Stephen the Great of Moldavia founded the church in 1488 to commemorate the Battle of Vaslui. The article names no architect. The founding inscription gives a start on May 26, 1488 and completion in September, which matches the claim that it took three months and three weeks.
The plan is triconch, with a chancel, a naos with its tower, and a pronaos. The tower has sixteen tall niches, four of them holding windows. The north facade has enameled ceramic discs in yellow, brown and green. The windows and doorframes are Gothic, and the 1547 doors show a transition toward the Renaissance. Metropolitan Grigorie Roșca added the exonarthex in 1547 and had the exterior painted.
The frescoes carry hundreds of figures on an azurite background known as Voroneț blue, including the Last Judgment. The monastery was abandoned soon after 1775 and the community returned in 1991. It is part of the UNESCO site Painted Churches of Moldavia.
Comments