ROMANIA – SOUTHERN BUKOVINA | One-day tour to Romania from Chernivtsi

Orthodox Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary Putna Monastery

Putna Monastery is called “Jerusalem of the Romanian people”. It was built by St. Stefan cel Mare – the legendary governor of the Romanian state. Here rest the remains of Stephen the Great – the most beloved and respected Romanian ruler, whom the Moldavian Chronicle called a king. In memory of each victory, he built a monastery or built a temple. For Romanians, this place is the gate behind which the journey to Mount Jerusalem begins. Two kilometers from the monastery, in a stone cave, lived his spiritual father – Reverend Danylo Pustelnyk.

More than 500 years have passed since then, and all these years Putna has been the most important spiritual, historical and cultural center of Romania. 28 rulers are buried here. It is a place of national holidays. At these celebrations, the grave of Stephen the Great was recognized as the “altar of national self-awareness”. About ten thousand pilgrims visit the monastery a year. There are even pilgrim hotels near the monastery.

Sucevitsa Monastery

– one of the best monasteries in Bukovyna, it was built in 1578-1581 by the father of Kyiv Metropolitan Peter Mohyla, the master Yarema and his brother Semyon. The defense complex with towers served as a princely residence for a long time. The highlight of the monastery is the painted church. Suchavytsia itself is the last painted architectural monument of the 22 painted churches of Bukovyna. Travelers involuntarily stop their gaze on the frescoes depicting the ladder to heaven guarded by red-winged angels. Behind the defense walls of this fortress, in the museum, you can see many historical precious objects and works of art. The heart and soul of every tourist will rest in this place.

Marzhinya – village – commune

Marzhinya became famous thanks to the exquisite “black ceramics” made by local craftsmen. This tableware made of safe ecological material is in great demand among tourists. Margin potters consider their production of “black ceramics” a unique world achievement. Marzhinya is also famous for its Ethnographic Museum, housed in an old Bukovyna house, which is more than a hundred years old. Tourists have the opportunity to purchase all the treasures of the folk art of Marzhinya village.

Kachika village

is unique in that its part – Solonets – Nou, is compactly inhabited by the Polish population. The name of the village also comes from the Polish word “kacyka”, which means “duck”. The first Poles – miners, who moved from Halychyna to Bukovina in 1790 by the decision of the Austro-Hungarian ruler, settled in the Solonetsi mining area around the Kachika salt mine. It later turned into salt mines with salt galleries furnished with unparalleled salt figures from biblical scenes. The salt mines themselves have been transformed into real places of pilgrimage, not only for people suffering from various diseases of the respiratory system, but also for believers of various religious cults, children and tourists.

In the village of Kachika, there is a salt ballroom for dancing and the holiest place of Polish spirituality – the Diocesan Sanctuary, which was elevated to the rank of a Minor Basilica.