CAPRIANA MONASTERY

The monastery of Căpriana is located in the Codrii forest region and is a symbol of Moldavian history and identity. It was founded in 1429, during the reign of Alexandru cel Bun (Alexander the Good) who placed it under the protection of his wife Princess Marina. Under Ștefan cel Mare, repair work was undertaken after the earthquake of 1471 and the wooden church of the Assumption of the Virgin was built from 1491 to 1496 (rebuilt in stone in 1545). Petru Rareș ordered the restoration of the monastery from 1542 to 1545 after the destruction committed by the Turkish invaders. It was preserved and fortified during the reign of Alexandru Lapușneanu (1552-1568) and then under Vasile Lupu. In 1698 the monastery was placed under the supervision of the Zograph Monastery of Mount Athos. It experienced a renaissance in the 19th century thanks to Metropolitan Gavril Bănulescu-Bodoni (1746-1821) who had the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin restored. The "winter" church of St. George was built in 1903 in a neo-Byzantine style, based on a chapel dating from 1840. In 1962, during the Soviet period, the cloister was transformed into a sanatorium for tubercular children, St. Nicholas' Church into a village club and St. George's Basilica into a storehouse. The monastery was returned to the monks in 1989 and its restoration began in 2003.

In the monastery you can see the largest religious library in Moldova and the relics of Metropolitan Gavril Bănulescu-Bodoni. The place is serene, with a small lake in front of the monastery.