Rarău Monastery (Rarău Skete)

Rarău Monastery lies on the southern slope of the Rarău Mountains, at about 1,050-1,100 m, within the village of Chiril in Crucea commune, south of Pietrele Doamnei. It is an Orthodox monastery for monks, dedicated to St John the Theologian. It is reached from Chiril by the Transrarău road and then an unpaved track of about 800 metres, passable by car in summer. According to tradition, in the late fifteenth century there was a hermitage on Rarău, founded by the monk Sisoe at a place called Dodu. Tradition also holds that after 1538, when Petru Rareș lost his throne, Lady Elena and their children hid here under the monks' protection, and the prince later built a church in place of the old one. Wikipedia and tourist guides give 1538 as the founding date. The original skete stood on the northern slope of the mountain. In the late eighteenth century, after Bukovina was occupied by the Austrians, the monks moved to the southern slope, which remained in Moldavia, taking the monastery's treasures with them. Today the grounds contain an old wooden church and a new church, consecrated on 17 September 2000 by Bishop Gherasim Putneanul. The monastery is not on the list of historic monuments. From the monastery, a trail marked with a yellow triangle climbs beneath a power line towards the Pietrele Doamnei area. It is 4.3 kilometres long with about 550 metres of ascent and takes between an hour and a half and two and a half hours. According to CrestinOrtodox.ro, the monastery keeps several icons regarded as wonder-working, including an icon of the Mother of God and one of St John the Evangelist, which is in the new church.