MOLDAVIAN MONASTERIES AND TRANSYLVANIA

Flight to Bucharest, the capital of Romania. Reception by the local tour guide and transfer to the hotel for 1 night. Then a festive welcome dinner with entertaining folklore music in a restaurant. Later return to the hotel.

 

Drive to visit the Curtea de Arges monastery. The church of the former prince's seat was built in the Moorish style and is famous for its rich decorations from 1517. Continue through the Red Tower Pass to Transylvania. Photo stop at the Orthodox Cozia Monastery, the oldest monastery in Romania. Then you will travel along the picturesque Olt Valley, once the border between Transylvania and Wallachia to Sibiu , one of the oldest cities in Transylvania and a pearl of medieval architecture. City tour with a visit to the most important sights, including the remains of the city fortifications in the medieval center, the local trade and craft houses and the Bridge of Lies. Then visit the three-aisled Protestant parish church from the 14th - 15th centuries, now the seat of the bishops. 

 

Visit to the famous Margaret Church in Medias. The Protestant parish church is known, among other things, for its leaning tower. Today it is one of the most important late Gothic sacred buildings in Romania. Then drive to Biertan  to visit the largest German fortified church in Transylvania and the seat of the Protestant bishops until the end of the 19th century (UNESCO World Heritage Site). Particularly worth seeing is the late Gothic winged altar with its 28 panel paintings and the late Gothic sacristy door with a complicated lock that was demonstrated at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1889, which was able to centrally lock the door in 13 places and thus protect the church treasure in the sacristy. Then overland trip to Sighisoara , the most beautiful and best preserved medieval building in rural Gothic Renaissance and Baroque style in this part of Europe (UNESCO World Heritage Site). Visit of the birth house of Vlad Tepes (known as Count Dracula) and the late Gothic Church on the Hill. Then return to Bazna. Horse-drawn carriages are already waiting here for a trip to the fortified church in Boian with a visit to the fortified church. 

 

Drive to Targu Mures , where the largest Orthodox church in Romania can be seen during a city tour. Continue to Bistrita. Here you can see the Protestant parish church (14th century), with the highest church tower in Transylvania. Then drive over the Tihuta Pass to the Moldavian region. En route stop at the Dracula Castle Hotel, which was the inspiration for Bram Stoker's film. Continue to the hotel in picturesque Câmpulung Moldovenesc  for 2 nights.

 

Excursion to Bucovina . The monasteries of Bucovina are under the protection of UNESCO. The monastery tour begins with a visit to the Moldovita monastery, where the lively monastery life can still be clearly felt. The nunnery was built between 1532 and 1537 by Prince Petru Rares, son of Stephen the Great, and is the first of five monasteries that are world-famous for their exterior wall paintings. Introduction to the world of the Orthodox Faith by Sister Tatiana. Then it goes to the Sucevita Monastery with its large ensemble of fortified and sacred buildings. The monastery was donated by the family of Prince Movila and impresses with its wall paintings such as the "ladder to heaven of John". Then visit the ceramic center Marginea, which is known worldwide for its black ceramics. Continue to visit the Voronet Monastery, also known as the “Sistine Chapel” of Romania. The depiction of the Last Judgment on the entire west facade is particularly worth seeing. The monastery became famous for its basic color, an intense blue mixed with ground lapis lazuli.

 

Drive south to Transylvania, along the Red Lake over the breathtaking Bicaz Gorge. The Bicaz Gorge is a gorge about 5 km long that turns through the Eastern Carpathians. The Red Lake  was created near the pass in 1838 by a landslide that dammed the river. Continue to Predeal, located on the Wallachian-Transylvanian border and at 1,040 m the highest town in Romania. Hotel accommodation in Predeal for 2 nights. 

 

Drive to Prejmer, the easternmost German settlement in Transylvania. The cruciform church and the fortification from the 13th century are worth seeing. Continue to Brasov. The city was founded in the 13th century by the knights of the Teutonic Order and is now one of the largest industrial centers. City tour past the beautiful town houses, the medieval city wall around the historic old town, the town hall, the unique Rope Street, the Catherine’s Gate and a small hidden Orthodox church in the center. In addition, a visit to the Black Church, the largest Gothic religious building in Eastern Europe with an impressive Buchholz organ. Then to Bran Castle, also known as the Dracula Castle from the 14th century. It served the inhabitants of nearby Brasov as part of their protective belt against the Ottomans. 

 

Return to Bucharest. City tour, including the Patriarchal Church (seat of the Orthodox head of Romania), the Palace of the Parliament (the second largest building in the world, after the Pentagon), the Athenaeum, the Royal Castle and the Cretulescu Church. Then visit the Village Museum, an open-air museum with many preserved houses and courtyards from the various regions of Romania. Afterwards transfer to Bucharest airport, farewell and return flight.