Church & monasteryMaramureș & Bukovina

Arbore Church: the painted UNESCO church of Luca Arbore

Arbore Church (Biserica Arbore) is a small Orthodox church in Suceava County, in northern Moldavia, built in 1502 by the boyar Luca Arbore. It is one of the painted churches of Moldavia on the UNESCO list, and its frescoes, especially on the west and south walls, make it a rewarding stop on a hidden-gems tour of Romania.

Arbore’s church is dedicated to a beheading, and its founder, Luca Arbore, was beheaded himself in 1523 on the ruler’s orders, without a trial. The church he built in five months still stands.

WhereArbore village, near Solca, Suceava County, northern Moldavia

TypeOrthodox church with painted facades, built in 1502, UNESCO World Heritage

Best forMedieval frescoes, boyar history and a quieter stop on the painted-churches route

Getting thereBeside the DN2K road between Milișăuți and Solca, about 25 km west-north-west of Suceava as the crow flies

The history of Arbore Church

The village is first mentioned in a document of 15 January 1418, issued at the court of Alexander the Good, under the name Solca de Jos, part of the Solca estate. On 7 March 1502 the boyar Luca Arbore bought the village from the heirs of two local landowners. Luca was the son of old Arbore, governor of Neamț, and one of the great nobles of Stephen the Great; the church’s own inscription calls him governor of Suceava. In the first days of April he began to build a court and a church on the estate, on the site of an old hermitage, meant to serve as the burial place of his family.

According to the Slavonic inscription above the entrance, work began on 2 April 1502 and was finished on 29 August of the same year, barely five months later. The church is small, about 22 metres long, with no tower or dome. Seen from outside it is rectangular, while inside the plan is trefoil-shaped. Its walls extend westwards to form a semi-open space that served as a belfry, a novelty in Moldavian architecture at the time. The entrance is a Gothic portal on the south wall, and the tomb of the founder, under a carved stone canopy, stands in the pronaos.

The interior was painted soon after completion, in 1503–1504, and suffered during the campaign of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent in Moldavia in 1538. A painted inscription over the door of the nave records that in 1541 Ana, daughter of old Arbore, paid the painter Dragosin, son of the priest Coman of Iași, to restore part of the interior and to paint the outer walls. Scholars know him as Dragoș Coman, and the church is regarded as one of the most original works of Moldavian mural painting.

Luca Arbore did not see old age. In April 1523 he was beheaded at the princely court of Hârlău on the order of Prince Ștefăniță, accused of treason but never found guilty or even tried. Two of his sons, Toader and Nichita, were killed the same year. The chronicler Grigore Ureche wrote that the real truth was never known. Of everything Luca built, only the church survives: his court was ruined by fire and later demolished, and only a mound known as La Movileanca, about 75 metres south-east of the church, marks the place.

The church decayed in the 17th and 18th centuries and stood without a roof until the Austrians took over northern Moldavia, which damaged the interior paintings. A stone bell tower was added to the north-west in 1867. Restorations followed in 1909–1914, 1936–1937, 1955–1956 and 1965–1970, and an emergency intervention to secure the paint layer was carried out in 1975. In 1993 UNESCO listed Arbore, together with seven other churches of northern Moldavia, as the Churches of Moldavia.

Curiosities about Arbore Church

The church is dedicated to the Beheading of St John the Baptist, celebrated on 29 August, the same day the building was finished in 1502. Its founder was beheaded 21 years later.
Seen from outside the church is a plain rectangle, but inside the plan is trefoil-shaped, and there is no tower or dome.
On the south wall, among the military saints, St Christopher is shown with the infant Jesus on his shoulder, an image described as unique and unusual in Moldavia.
The west wall holds dozens of small scenes, among them Adam ploughing and Eve spinning, and is considered the best miniature ensemble of the era between Stephen the Great and Petru Rareș. The painter even runs a dragon’s head onto one wall and its tail onto the next.
Luca Arbore’s tomb has a Gothic stone canopy modelled on the canopy over the tomb of King Casimir IV of Poland in Wawel Cathedral in Kraków.
A painting in the pronaos, the Cavalcade of Emperor Constantine the Great, carries an anti-Ottoman message and is found in Moldavia only here and at the Holy Cross church in Pătrăuți.

Tours near Arbore Church

Experiences in the area that you can book online with Viator:

Bistrița Medieval Landmarks and Saxon Heritage Tour

★ 5 (4 reviews) · 1.5 h

See details ›

Red Lake and the Bicaz Gorges Day Tour

★ 4.7 (3 reviews) · 4 h

See details ›

Via Ferrata Tour near Red Lake (Lacu Rosu)

★ 5 (2 reviews) · 2 h

See details ›

Piatra Highlights on a Cycle Rickshaw

1.5 h

See details ›

Visiting Arbore Church: what to see

Start outside: the frescoes survive best on the west façade and, with some damage, on the south wall, where the Acathist Hymn, the Siege of Constantinople and the Last Judgement are painted. The north wall has lost its painting.
Inside, look for the votive portraits of Luca Arbore with his wife Iuliana and their children, and for his tomb in the pronaos, beside the entrance.
The stone bell tower of 1867 stands a little to the north-west of the church, and the mound of the vanished boyar court lies about 75 m to the south-east.
Bogdana Monastery (about 12 km), Humor Monastery and Sucevița Monastery (each about 17 km) and Dragomirna (about 22 km) are the nearest other places of interest on this site.
Access and opening arrangements can change, so check the current opening hours before you go.

Opening hours, access and conditions can change. Check before you go.

Map: where Arbore Church is

Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors

Photos of Arbore Church

Questions

Where is Arbore Church?

It stands in the village of Arbore, near the town of Solca in Suceava County, in northern Moldavia, beside the DN2K road. Suceava lies about 25 km to the east-south-east in a straight line.

Who built Arbore Church and when?

The boyar Luca Arbore built it in 1502, starting on 2 April and finishing on 29 August, according to the inscription above the entrance. It was meant as the burial church of his family.

Is Arbore Church a UNESCO World Heritage Site?

Yes. In 1993 UNESCO included it among the churches of northern Moldavia, together with Humor, Moldovița, Pătrăuți, Probota, St John the New in Suceava, Voroneț and Sucevița.

Why are the frescoes of Arbore Church special?

They cover both the inside and the outside walls and have a lively, almost secular style. The west façade, with its dozens of small scenes, is regarded as the finest miniature ensemble of its time.

Who painted the outside of Arbore Church?

An inscription records that in 1541 the painter Dragosin, son of the priest Coman of Iași, painted the outer walls, paid for by Ana, daughter of old Arbore. He is also known as Dragoș Coman.

What can you see near Arbore Church?

Bogdana Monastery is about 12 km away, Humor and Sucevița Monasteries about 17 km, and Dragomirna about 22 km.