Neamț Monastery: Stephen the Great’s church and its scriptorium
Neamț Monastery (Mănăstirea Neamț) is a Romanian Orthodox monastery in Neamț County, about 10 km west of Târgu Neamț, and one of the oldest and most important monastic settlements in Moldavia. Its church, finished in 1497 under Stephen the Great, is a fine example of medieval Moldavian architecture, and the monastery was also a great centre of manuscripts, miniatures and printing.
A scribe from this monastery produced a manuscript dated 1429 that now sits in the Bodleian Library in Oxford, far from the Moldavian forests where it was copied.
The history of Neamț Monastery
Monastic life at Neamț took root in the Middle Ages, and the Romanian Wikipedia article records a small older wooden church known as the White Church. In the second half of the 14th century the prince Petru Mușat is said to have built the first stone church, which has since disappeared. The monastery is first attested in documents in 1407. Later, in the time of Alexander the Good, the buildings were repaired, and the monastery grew into one of the most important religious centres of medieval Moldavia.
The church that stands today was commissioned by Stephen the Great. It was finished in 1497, the year in which the Moldavian army won a battle against King John I Albert of Poland, and it was consecrated on 14 November 1497 to the Ascension. Two new features enlarged and monumentalised the building: a porch before the entrance and a tomb chamber between the pronaos and the nave. This chamber holds the tomb of Stephen II, uncle of Stephen the Great. The facades follow the local Moldavian style, mixing Byzantine enamelled ceramic discs in green, yellow and brown with Gothic buttresses and window frames. The paintings in the main apse, nave and tomb chamber date from the last years of Stephen’s reign, those in the porch and pronaos from the time of Petru Rareș.
Neamț became a major centre of learning. The miniaturist Gavril Uric, the most important representative of 15th-century Moldavian miniature, worked here, and his first known manuscript, dated 1429, is now kept in the Bodleian Library at Oxford. The calligraphers and miniaturists of Stephen the Great made many of the books that were given to Putna Monastery. In the monastery’s cells the chronicler Macarie wrote the chronicle of the reign of Petru Rareș, and Eftimie wrote that of Alexandru Lăpușneanu.
The learned tradition faded in the 17th and 18th centuries and was reborn at the start of the 19th, when Metropolitan Veniamin Costachi founded a printing house at the monastery. The old press that has printed books since 1807 is now on show in the museum. Over the centuries the monastery suffered devastation and destructive fires, each followed by repairs that gradually wore away the original painting.
In 1948 twenty-five senior clerics of the Romanian Greek-Catholic Church were arrested and held at Neamț; in February 1949 they were moved to Căldărușani Monastery near Bucharest. Today the complex includes two churches, two chapels, a bell tower with 11 bells, a theological seminary, a museum with a collection of church art and the old printing room.
Curiosities about Neamț Monastery
- The manuscript of 1429 by the miniaturist Gavril Uric is kept in the Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford.
- The altar screen of the former church of Neamț Fortress is among the most important treasures of the monastery, together with an icon by Nicolae Grigorescu, “The Flight from Egypt”.
- The tomb chamber, which appears here for the first time in a Moldavian church, holds the tomb of Stephen II, son of Alexander the Good and uncle of Stephen the Great.
- The monastery has a circular aghiasmatar (holy-water shrine) in front of it, where water is blessed on the feast day.
- The bell tower holds 11 bells, and a wooden and a metal semantron, the traditional wooden or metal board struck to call the monks to prayer, are also found at the monastery.
- In the summer of 1933 the young Ilie Iacob entered the monastery as a novice; he became Saint John Iacob the Romanian of Hozeva.
Tours near Neamț Monastery
Experiences in the area that you can book online with Viator:
Visiting Neamț Monastery: what to see
- The main building is Stephen the Great’s church of the Ascension, with its Moldavian facades of enamelled discs, Gothic windows and a pentagonal-sided apse.
- The monastery museum keeps church art and the old printing press, and the library holds rare books, some of them among the first printed in Romania.
- The complex has two churches, including the church of St George built into the enclosure wall, two chapels and a bell tower.
- The monastery lies 10 km west of Târgu Neamț and can be reached by road (DN15B) or by train to Târgu Neamț station. Văratec Monastery, about 15 km away, is the nearest other place on this site.
- It is an active monastery, so dress and behave respectfully, and check the current opening hours before you go.
Opening hours, access and conditions can change. Check before you go.
Map: where Neamț Monastery is
Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors
Photos of Neamț Monastery
Questions
Where is Neamț Monastery?
It is in Neamț County, in north-eastern Romania, about 10 km west of Târgu Neamț.
Who built the church of Neamț Monastery?
The existing church was built by Stephen the Great and finished in 1497, after the Moldavian victory over King John I Albert of Poland. It is dedicated to the Ascension.
Why is Neamț Monastery important?
It was a major medieval centre of manuscripts, miniatures and chronicles, and later of printing. It is also a fine example of Moldavian architecture.
How old is Neamț Monastery?
It is first attested in documents in 1407, but its monastic roots are older, and the first stone church is attributed to Petru Mușat in the late 14th century.
How do you get to Neamț Monastery?
By road along the DN15B from Târgu Neamț, or by train to Târgu Neamț station. The nearest airport is Suceava, about 60 km to the north.
What can you see near Neamț Monastery?
Văratec Monastery is about 15 km away, Probota Monastery about 34 km, Bistrița Monastery about 35 km and the Seat Fortress of Suceava about 42 km.
Also nearby
Văratec Monastery
Neamț · Romania’s largest community of nuns
15 km away
Probota Monastery
Suceava · fortified UNESCO church and princely tombs
34 km away
Bistrița Monastery
Neamț · Moldavian princely monastery near Piatra Neamț
35 km away
Seat Fortress of Suceava
Suceava · princely citadel of Stephen the Great
42 km away