Piatra Neamt

PIATRA NEAMT is one of the most beautiful towns in Moldova set on terraces, on the left bank of Bistrita River, at an average altitude of 345m. Attested in 1387 with the name of “Piatra lui Craciun”, the town developed especially after 1491, when Stephen the Great built here a princely court, made of the Fortress and St.John Cathedral (having a famous belfry later named Stephen’s Tower – 20m high).

Within the Romanian orthodox past the monasteries of Neamt county have a special role. Located approximately 8km North to Piatra Neamt, Bistrita Monastery lasted over six centuries protected by the wooden hills around it. A document written by the Patriarch Iosif Musat dated 7th January 1407 places the monastery on the same level with Neamt Monastery. It was built by Alexandru the Kind in 1402, as a princely necropolis for his family. It was repaired by Stephen the Great who enforced it and added the defense tower in 1498. What we could visit today is not the original construction but the one build by Alexandru Lapusneanu in 1554, who brought skilled painters from Venice to adorn the monastery. It hosts a valuable museum of medieval art.

Next to Targu Neamt, 43km to Piatra Neamt, one could find Agapia Monastery. It was built between 1642-1647 by Gavril Lupu (bother of prince Vasile Lupu). The most interesting are the paintings made by Nicolae Grigorescu between 1858-1861, at the age of 20.

Neamt Monastery (in the village of Vanatori Neamt, 16km to Targu Neamt) is one of the most valuable architectural sites in Moldova. The first documentary mention comes from 1407. The church is the most impressive construction of Stephen the Great. We could find here one of the oldest libraries in the country.

The Neamt Fortress in Targu Neamt was built by Voivode Petru Musat at the end of 14th century on a plateau overlooking the entire Moldova Valley. At that time it was a fortress almost impossible to be conquered, a real hawk nest. The huge walls preserve the marks of a dramatic past: it suffered sieges laid by Sultan Mehmed II (1476) and by Polish King Ioan Sobieski (1691).