UNESCO: Romanian church joins world heritage list

30/08/2010

The tourism industry hopes for a boost following UN recognition of an eighth church at Bukovina's famous Sucevita Monastery.

By Paul Ciocoiu for Southeast European Times in Bucharest -- 30/08/10

The church was built in the Moldavian style -- a combination of elements of Byzantine and Gothic art with features of the old local wooden churches. [UNESCO]

A 16th-century church in northern Romania has been added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites. Meeting in Brasilia this month, the international organisation decided to inscribe 21 new sites on the list and approved extensions for several others.

One of the extensions was for the Sucevita Monastery complex in Bukovina. Seven churches at the site already received world heritage status in 1993, and UNESCO has now decided to add an eighth.

The Resurrection Church is the only one of the set not built by a ruling voivoda, or local administrative leader, but rather by the members of a powerful aristocratic family, the Movilesti, some of whom acceded to the throne of Moldova and Wallachia.

According to a legend, a woman trying to redeem her sins carried the stones necessary for the construction of the monastery in her oxen-drawn cart over a period of 30 years.

The church, with its striking green colour, was built in Moldavian style, which combines Byzantine and Gothic elements with features seen in the old local wooden churches. It also contains Ottoman themes.

Specialists have named it "the testament of Moldavian art" due to the complexity of its frescoes and architecture.

Locals see the decision as de jure recognition of Sucevita's splendor. "Being one of the most impressive of Bukovina's monasteries, both in dimensions and presentation of the exterior paintings -- the only one still preserving the frescoes of the north wall -- Sucevita was already considered de facto 'heritage' by both tourists and locals", Dana Vatamaniuc, a local guide, told SETimes.

The decision could give local tourism a boost. "Since Bukovina has recently been affected by floods and the effects of the global economic crisis, leading to a decrease in the number of tourists (both Romanian and foreign), the unexpected publicity generated by UNESCO's decision may give new hope to locals involved in the tourist business," Vatamaniuc said.

Publicity alone doesn't suffice, however. "If locals know how to preserve the authenticity of the region, authorities adopt the appropriate development and promotion strategies, and visitors encourage a sustainable tourism based on the local traditions and culture, the painted churches of Bukovina may become one of the most visited sites of Romania," she said. "We only have to seize this opportunity."

More than 900 sites are currently on the World Heritage List. In Romania, other sites include the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve, the group of fortified churches and villages in Transylvania, the Horezu Monastery, the Dacian fortresses in Orastie, the wooden churches in Maramures County and the historic city of Sighisoara.