Bucovina is situated in the northern part of Moldavia and is one of the largest historic areas of Romania, together with Muntenia (Valachia) and Transilvania (Siebenburgen). The area became in 1775 part of the Austro- Habsburgic Empire remaining there until 1918. The name of Bucovina remained from that period, when it was given the name of "Tara a Fagului" (Buchenland).
Situated in the village with the same name, on the valley of the Sucevita brook, at 18km from the town of Radauti, the Sucevita Monastery was built in the last decades of the XVIth century, with the money of the Movila noble family, of which Ieremia reigned in Moldavia between 1595-1606. Sucevita was built as a true monastery- citizen, with massive interior walls and strong defense towers, a shining construction, a real blazon of the Movila family. The church is representative for the style of the Moldavian architecture, a harmonious junction of the elements of Byzantine and gothic art to which are added elements of architecture of the old churches from Moldavia.
The last of the monasteries with exterior fresco, Sucevita is considered to be a masterpiece of style. A characteristic feature of the painting is the inclination towards nation, presenting complete aspects of some saints’ lives, such as St. Ioan cel Nou from Suceava, St.Nicholas, St. George, all of them presented with an educational purpose.
The mixture of colors, predominant being the metallic green and blood red, gives the feeling of a huge page from a miniature book. Specific for Sucevita is the painters’ native character, and that made the unity of the assembly to be divided in lots of little paintings, each of them with its own artistic personality.
The monastery is part of the monastery area of Bucovina that includes the monasteries of Voronet, Humor, Arbore, Moldovita, Dragomirna, Putna. Other touristic attractions of the area are the Throne Citadel from Suceava or the Bogdana Church from Radauti.
