A historical-geographic region situated in eastern Romania, organically integrated into the ensemble, Moldavia measures approximately 400 kilometers from north (the boundary with Ukraine) to south(the Milcov river, a symbolical boundary) and maximum 200 kilometers from west (the Oriental Carpathians) to east(the Prut river, the border with the Republic of Moldova).

Travelers need to know that in current speech Moldova is associated with the determinative “Upper”, meaning Bukovina and the surroundings, “Middle”, the Neamt-Iasi-Vaslui-Bacau areas, and “Lower”, including the so-called Vrancea Land. All the towns feature tow-or three-star hotels, restaurants serving local dishes and food on order: the national roads are sprinkled with models and camping sites. The number of private boarding houses (agro tourism) has been on the rise of late in the main tourist areas-a more recent expression of the traditional Romanian hospitality.

HISTORICAL LANDMARKS

About 6000 years ago on the territory of present-day MOLDAVIA the Cucuteni culture developed, deemed “one of the most interesting and brilliant Neolithic European cultures”; while vegetable growers and animal breeders lived in fortified settlement, using big ovens for heating and for baking. They created varied forms of ceramics decorated with spiral-stylized motifs, symmetrical meanders, in equal colors. The Cucuteni culture also influenced the geto-dacian settlement on Batca Doamnei (Piatra Neamt, the first century B.C.-first century A.D.) the only citadel with stonewalls from the La Tene age discovered in Moldova. From the same period, the Barbosi (Galati) fortification was superposed by an impressive Roman compound-camp, civil settlement and necropolis (the first-third century).

Towards the Middle Ages, there existed stable, well ordered settlements (the towns of Baia, Siret, Radauti, Vaslui, Iasi, Suceava, Targu Neamt, Galati, 1335-400). Around the years 1360 the independent Romanian state of Moldavia came into being.

MEDIEVAL VESTIGES

A self-relying state established by voivode Bogdan I (1359-1365), Moldavia gave 500 years later the signal for the union with neighboring wallachia (1859) and for a while took pride of place in the entire country (1918), remaining a hospitable host for guests coming from everywhere. This despite the fact that famed Moldavian princes like Petru I Musat, Alexandru The Kind, Stephen The Great, Petru Rares, Alexandru Lapusneanu, and prince Ioan The Terrible had to cope with the devastating military acts of the Ottomans and Tartars (15^th –16^th century)

Meeting the requirements of the time, the Romanians princes erected powerful citadels that proved capable of withstanding all hardships, including the onrush of Mohammed II, in 1476. The massive walls, the all-encompassing walls, the inventory of period items preserved at Suceava and Targu Neamt are quite impressive. At the same time, the voivodes founded princely courts (Suceava, Piatra Neamt, Iasi, Vaslui, some of them under restoration now) accompanied usually by representative churches, princely manors within monasteries (Bistrita-Neamt) and even princely inns (Suceava).

MONASTERIES, CHURCHES

Besides the foundations appended to civil constructions, the Moldavian voivodes and the grand boyars erected cult abodes, often in secluded places, isolated in the mountains, in valleys, at the edge of forests.

In the Upper Land of Moldavia, in Bucovina, a brilliant period was that of princes Stephen The Great, Petru Rares and Alexandru Lapusneanu, followed by the Movila rulers (1466-1600), when the region was decorated with churches that after 1530 were painted on the outside with frescoes “open books with biblical contents, a “Sistine chapel facing to the world” they proved easy to understand by everybody, evincing a great originality of topics, purity of drawing, precision of details of local influence, color refinement, all in all an ensemble of exceptional artistic worth. “ Something similar cannot be found in any other country of the world”, said Joseph Strzygowski. These foundations are all put down in the UNESCO catalogue titled “Great Monuments of the World”, and in 1975 they were awarded the GOLDEN APPLE by FIJET (the International Federation of Tourism Journalists Writers). They are part of the future National regional park of Monasteries in Bucovina to be held under the auspices of the European Union. In order of their decoration with frescoes they are the churches of the monasteries Humor (1535, red prevailing), Moldovita (1537, yellow-orange), Arbore (1541, green), Voronet (1547, the celebrated “Voronet blue”), and Sucevita (1596, green-red). To this we should add imposing architectural ensembles like the Putna monastery (the first foundation of Stephen The Great, 1469, princely necropolis), Dragomirna (1802, founded by metropolitan Anastasie Crimca), Probota and Rasca (1530, 1542, erected by Petru rares), Slatina (1561, the first foundation of prince Alexandru Lapusneanu), the churches of Bogdana (approx. 1360, the first masonry monument put up in Bucovina by voivode Bogdan), Patrauti and Popauti (1487-1496, Stephan The Great), Balinesti(1493, chancellor Tautu), Solca (1620, prince Stefan Tomsa). Everywhere there are Museums of old art that exhibit valuable collections of silverware, tapestries, cult items, books, manuscripts, and period furniture.

The traditional cultural heart of Middle Moldavia remains the architectonic complex of Neamt monastery (the 14^th –15^th century) with paintings dating to the period of Stephen the Great, a library from around 1400, history, art and local prints collections. Dr. Andre Lwoff, a Nobel Prize winner, called Bucovina “ a monastery archipelago”, an assessment that can be stretched to the entire area, which, on a quite limited surface brings together highly valuable monuments of past times: the Bistrita monastery (1400), Pangarati (1558), Secu-Sihastria-Sihla (1602-1763), Agapia (1647), Horaita (1725), Varatec (1808).

Components of Middle Moldavia are also the localities within the geographic perimeter of Iasi-Harlau-Bacau-Onesti-Vaslui-Husi, old centers of Romanian culture where princes Roman I Musat, Stephen the Great, Petru Rares built monasteries and churches that have been preserved as models to this day.

Finally, in Lower Moldavia there can still be seen the monasteries of Radeanca (1628), Soveja (1645), Casin (1655), Mera (1735), Lepsa(1750), Berzunti (1774), the masonry churches of Onesti (1494, Stephen The Great) and Galati (1645, prince Vasile Lupu) as well as a few interesting examples of wooden churches in the commune of Ceahlau, at Putna monastery, in the country of Vrancea (Valea Sarii, Vrancioaia, Straoane).

CIVIL ARCHITECTURE

If in the 14^th –16^th centuries Moldavia stood out especially by its fortifications and cult abodes, in the 17^th private residences of note started to be put up. At Pascani, the Cantacuzino erected the palace “with the richest ensemble of monumental sculpture ever to decorate a civil building in Moldavia”. Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza established his summer residence at Ruginoasa (palace, 1811), while at Miclauseni the palace of western inspiration (1752) was restored, and in Iasi the Dosoftei Mansion (1680), the National theatre (1894) and the palace of Culture (1926) were erected. In Galati the Administrative Palace was set up in 1906, the University in 1923, and the town ensemble is now ennobled by several iron sculptures mounted on the town esplanade.

SPAS

The spas in the regions are spread all over, mostly in mountain and hill areas, boasting all the adequate amenities (hotels, villas, treatment installation). At Slanic(1800), “Moldova’s pearl”, mineral waters are used in the treatment of maladies of the digestive and respiratory tracts, nose-ear-throat diseases, nutrition conditions. In the Vatra Dornei resort, next to mineral waters (the chemical composition of which was analyzed in 1806) peat mud is also used to treat cardiovascular, rheumatism and hyper thyroidal conditions. At Solca (1800), Strunga (1830) and Baltatesti (1839) the disorders treated are rheumatism, gynecological, respiratory, digestive and locomotive ailments. At Targu Ocna (1800) bronchi asthma are treated (there are medical facilities in the salt mine) while at Poiana Sarata and Vizantea, locomotive, gynecological, liver digestive maladies are treated.

RESORTS

Durau (elevation 800 m), at the foot of the north side of the Ceahlau massif (elevation 1907m) is the main resort for winter sports in Moldavia, appreciated as early as the time of Prince Dimitrie Cantemir (1710) by numerous personalities of the Romanian culture. Hotels, restaurants, ski runs, balneal treatment installations; hermitage from 1830; The Ceahlau Festival, a folk event; The Ceahlau nature reserve (fossil chalk, original relief contours, more than 1100 species of flower plants, 90 species of birds and mammals). Winter sports can also be practiced at Vatra Dornei, Rarau, Soveja, places also much sought after in summer for mountain trekking.

FOLK ART

In Moldavia it is proven one more time that the Romanians cannot live their daily life without having an artistic pursuit. To understand this suffice it to see the houses up the river Suceava or in the commune of Ciocanesti, the collection of spoons in the town of Campulung Moldovenesc, the painted eggs at Sucevita monastery, the carpets of Humor, the black ceramics of Marginea, the flower ceramics of Radauti or the brown one of Dumesti, the Tarpesti or Nereju masks, the monastery weavings of Agapia, Varatec, the carved stone and wood of Grozesti on the Casin Valley, and even the smoked trout artistically dressed in fir rind served on the Oituz valley, or the bed spread made in the area. The Museums of Folk Art and Ethnography of Suceava, Radauti, Campulung Moldovenesc, Gura Humorului, Solca, Vatra Dornei, Piatra Neamt, Iasi, Focsani, Soveja provide an overall image. The already mentioned Ceahlau Festival has already become traditional, being held yearly in the resort of Durau, and including a lot of merry-making, dancing and parades of folk costumes from all over the country.

VITICULTURE, TREE GROWING

Cotnari is a notorious name in Romania and abroad. On Catalina hill, in a Dacian settlement testimonies were found regarding the growing of vine and the making of wine more than 2000 years ago. Prince Alexandru The Kind appointed a supervisor over the vineyards here (after 1400), while Stephen The Great had a princely cellar (the 15^th century) and Dimitrie Cantemir wrote in 1710 that “I dare call it better and more refined than other European wines”.

Over the years there existed the vineyards around the towns of Iasi, Husi, Odobesti (from where Stephen The Great, Petru Rares, Vasile Lupu used to export in the 15^th –17^th century). Today, the same area extended to Nicoresti-Panciu-Cotesti represents the biggest wine region in the country. The “Grasa” of Cotnari, the “Busuioaca” of Husi, or the red wines of Nicoresti delight the palate of connoisseurs.

The vineyards are often accompanied by orchards (Cotnari, the hills of Iasi, Husi, Nicoresti). Fruit areas there are also in Bucovina, on the Uz and Oituz valley, and in Vrancei land.

NATURE MONUMENTS

Even if Moldavia does not stand out by the size of its territory, nature proved beautiful here: there are tow mountain peaks, the Ceahlau (Durau resort) and Rarau (Campulung Moldovenesc) protected in natural reserves, then the heights of Cozla, Pietricica and Cernegura in Piatra Neamt holding the richest deposit of marine fossils in the country; at Gura Humorului, Vatra Dornei and Dofteana there grow species of trees that everywhere on the globe are protected in dendrological parks. At Bicaz Gorges, the Zugreni Gorges specific fauna and flora develop, at Bosanci we see rare steppe and marsh plants, and at Pangarati yew trees. Aurochs can still be seen in the Vanatori-Neamt reserve.

“Copper fields” and “silver forests” poetical metaphors related to the area bespeak the common oaks and birches of Varatec. A successful intermingling of the landscape can be found in Iasi, at the Botanical Gardens (1856) the biggest in the country.