trees on either side. Then you go to the second yard, which has a fountain of Hrisant, one of the abbots who added another building to the premises on the Southern side. Then there comes the last yard, where the church is located. But besides those yards, there lies a hermitage on every cardinal point. The one in the South, for instance, is the Village Church. Like all the old monasteries that one has its own infirmary, built by the ruler’s wife. Because there weren’t hospitals at that time, monks and nuns were treated and quarantined here in the infirmary, where they mostly used herbs to cure diseases. All the hermitages can be visited today, but the infirmary isn’t functional anymore.”



    But of course, visitors are mostly attracted by the monastery church displaying original decorative motifs at its entrance. Sister Ecaterina Olteanu: “Before entering the church, we have a kind of portico that extends with the narthex, supported by 10 pillars and displaying lavish paintings. The same kind of portico is at Cozia Monastery for instance, which also has paintings in the Brancoveanu style, despite being older. Evidence of that style can be found in other monasteries in the Olt Valley, such as the One Piece of Wood Monastery, Bistrita and Surpatele, founded by Lady Maria, Brancoveany’s wife. The extraordinary architecture of Hurezi Monastery displays local features from Curtea de Arges, such as the two spires, one erected on top of the nave, the other on top of the narthex. Another element of similarity is the floral line dividing the exterior façade in two. The floral line is carved in stone. The window sashes are also carved in stone, while their upper part displays round mouldings that remained unpainted”.



    Another element of attraction, this time situated inside the church, is the iconostasis, carved in golden linden wood, reaching almost ten meters in height. Like other places of worship, the paintings there are outstanding.



    Ever since its foundation in 1872, Hurezi has been a monastic center, first sheltering monks and today operating as a nunnery. To this day it is the widest and best preserved medieval architecture complex from the former Romanian Principalities, at present a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

  • “Dintr-un Lemn” Monastery

    “Dintr-un Lemn” Monastery


    Just a few kilometres away from Govora Spa, at the heart of Valcea County, lies the “Dintr-un Lemn Monastery, whose name is the Romanian for “made of one piece of wood. Like most of the churches in Valcea County and along the valley of River Olt, this one too has its unique story. Legend has it that in the old times, when thick forests covered the place, a hermit found an icon of the Virgin Mary placed in the hollow of an ancient oak tree. Also according to tradition, that was the largest oak tree in the area, so large that it would take six or seven people to put their arms around it. It is from the wood of that oak tree that the hermit and the villagers in the area built a small church to shelter the icon. The church stood from the early 16th century to mid-17th century.



    The guide at the “Dintr-un Lemn Monastery, sister Tecla, tells us what this church used to look like: “It was built like an ordinary church, but it had no steeples, because there was not enough wood. The miracle-working icon of the Virgin Mary was kept in this small church for nearly a century, until 1635, when Preda Brancoveanu had a stone church built there. This is when the icon was moved into the princely church where it can still be found today. Around 1800, a fire destroyed part of the building, so the church underwent its first restoration. According to historical documents, the original model was preserved. This is also when the stone foundation was built, and the altar screen was placed. It is the only part of the church made from a different type of wood, lime tree wood, because this is easier to carve and process.



    The founder of the stone church, boyar Preda Brancoveanu, was the grandfather of ruler Constantin Brancoveanu. This is one of the reasons why, throughout his rule, the latter made generous donations to this monastery, both in the form of valuable artefacts and estates.



    Constantin Brancoveanus successor, Stefan Cantacuzino also paid special attention to the monastery. Sister Tecla again: “In the 16th century the entire site consisted in the small church and the area around it, so it was referred to as a hermitage. Once the princely church was erected in 1653, the site was extended and given monastery status. Preda Brancoveanu also had a residence built there, but by 1715 it had gone to ruins. It was on these ruins that ruler Stefan Cantacuzino built the princely palace in the Romanian Renaissance style that we see today, and which has been restored several times so far. It is here that the Wallachian rulers would rest and pray while travelling through the country. During the same period, stone cells were built around the monastery, which were fully restored in 1900. During those times, the monastery site looked very much like a citadel. The belfry was built by Stefan Cantacuzino in 1715. Today, there are three buildings on the site. The newest structure, right at the entrance, was built between 1999 and 2002. On the right, there is a church whose construction started in 2008.



    As for the miracle-working icon, it is still worshiped today, says sister Tecla: “The miracle-working icon, although discovered in the early 16th century, is believed to be much older. Some experts say it dates back to the 4th century and that it is a copy of an icon made by Luke the Evangelist. Others believe it was made in the 13th or 14th centuries and brought from around Constantinople. Others yet say it came from Macedonia and dates to the early 16th century. 160 cm long and 120 wide, the icon is unique in the country, both in terms of size and value. It is painted on cypress wood, but the author is unknown. Interestingly enough, it is painted on both sides. One side features a portrait of the Virgin Mary and on the other a Judgement Day scene.



    As proof of the authenticity of the legend about the foundation of the monastery, four immense oak trees believed to be around 500 years old can still be found on the monastery grounds, which would make them contemporary with the oak tree where the Virgin Mary icon was first found.