Церковь-мавзолей XV века: строение Стефана Великого из Рэзбоень
A Mausoleum Church of XV Century Founded by Stefan cel Mare in Razboieni

Summary/Abstract: The church in Razboieni was erected by Stefan cel Mare in 1496 to commemorate the warriors perished in the battle at Valea Alba on July 26, 1476 against a strong Ottoman army led by the sultan Mehmed II. During this battle the Moldavian army suffered heavy losses. An inscription on the church tells about these events in very expressive words. Archaeological research pursued in Razboieni in 1973 revealed large quantity of re-inhumated bones forming a stratum of 0.40 m lying in the altar part and in the median part of the nave at the distance of approximately 1 m from the lateral walls. In front of the altar, a second stratum of bones overlying the first one was discovered on a somewhat smaller area. Thus, the finds prove truthfulness of Grigore Ureche’s information given in his chronicle, where he wrote that the church in Razboieni was erected over the bones of soldiers perished at Valea Alba. Bones of those who died to protect their country and Christian faith, placed under and in front of the altar, similar to martyr’s relics placed in crypts under the palaeo-Christian sanctuaries, make the church in Razboieni a unique example of ecclesiastic edifice of Romanian medieval architecture meant to honour the memory of heroes fallen in the battle for their country’s independence.

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