About Bucovina

Bucovina is a region in north-eastern Romania and corresponds, nowadays, to the Suceava county and only to the south of the historic Bucovina, the northern part being Ukrainian. The name is originally Germanic, where “Buchenland” means “The Country of Beeches”. The landscape is extremely beautiful, its terrain gradually decreasing from west to east. The lands of Bucovina encapsulate a rich history, ancient traditions and customs, unique monuments and medieval monasteries and churches, famous for their interior and exterior unique paintings.

One of the most important monuments in Bucovina is The Putna Monastery, which was the first monastery founded by Stephen III of Moldavia, therefore it became the king’s resting place. Its construction began in 1466 and it was finished in 1469. The fortification of the monastery was finished in 1481 and, after a fire and an invasion, the monastery was rebuilt from scratch starting with 1653 until 1662.

Another important monument of Bucovina is The Hermitage of Daniil the Hesychast. The monk decided at one point in his life that he wishes to retreat on the shore of the Viteul River and take upon him the Great Schema. There, he found a rock into which he carved a small chapel and lived in hermitage for 20 years.

The Cacica Salt Mine is a special salt mine in Romania because it was built in 1791 and very little modernized to this day. In order to enter, one must walk down a wooden staircase, 200 years old, and composed of around 200 steps. The galleries are very narrow, until the large spaces are reached, where a ballroom, a sports-hall and a small church carved directly into the salt wall can be visited.


The Voronet Monastery is probably the most famous in Romania thanks to its unique color, the “Voronet Blue”, and it is a UNESCO monument. The monastery was founded in 1488 by Stephen III of Moldavia and the legend says that the mysterious 500-years-old color, which can’t be reproduced to this day, was created by the monks there, which were receiving huge amounts of “tuica”, a strong local alcoholic beverage made of plums, in order to work more happily. Since the quantities of alcohol were immense, the beautiful color might’ve been created using the alcoholic beverage as well.


Slatioara secular high forest – a reservation situated on the Eastern slope of Rarau massif-harbors, on a surface of 1064ha, a fragment of secular high forest, untouched by the civilization. The trees that make this reservation are among the oldest in Romania and even in Europe, one of them reaching the age of 350-400 years. The main species are the spruce, fir tree and beech. The natural monuments met in the ,,Slatioara secular high forest” are: the yew, the rock mouse ear, the spurge olive and the fresh water red algae. Here, five new species of butterflies, but also the unique endemic species, the Carabus rarauense have been discovered. In UNESCO Heritage also. 105k and 80k races will surround this area.