15 km North of Suceava, surrounded by powerful walls resembling those of a military fortress, there is Dragomirna Monastery, unique in Romania through its unusual proportions.

Its construction was initiated in 1602 by the Metropolitan of Moldavia, Anastasie Crimca (1560-1629), an important cultural figure of his time. He was a man of church (he first became a monk at Putna Monastery), but he also went on diplomatic missions in Poland and he founded the first known public hospital in Suceava in 1619. He was very fond of miniature drawing and he organized a school for this kind of art at Dragomirna. 25 decorated manuscripts are now spread abroad in Moscow, Sankt Petersburg or Vienna.

Initially, the monastic settlement only consisted in a small chapel, close to some water springs which were highly enjoyed by Moldavian rulers such as Stefan the Great or Petru Rares. The chapel, that can be seen even today, brought some innovations in the field of religious architecture: the shrine has a round shape, while the nave is rectangular and, instead of a narthex, it has an exonarthex, formed of three parts with three openings. The chapel is made of bricks and large stones and there is a strip of green enameled bricks surrounding the building under the windows and the other openings.

It didn’t take long and this chapel became too small for the needs of the community, so Anastasie Crimca initiated the construction of a new church, with the help of the Great Chancellor Luca Stroici and his brother, Treasurer Simion Stroici. The new edifice was built between 1608 and 1609 and it resulted in an unique construction, whose proportions amaze even today. The church, dedicated to the holiday the Descent of the Holy Ghost is very narrow and that is why is seems very tall, as it has a maximum height (considering the bell tower) of 40 m. The walls are made of yellow, resistant blocks of sandstone. The church’s shoulders and its edges are made of carved stone and they elevate to the roof; a stone belt, representing a triple twisted rope, an architectural element of Wallachian origins and a symbol of unity, surrounds the church at the middle. The tower is richly decorated with floral and geometrical motifs and the windows frames have Gothic shapes. The church’s resemblance to a ship is not accidental, as this was a symbol of Christianity.

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