Putna and its surroundings were a reclusory long before Stephen the Great had fired his arrow and chose to build on the very spot it fell what was to become his greatest built achievement, namely Putna Monastery.
Old chronicles place the building of the monastery between 1466 and 1469, whereas its consecration took place in 1470. Its erection is relating to the medieval tradition according to which ruling princes would build monasteries, churches, fortresses after they had ascended to the throne. Likewise, Putna, due to its fortified tall walls and towers, belonged to the defence system designed by Stephen the Great, who had built a series of fortresses like Chilia or Cetatea Alba for instance, as he was so often confronted with invading armies, whether Turks, Tartars, Poles, Kossaks or Hungarians.
The church is plain and strong, with cable mouldings at its façades, blind arcades and trefoiled windows. On the inside, the church is divided into porch, narthex, necropolis, nave and apse. The princely necropolis is unusually large, i.e. 37 m long, 11 m wide and 33 m high (including the belfry). In a recess of the necropolis, supported by two columns and covered by a marble canopy, there is Stephen the Great's tombstone. The necropolis holds also the tombs of the prince's second wife, Maria of Mangop, and that of his third wife, Maria Voichita. Tombs of some of Stephen's descendants, as well as of Moldavian bishops and metropolitans who contributed to the welfare and preservation of the monastery, are also to be found there. The stone carvings of the tombstones, as well as those decorating the frames of doors and windows, evince a Gothic influence come to Moldavia through Transylvania.
In its time, Putna Monastery was a flourishing cultural centre. Its monks would copy manuscripts, old chronicles, and adorn religious texts with miniatures. In the first half of the 16th century, historic chronicles of the Romanian literature were drawn up, and copied at Putna Monastery. Chroniclers and clergymen in Moldavia were trained there between the 15th-16th centuries.
Damaged by wars, fires and earthquakes, the church was restored several times, namely in 1654, in 1757, and more completely in 1966-1988. It seems that the church was initially painted both on the inside and on the outside, but unfortunately, none of the frescoes were left to the day.
Whatever was left untouched by the lapse of time ever since the 15th century is the bell tower of the treasury, on the western side of the complex. Access to the first floor of the bell tower was made by means of a mobile staircase that was withdrawn in case of sieges.
The monastic museum at Putna Monastery is one of the richest in the country, with precious objects dating back to Stephen the Great's time. Among them, mention should be made of golden thread embroideries, tapestries, vellum manuscripts, metal-bound manuscripts, silver psalters, ecclesiastical objects and sacerdotal attire, paintings, sculptures, the tryptich icon worn by Stephen in times of war, Maria of Mangop's* self-portrait etc.
Moldavia's greatest ruling prince, Stephen the Great, was canonized by the Orthodox Church in 1992, and since then, he has been celebrated as a saint every year on the 2nd of July.
Uphill and slightly to the east of the monastery, there is a curious hollowed-out rock with a door and a window, reputedly once the cell of Daniil the Hermit, who acted as Stephen the Great's close advisor, and whose name is related to the foundation of Sucevita Monastery (see further on).

*Maria of Mangop, the last descendant of the Byzantine family of the Paleologs and Stephen the Great's second wife, died at only 27 years of age, leaving no offsprings. It seems that one of the reasons why Stephen had married her was his ambition to have children and become related to an illustrious royal family. As if anticipating her premature death, princess Maria of Mangop embroidered her own shroud, a rare piece of work in red silk, which can be admired at the monastery's museum.