THE SISTINE CHAPEL OF THE EAST

The Painted Monastery of Voronet was built by Romania’s national hero Stefan the Great in 1488. A UN World Heritage Site, Voronet lies in a remote Carpathian mountain valley in the northeast corner of Romania. The entire church is covered in brilliantly painted scenes of Christian reverence.

The frescoes, with the famous “Voronet blue” made of crushed lapis lazuli, have withstood over 500 winters of wind, snow, and rain. The extraordinary back panel of the Last Judgment is renowned as the East’s Sistine Chapel (as in Eastern or Orthodox Christianity). It’s one of Romania’s many wonders. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #98 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)