The blue-domed church
Domes among the trees.
Pudelek — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Andrey from Russia — CC BY 2.0 · Criss90kf — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Andrey from Russia — CC BY 2.0 · Andrey from Russia — CC BY 2.0 · Andrey from Russia — CC BY 2.0
Hâncu Monastery is a nunnery in the wooded Codri hills, at the village of Bursuc in western Moldova. A church with blue domes, yellow and white buildings with columns and balconies, and gardens full of flowers sit in a quiet valley among the forests. The high official Mihalcea Hâncu founded the monastery in 1678 after his daughter wished to become a nun, and dedicated it to St Paraskeva. Tatar raids destroyed it, and monks revived it after the 1770s. Two stone churches followed, St Paraskeva in 1835 and the Dormition in 1845. The monastery was nationalised in 1944 and later returned as a nunnery. You walk between the churches, the nuns' houses, the gardens and the flowers, with forest on every side. Some buildings are new and some are old red brick. This is a working nunnery, so dress modestly, speak quietly and do not photograph the nuns without asking. The monastery is 42 km in a straight line west of Chișinău and 15 km west of Căpriana Monastery. Entry is free. The last stretch of road is narrow through the hills, so avoid driving it after dark.
Domes among the trees.
Flowers everywhere.
Forest all around.
Bursuc village, Nisporeni District
Yes: cover shoulders and knees, and women cover their hair.
Yes, Căpriana is 15 km to the east.