MONASTÈRE DE CONDRIŢA

The origins of the monastery date back to 1783, when a hermitage was created by monks from the monastery at Căpriana. The first church of St. Hierarchy Nicholas is old and dates back to the 1820s; it had already been restored in 1891. The Church of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary was built between 1895 and 1897, as well as the annex buildings such as refectories, cells, verandas, galleries. The church of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary follows a rectangular plan with five small towers, the walls are 1.20 m thick, the ceiling is semi-cylindrical, in the corners are painted the four evangelists. The cross of the iconostasis dates from the 19th century and was donated by the monastery of Noul Neamț shortly after 1993. In 1946, some of the monastery's buildings housed a forestry school which functioned until 1960. The monastery was closed in 1961 by the Soviet authorities and its monks transferred to the monasteries of Căpriana and Suruceni. It was transformed into a summer camp for children, before becoming a monastery again in 1993. The old Russian-style frescoes in the Church of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary have fortunately been preserved under lime and were restored in 1995.

In the courtyard of the monastery, you will notice an old stone with an engraved cross and a vague inscription; according to the monks, this stone indicates the place where a wooden church would have been built in the 18th century. Condrița is a very beautiful monastery, it is in the list of the most remarkable in Moldova.