Dobrovăț Monastery: a Stephen the Great church in the forest
Dobrovăț Monastery (Mănăstirea Dobrovăț) is a Romanian Orthodox monastery about 25 km south-east of Iași, in a clearing by a forest stream. Its stone church, begun in 1503 for Stephen the Great, keeps a frescoed interior from the 1520s–1530s and makes a quiet detour from the city.
Stephen the Great died in 1504 before his church at Dobrovăț was finished, and the founder’s inscription on its wall was never completed. His son finished the building.
The history of Dobrovăț Monastery
Monastic life in the forests of Dobrovăț is older than the stone church. In the 15th century a small wooden hermitage, the skete of Giurgiu the Monk, stood nearby; it is first mentioned in 1499. In 1503 the Moldavian ruler bought it, together with five villages, from the heirs of a certain Ivan Damianovici and gave it to the monastery that Stephen the Great was founding.
Work on the church began on 27 April 1503, as a Slavonic inscription on its wall records. In October of that year Stephen endowed the monastery with five villages. But he died on 2 July 1504, before the building was done, and the inscription was never finished. The church was completed in 1504 under his son Bogdan III. Its frescoes, inside and out, were painted in the Byzantine manner between 1527 and about 1531 under another son, Petru Rareș.
In 1607 the ruler Simion Movilă and his wife built a small chapel dedicated to Saint George, about 50 metres south of the main church, to bury their young son Pavel. In 1651 Vasile Lupu placed the monastery under the Zograf monastery on Mount Athos, explaining that it had been left by its monks and was in ruins. Tatars plundered it in 1658. Afterwards the Racoviță boyars became its protectors, restored it after 1663 and built the enclosure wall and entrance tower; six gravestones of the family, dated 1664 to 1685, lie in the church. Russian troops plundered it again in 1739, and in 1743 the gate tower was raised by two octagonal storeys.
In 1851 the church was altered in the Russian-inspired fashion of the time, with three large onion-shaped domes. After the secularisation law of 1863 the Greek monks left and the buildings found other uses: a prison from 1865 to 1900, a girls’ orphanage, and then an agricultural school until 1930. By 1907 the paintings had faded so far that only the founders’ portraits could be made out, and between 1930 and 1936 a commission chaired by Nicolae Iorga had them restored.
Monks returned in 1930, but only until 1948, when a school and a basket-weaving workshop took over. Excavations and a thorough restoration in 1974–1976 removed the added domes and gave the church a unified copper roof, in line with the votive painting. Monastic life resumed in 1990, first with nuns and, since 1992, with monks.
Curiosities about Dobrovăț Monastery
- The founder’s inscription on the church wall breaks off: Stephen the Great died in July 1504 before the building was complete, so the text was never finished.
- In the Moldavian manner the church has no towers or domes, and a burial chamber is set between the entrance room and the nave, an arrangement also found at Neamț.
- The votive painting shows Stephen the Great, Bogdan III the Blind and Petru Rareș as young men in brocade, with crowns and long hair, offering a church that has no domes.
- Some of the frescoes carry graffiti left by soldiers of the army of John III Sobieski, who passed here around 1686.
- Queen Marie of Romania visited Dobrovăț on 1 June 1917 and wrote that the corner of the country was beautiful but that its roads were terrible.
- Excavations in 1974–1976 found traces of human settlement here from the 3rd–4th centuries and from the 10th–12th centuries, long before the monastery.
Tours near Dobrovăț Monastery
Experiences in the area that you can book online with Viator:
Visiting Dobrovăț Monastery: what to see
- The main church, with thick walls, Gothic-style window and door frames and frescoes that survive almost entirely inside, is the heart of the visit.
- The bell tower of the gate, with its two octagonal storeys added in 1743, and the surviving enclosure wall show the monastery’s later history.
- A little south of the main church stands the small chapel of Saint George, built in 1607.
- The monastery lies about 25 km from Iași, so it combines easily with Cetățuia (about 20 km), Golia and Trei Ierarhi (about 23 km each) in the city.
- It is a working monastery, so dress modestly, and check the current opening hours before you go.
Opening hours, access and conditions can change. Check before you go.
Map: where Dobrovăț Monastery is
Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors
Photos of Dobrovăț Monastery
Questions
Where is Dobrovăț Monastery?
It stands in the commune of Dobrovăț, Iași County, about 25 km south-east of Iași and about 35 km north of Vaslui, on the bank of the Dobrovăț stream.
Who founded Dobrovăț Monastery?
Stephen the Great began the church in 1503. He died in 1504 before it was finished, and his son Bogdan III completed it that year.
When were the frescoes of Dobrovăț painted?
The paintings were made between 1527 and about 1531, in the reign of Petru Rareș, another son of Stephen the Great. They were cleaned and restored in the 1930s.
Why is the church of Dobrovăț without domes today?
Three domes were added in 1851, but they were removed in 1974–1976 when the church was restored to its original Stephen-era look, with a unified copper roof.
Is Dobrovăț Monastery still active?
Yes. Monastic life resumed in 1990 with nuns, and since 1992 the community has been made up of monks.
What can you see near Dobrovăț Monastery?
Cetățuia Monastery is about 20 km away, and Golia Monastery, Trei Ierarhi Monastery and the Lions’ Obelisk, all in Iași, are 23–25 km away.
Also nearby
Cetățuia Monastery
Iași · fortified monastery on a hill above the city
20 km away
Trei Ierarhi Monastery
Iași · the church with façades carved like lace
23 km away
Golia Monastery
Iași · walled monastery with a 120-step tower
23 km away
Lions’ Obelisk
Iași · four lions and an obelisk in Copou Park
25 km away