Varzaresti Monastery

Culture · The Codru Forests

The Varzaresti Monastery is steeped in history. It is Moldova’s oldest monastery, and its prayer altar the oldest in the Dniester River Valley, which runs through Moldova and neighboring Ukraine. One of the monastery’s treasures is its icon painting “The Miracles of the Virgin Mary.” Another is a small piece of wood reputed to be from Jesus’s cross. The monastery also contains 19th and 20th Century living quarters for nuns and the remains of several saints. Perched on a hill with a sweeping, idyllic view, the complex looks like a sentinel guarding the area’s tranquility.