Religious edifices are the essential part of RomaniaΓÇÖs historical and religious heritage. Built in an architectural style combining Byzantine and Western influences, they express the originality of the local art; churches with exterior and interior frescoes in Moldavia and Bukovina, wooden churches with high, pointed spires in Maramures, fortified churches in Transylvania, "Brancovenesc style" churches in Wallachia.
Churches and monasteries in Romania are the expression of an active religious life. Monasteries such as Agapia, Varatec, Putna, and Suceava can accommodate passing visitors.
A place of prayer and seclusion for orthodox monks and nuns, they have kept the natural beauty of the place that their architecture joins perfectly.
Generally, the churches are orthodox, however, many of them are of catholic and protestant rite, especially in Transylvania. Large towns have one synagogue at least, and in localities in Dobrudja, you can frequently find mosques.
Sixty monasteries exist in Moldavia and Bukovina. UNESCO has put some of these monasteries, representative by their original architecture and polychrome frescoes (Voronet, Humor, Sucevita, Moldovita, Arbore), on the world heritage list.
Most of the monasteries were built in the 15th and 16th centuries, under the rule of voivode Stephen the Great, who erected them after each battle he won against the Turks. These monasteries combine the Byzantine influence with that of the Italian Renaissance. Mostly built following a trefoil pattern, they were the starting point of an original architecture system, known as the Moldavian arch. It is a nave covered by a dome supported by semicircular arches enhancing the impression of height inside the church.
The frescoes, especially those on the exterior walls, stand out through the greatness of composition, their unity of style and laic inspiration. The colours of the frescoes, generally well preserved, surprise by their variety and originality, "the Voronet blue" being the best known of them.
