HUMOR MONASTERY
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It lies 6 km north of Gura Humorului, in the village of Mănăstirea Humorului. Built in the 16th century, this monastery is renowned for its frescoes attributed to Toma de Suceava, where red and gold dominate. The church, modest in size, is in classic Moldavian style. Its carved and gilded wooden iconostasis is an exceptional piece; the four icons in the first register date from the time of Petru Rareș. Interiors (superb superimposed arches) and exteriors (Moldavia's first open veranda) of the building are decorated with traditional Orthodox paintings, in Byzantine style. The interior paintings are among the finest in Moldavia.
The main themes of the exterior paintings are the Tree of Jesse, the Prodigal Son and the Siege of Constantinople (on the south façade, which is very well preserved). The frescoes on the north and west walls, on the other hand, are badly damaged. Near the entrance, the twenty-four stanzas of the hymn to the Virgin still retain their vivid colors and fine drawing.
The site was once fortified, but since its destruction by the Austrians in 1785, all that remains are a few sections of the surrounding walls and an imposing, pointed watchtower (1641), later transformed into a bell tower.
At the time of its foundation, the monastery was occupied by monks. In 1785, when Bucovina was annexed to the Habsburg Empire, it was dismantled, like most of the monasteries in the region, and only regained its function as a monastery in 1992, becoming a convent for nuns.
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