Humor Monastery: a UNESCO painted church of 1530

The church of Chancellor Toader Bubuiog

Humor Monastery (Mănăstirea Humor) stands in the village of Mănăstirea Humorului, about 5 km north of the town of Gura Humorului in Bukovina. Its Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God and St George is one of the eight painted churches that make up the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Churches of Moldavia", inscribed in 1993.

There was a monastery here as early as the reign of Alexander the Good: a charter of 1415 mentions the monastery "of Pan Ivan, the vornic", and the ruins of that early church can still be seen a few hundred metres from the present one. At the beginning of the 16th century the old church collapsed, and in 1530 the Grand Logothete (chancellor) of Moldavia, Toader Bubuiog, and his wife Anastasia built a new one "at the command and with the help" of Prince Petru Rareș, as the Slavonic inscription on the south wall says. In 1535 the founder brought in a team of four painters; scholars believe they included the court painter Toma of Suceava. In 1641 Prince Vasile Lupu surrounded the monastery with stone walls and built a massive tower. Under the Habsburgs the monastery was dissolved (1783–1786) and the church became a parish church. Monastic life resumed in July 1991: today it is a convent of nuns of the Archdiocese of Suceava and Rădăuți of the Romanian Orthodox Church.

Why go

Humor is one of the best-preserved painted churches in Bukovina, and it is noticeably different from neighbouring Voroneț. There is no tower over the nave: the church was built by a boyar, not a prince. A warm reddish-brown dominates, and on the west side there is an open porch on arches, the first in Moldavian architecture. Here you can see clearly how Bukovina's masters turned walls into a great illustrated book, with biblical subjects combined with historical allusions to the struggle against the Ottomans. And the monastery is small and peaceful, with a tower from which you can see the whole courtyard.

What to see

• The Siege of Constantinople on the south façade — a scene illustrating the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God; as in other Bukovina churches, the siege of 626 is "updated": the attackers are dressed as Turks.
• The Akathist Hymn and the parable of the Prodigal Son on the façades and the Last Judgment in the open porch.
• The reddish-brown palette of the frescoes, which sets Humor apart from blue Voroneț and golden-blue Moldovița.
• The open porch on wide arches and the hidden chamber above the burial room, where the monastery's treasures were once kept.
• The Vasile Lupu tower of 1641 — built of stone, with a wooden gallery under the roof.
• The ruins of the old 15th-century monastery nearby and the remains of monks' cells in the courtyard.

Practical information

Address: village of Mănăstirea Humorului, Suceava County. It is about 5 km north of the centre of Gura Humorului along a paved road, and about 9 km from Voroneț Monastery. From Ukraine the easiest route is through the Porubne – Siret border crossing and the city of Suceava, about 90 km in total. Opening hours according to the Romania Tourism portal: May to October daily 8:00–19:00, November to April 9:00–17:00. Adult ticket 10 lei, children and students 5 lei, photography 10 lei. These figures are as of November 2026 and the portal gives no update date, so check before you go. Phone: +40 744 827 316.

This is a working convent. A sign at the entrance forbids indecent clothing, smoking and noise: come with shoulders and knees covered, and a skirt and headscarf are appropriate for women. Do not touch the frescoes and do not take photos during services. Allow about an hour for the church, the tower and the courtyard.

Nearby

• Voroneț Monastery, famous for "Voroneț blue" — about 9 km to the south.
• Moldovița Monastery — a painted church in a fortified courtyard.
• Sucevița Monastery with its walls and four corner towers.
• The church in Arbore — a boyar foundation of 1502 with frescoes by Dragoș Coman.
• The salt mine in the village of Cacica — about 20 km to the east.

Photos: Pudelek, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Mark Iverson, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons; România de vis, CC BY-SA 3.0 ro, Wikimedia Commons; DarthChristianWeber, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Alessio Damato, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons; Munteanu Anca, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Vlad Tamnos, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.