Dragomirna Monastery: a slender 42 m church inside fortress walls
Dragomirna Monastery (Mănăstirea Dragomirna) is a fortified Orthodox monastery north of Suceava in Bukovina, built from 1602 to 1609. Its church, 42 m tall but only about 9.5 m wide, is the tallest medieval monastery church in northern Moldavia and is a rewarding stop away from the busier painted monasteries.
Dragomirna has no founder’s inscription at all: historians dated its famous church only from a note in a Gospel book of 1609 and from old documents.
The history of Dragomirna Monastery
The story starts in 1587, when the ruler Petru Șchiopul granted the clerk Ilie Crimcovici the deserted land of Ungurașii on the Suceava River, as a reward for loyal help against Cossack raiders. A few monks had already built a wooden skete there. Ilie became a monk at Putna under the name Anastasie, was made an archimandrite in 1588 and in 1600, under Michael the Brave, bishop of Rădăuți. When Michael’s rule ended, he withdrew to his estate at Dragomirești.
There, with his relatives, the high chancellor Lupu Stroici and the treasurer Simion Stroici, he built a small stone church in the grounds of the old wooden skete. It was dedicated to Saints Enoch, Elijah and John the Theologian and consecrated in 1602. The monastery appears for the first time in a document of 4 September 1605. Anastasie Crimca then became bishop of Roman and, from 1608, metropolitan of Moldavia, in office in 1608–1617 and 1619–1629. As metropolitan he raised the great church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit, finished and consecrated in 1609.
He gave the monastery many treasures, among them embroidered epitaphs in gold and silver thread, a yew-wood cross with a gilded silver filigree mount, and illuminated books; Dragomirna became a centre of manuscript copying and miniature painting. In 1627 the ruler Miron Barnovschi surrounded the church with high defensive walls, four corner towers and a bell tower, so that the monastery looked like a fortress. Metropolitan Anastasie died in 1629 and was buried in the church porch under a plain slab with no inscription. The work was still unfinished in 1635, when the abbot sold a village to pay for it.
The monastery suffered several raids. In May 1653 Cossacks of Timuș Khmelnytsky plundered its treasures, and in 1658 it was looted by the Tatars. After repairs in the 18th century, it enjoyed a golden age between 1763 and 1775 under the abbot Paisie Velichkovsky, who arrived from Mount Athos with 64 disciples; he was later canonised. In 1767 Catherine II of Russia gave the monastery a crystal chandelier and the great bell called Zaporojanul, which weighs more than 1,100 kg.
After the Habsburgs took over Bukovina in 1775, they closed most Orthodox monasteries in 1783; only Putna, Sucevița and Dragomirna remained, each limited to 25 monks. New cells were built in 1843–1845. Dragomirna became a convent of nuns in 1960, was restored with state support between 1961 and 1976, and again in 2010–2012 in a project funded through a regional development programme.
Curiosities about Dragomirna Monastery
- The great church is about 42 m tall to the cross, yet only about 9.5 m wide, which gives it a strikingly slender profile: the historian Nicolae Iorga compared it to a casket holding holy relics.
- Unlike many other Moldavian churches, it has no founder’s inscription: the date 1609 comes from a note in a Gospel book, and the founders’ names from documents of the period.
- A twisted stone belt of three intertwined strands runs around the church; it is read as a symbol of the Trinity, and its motif is thought to come from the Near East.
- The bell Zaporojanul, a gift from Catherine II of Russia in 1767, weighs more than 1,100 kg and hangs in the bell tower.
- The founder, Anastasie Crimca, was also a miniature painter, and he set up a school of miniaturists and calligraphers at Dragomirna; five manuscripts from it are kept in the monastery museum.
- The metropolitan’s grave lies in the church porch beneath a plain slab with no inscription.
Tours near Dragomirna Monastery
Experiences in the area that you can book online with Viator:
Visiting Dragomirna Monastery: what to see
- Start with the church itself: its stone carving, the twisted belt around the walls and the very tall tower are the main sights.
- The 10 m high defensive walls, with four corner towers and a bell tower, are among the most fortress-like of any monastery on this site.
- The vaulted refectory (trapeza) houses a museum with manuscripts, embroideries, silver-bound books and church objects.
- Outside the walls stands the small graveyard church of 1602, the oldest building of the monastery.
- The Seat Fortress of Suceava is about 13 km away and Arbore Church about 22 km, so it combines easily with a Bukovina day. Check the current opening hours before you go.
Opening hours, access and conditions can change. Check before you go.
Map: where Dragomirna Monastery is
Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors
Photos of Dragomirna Monastery
Questions
Where is Dragomirna Monastery?
It is in the village of Mitocu Dragomirnei, Suceava County, about 12–15 km north of Suceava, among forested hills of fir and oak.
Who built Dragomirna Monastery?
Metropolitan Anastasie Crimca, together with Lupu Stroici and his brother Simion, founded it between 1602 and 1609. The defensive walls were added in 1627 by the ruler Miron Barnovschi.
How tall is the church at Dragomirna?
It is about 42 m tall, 35 m long and 9.5 m wide, which makes it the tallest medieval monastery church in northern Moldavia.
Why is Dragomirna fortified?
The walls of 1627 were built to protect the monastery during the unsettled early 17th century, when it was repeatedly exposed to raids.
What is in the Dragomirna museum?
Embroidered church textiles, books with silver bindings, crosses, a chandelier from Catherine II and illuminated manuscripts from the Dragomirna school.
What can you see near Dragomirna Monastery?
The Seat Fortress of Suceava (about 13 km), Arbore Church (about 22 km), Bogdana Monastery (about 25 km) and Humor Monastery (about 33 km).
Also nearby
Seat Fortress of Suceava
Suceava · princely citadel of Stephen the Great
13 km away
Arbore Church
Suceava · small painted church built in 1502
22 km away
Bogdana Monastery
Rădăuți · oldest church in Moldavia, princely tombs
25 km away
Humor Monastery
Suceava · UNESCO painted church with red frescoes
33 km away