| Bucovina is a region of monasteries, unique in the | | | | revolution because all the local tourist offices were |
| world for their colorful exterior frescoes. Equally well | | | | abolished. The travel agencies created by the private |
| worth the visit are the villages, still leading the traditional | | | | sector took over the role of the tourist information |
| way of life, and the stunning landscapes. | | | | offices. They can provide you with the information and |
| The name Bucovina may not mean much to many | | | | services for organizing tours in Bucovina. Because |
| people, but Bucovina, and its brave princes, played an | | | | Romanians themselves increasingly prefer to travel |
| important part in the history of the Balkans during the | | | | outside Romania, the travel agencies are more |
| XV and XVI centuries, and in particular with regard to | | | | specialized in organizing international travel. Local tours |
| relations with the Ottoman Empire. The impressive | | | | have been neglected for many years but are now |
| number of churches to be found there, with their fine | | | | flourishing again. |
| exterior and interior frescoes, have been preserved | | | | The private sector is now the most advanced, and |
| and handed down from mediaeval times, and because | | | | appreciated both inside and outside the country for the |
| of their uniqueness and artistic value, were added to | | | | western level of comfort and services. |
| UNESCO's World Cultural Heritage List in 1993. There | | | | Tourist information can also be found in the annual |
| is, indeed, no other place in the world where such a | | | | publication of the Romanian Yellow Pages. All |
| group of churches, with such high quality exterior | | | | bookshops sell travel guides, but it is not so easy to |
| frescoes, are to be seen. | | | | find travel guides of Bucovina in the main towns. An |
| The churches were founded, in most cases, as family | | | | exception could be the newspaper stores. |
| burial places of princes and high nobles. Each painter, | | | | Our travel guide: Bucovina - A Travel Guide to |
| although following the canonical iconographic | | | | Romania's Region of Painted Monasteries is an |
| programme, interpreted the scenes in a slightly | | | | excellent full-color book on a wide variety of cultural |
| different way. The scenes were first painted on the | | | | heritage subjects from mural paintings and |
| interior walls, and then extended to the exterior ones. | | | | archaeology to architecture and local traditions. It also |
| The reasons for such vast scenes were both religious | | | | gives practical information and tips on travel to and in |
| and didactic: to promote Orthodoxy and to educate | | | | Romania, what to see, where to stay, what to buy and |
| the illiterate. | | | | to eat, to get the most of Bucovina. |
| Tourist information in Romania: The notion of "tourist | | | | We hope that you will enjoy your travel to Bucovina! |
| information office" disappeared after the 1989 | | | | |