Agafton Monastery

Agafton Monastery is situated in a picturesque area, atop a wooded hill near the city of Botosani. The name comes from its founder monastery, Hieroschemamonk Agaton (popularly known as Agafton), who built here, around 1729, a wooden church. In the first half of the nineteenth century it became the seat of a nunnery. In 1912 within the monastery there was founded the first carpet workshop. Thanks to its position, the monastery was visited by numerous personalities, including Mihai Eminescu, Nicolae Iorga, George Enescu. Three maternal sisters of the poet Mihai Eminescu became nuns at Agafton Monastery. Tradition says that many times in his childhood, the poet Mihai Eminescu came down from his home in Ipotesti to visit his aunts. Around Agafton Monastery there is a real nun village, like those of Văratec and Agapia. Many of these monastic houses in Agafton used to represent the girls dowry when they entered the nuns rank, and for this reason there are many mountain houses (similar to those in Bucovina), traditional houses from the end of nineteenth century from Botosani area or cells suggesting patterns from the Agapia Monastery.

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