Râșca Monastery

Why come here

The last Moldavian church painted on the outside, and one of the very few on which the painter wrote his own name. Up the south wall climbs the Ladder of Paradise, with its rungs and with those who fall off them.

The last Moldavian church painted on the outside, with an unusual fresco on the south wall: the Ladder of Paradise of Saint John Climacus, signed by the Greek painter Stamatelos Kotronas, one of the few painters of the period whose name is known.

What you find only here

A painter who wrote his name on the wall

In medieval Moldavian art the painters are almost all anonymous: churches carry the name of the founder, not of the craftsman. At Râșca, on the south facade, appears the signature of Stamatelos Kotronas of Zakynthos, a Greek who came to paint the Ladder of Paradise. It is one of the very few painters' names to survive from the period, and the reason Râșca turns up in every history of Romanian art.

In brief

Don't miss the hidden gems

You arrive in the courtyard and look around without knowing where. These are 3 places on the walls that people who know look for.

1. 1
   The Ladder of Paradise The south wall.

   An illustration of the writing of Saint John Climacus: the rungs climb, and those who cannot hold on fall off them.

2. 2
   The painter's signature Also on the south facade.

   Stamatelos Kotronas of Zakynthos is one of the few painters of Moldavian churches whose name has survived.

3. 3
   The porch added later At the entrance.

   Built in the eighteenth century, on pillars, it changes the silhouette of the original building a great deal.

Curiosities: Râșca Monastery

Things that are less widely known, and that nobody tells you at the gate.

• The painter signed his work

  Stamatelos Kotronas of Zakynthos is one of the few painters of Moldavian churches whose name has survived.

• It was a political prison

  In the nineteenth century the monastery served as a place of detention; Mihail Kogălniceanu was exiled here.

How much time you need

If you only have 30 minutes: The south wall, with the Ladder of Paradise.

Visiting rules

• Decent dress.
• A secluded monastery; check the hours before you set off.

When to go

What else is nearby

Suggested circuit: Râșca → Slatina → Probota, for those who want the less-trodden monasteries.

Hours and fees change from one season to the next, and we could not confirm them from an official source. Checked in September 2026.