Social program


Trip to Probota monastery, Neamț stronghold, Miclăușeni

Probota monastery

Probota monastery, built in 1530 by Prince Petru Rareș, was destined to be the burial place for the Prince and his family. It was extensively restored between 1996 and 2001, and, in 1993, it was included in the UNESCO Natural and Cultural World Heritage list both for the artistic uniqueness and for the quality of being a remarkable example of a structural type characteristic to a historical epoch. Its twin domes with the complicated system of arches, apses and pendentives are unique in Moldavia. The exterior paintings of the Church of St. Nicholas are faded, but the interior ones are among the finest of their kind in Moldavia. The remains of the monastic buildings were found in archaeological excavations and nowadays the monastery is inhabited by nuns.




Neamț stronghold

Neamt Citadel (Romanian: Cetatea Neamt or Cetatea Neamtului) is a medieval fortress located in north-eastern part of Romania, near Târgu Neamt, Neamt County. It was built in 14th century Moldavia during Petru I of Moldavia's reign and expanded in the 15th century. The citadel played a key role in Stephen III of Moldavia's defense system, along with Suceava, Hotin, Soroca, Orhei, Tighina, Chilia and Cetatea Alba.

Lack of reliable information on the origins of Neamt Fortress had resulted in several hypotheses whose reliability was often questioned. A number of historians and philologists, as A.D. Xenopol, B.P. Hasdeu, D. Onciul consider that - according to the papal bull of 1232 - the Teutonic Knights of Bârsa had built between 1211-1225 on the eastern slope of the Carpathians a castrum muntissimum which was later identified as the citadel. The Germanic (Teutonic or Saxon) hypothesis was acquired by many of Romanian historians.



Miclăușeni

The Sturdza palace in the Miclauseni village, a palace reminiscent of the romance tales of the Middle Ages, was erected between 1880 and 1904 by Gheorghe and Maria Sturdza on the site of a 16th century mansion, property of an old Moldavian family of boyars. Lying in the middle of a beautiful park, stretching on an area of 42 hectares, arranged in English style with decorative trees and numerous flower alleys, the Sturdza Palace is a national heritage asset not only because of its façade, but also because of its interior.