04/03/2017
The name Bukovina came into official use in 1775 with the region's annexation from the Principality of Moldavia to the possessions of the Habsburg Monarchy, which became Austrian Empire in 1804, and Austria-Hungary in 1867. 6000 years ago, the Cucuteni culture developed on the territory of Moldavia. This culture is one of the most interesting Neolithic ones from Europe. The population lived in fortresses, used big ovens to warm up and prepare food, but also for making ceramics with different shapes
Moldavia & Bucovina used to be an independent state built by King Bogdan the First (1359-1365).
Besides civil edifices, the kings and lords of Moldavia also built cultural edifices, usually in peaceful locations, in valleys, in the mountains or at the edge of the forest. The most fruitful times for Bucovina were during the reign of King Stephen the Great, Petru Rareş, Alexandru Lăpuşneanu and the Movilas (1466-1600); after 1530, the area was enriched by constructing churches with many outside frescos, often compared to an "open biblical book" or "an outdoor Sistine Chapel". The originality of these paintings derives from their themes, purity of drawings, precision of local details and chromatic refinement, thus creating an exceptional value - "no other country has anything quite like it" (Joseph Strzygowski).
UNESCO has introduced the monasteries from Bucovina in its catalogue "Great Monuments of the World"; in 1975 they were awarded the Golden Apple by FIJET (International Federation of Journalists and Writers about Tourism). The European Union will support the creation of a "National Regional Park of Monasteries from Bucovina". It refers to the churches inside the monasteries of Humor (1535, red is dominant), Moldoviţa (1537, yellow orange), Arbore (1541, green), Voroneţ (1547, the famous "Voroneţ blue") and Suceviţa (1596, green-red).