Built in 1532, Moldoviţa Monastery occupies a fortified quadrangular enclosure with tower, gates and well-tended lawns. The central painted church has been partly restored and features impressive frescoes from 1537. The southern exterior wall depicts the Siege of Constantinople in AD 626, under a combined Persian-Avar attack. Interestingly, the besiegers are depicted in Turkish dress – keeping parishioners concentrated on the current enemy.
On the church's porch is another Last Judgment fresco. Inside the sanctuary, on a wall facing the carved iconostasis, a pious Prince Petru Rareş offers the church to Christ. The monastery’s small museum displays Rareş’ original throne.
See www.ruraltourism.ro for some great places to stay in Vama, a small village 14km south of Moldoviţa on the main Suceava-Vatra Dornei road. Many homes have rooms to rent.
Public transport options are limited, with the old train route to Moldoviţa from Suceava via Vama no longer running at the time of research. Taking an organised tour or driving is a safer bet.
