Neamt County
The oldest traces of human civilisation in the present territory of
the county date back to the higher Paleolithic, about 100,000 years
before Christ. The Cucuteni culture, whose development lasted approximately
one thousand years (ca. 3600-2600 BC) was attested in the territory
of Neamt county by a remarkable number of settlements (approx. 150),
archaeological diggins unearthing important museum collections of
Aeneolitic vestiges. At the time when the Dacian civilisation developed,
in the area of the town of Piatra Neamt, there existed an important
economic, political and spiritual centre – Petrodava. The whole compound
had its heyday between the first century B.C. and the first century
A.D. Standing out is the citadel at Bitca Doamnei which contains shrines
resembling those identified in the Orastiei Mountains. As far as the
existence of a local leader is concerned, historians tend to suggest
the identification of the Kingdom of Dicomes in the very political
centre at Petrodava. The complex of strongholds without peer in Moldavia
and Wallachia is evidence as to a powerful political and military
centre both in Burebista’s time and in the period that preceded the
reign of Decebalus. The first urban settlements, which
emerged under Petru I Musat (1375-1391), were Piatra lui Craciun,
Roman and Neamt. The Neamt citadel, whose documentary attestation
dates back to February 2, 1395, was also erected during the same consolidation
period of the Romanian state east of the Carpathians. The Princely
Court of Piatra Neamt is mentioned for the first time in a document
dated April 20, 1941; it was founded between 1468 and 1475, under
Stephen the Great, the Princely Cathedral being built in 1497-1898
and the 20 m. tall Bell Tower in 1499.
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Geographical
Outline
Neamt county is situated in north-eastern Romania between 46°40’ and
47°20’ North latitude and 25°43’ and 27°15’ East longitude. The county
totals an area of 5,896 sqkm or 2.5 per cent of the national territory.
The Neamt county neighbours in the north on Suceava county, in the
west on Harghita county, in the south on Bacau and in the east on
Vaslui and Iasi counties. The present-day Neamt county came into being
in 1968 when the Soviet model of administrative-territorial organisation
into regions and districts was given up. Neamt county is made up of
74 administrative territorial units including 2 municipalities, 2
towns and 70 communes with 347 villages managed by local councils
as well as mayors, deputy mayors and secretaries. The county seat
is the town of Piatra Neamt. The population of
Neamt county is of 585,385 or 2.4 per cent of Romania’s total population;
the average density is of 99.3 inhabitants per sqkm. Higher densities
are to be found in the municipalities of Piatra Neamt and Roman, each
of which has over 100,000 inhabitants. Of the county’s total population,
40.9 per cent lives in the urban settlements and 59.1 per cent in
rural settlements. The physical features of Neamt county hold a position
that partially overlaps with the Eastern Carpathians, the Moldavian
Sub-Carpathians and the Moldavian Plateau; taking into account also
the plains and the flatlands along the Siret, it shows that Neamt
county has all the physical features existing in Romania. The mountains
are the main feature (51.5 per cent of the total area) and dominate
by 200-400 m the Moldavian Sub-Carpathian hills; yet, given the forests,
the transition is not brutal but gentle, lending a special charm to
the landscapes. The Ceahlau Mountain, whose Ocolasu Mare peak rises
to 1,907 m, is the most impressive in the whole range of the Eastern
Carpathians. Just like Romania as a whole, Neamt county has a continental
temperate climate with its characteristics determined by the distribution
of physical features and the large lakes created by the hydropower
developments on the Bistrita and other rivers. Consequently, the average
annual temperature rises from west to east, whereas the precipitations
decline progressively eastwards. The highest temperature ever recorded
was of 39.5°C (1952) at Dolhesti and the lowest was of 33.2°C below
zero (1954) at Roman. The hydrographic network has an average density
of ca. 0.34 km/sqkm, which is more than the all-county average. The
soils belong to the category of the mountainous zone in a proportion
of 50 per cent , the others belonging to the clayey-alluvial gray
and the chernozem type, in restricted areas. The subsoil of Neamt
county boasts large mineral deposits. To mention are: polymetallic
sulphides, mineral fuels, bituminous shales, common salt (NaCl), kalium
salt (KCl), sulphurous and carbonated mineral waters, limestone and
marl. Flora and fauna. The forests hold 44 per cent of the county’s
area (7th place in Romania in this respect), whereas the forest steppe
is to be found only in the Siret Valley. The rest of the extra-Carpathian
region is occupied by agricultural lands and woods. The alpine vegetation
is present in the high zones which are covered by a poor vegetation
of alphine shrubs, edelweiss and many species of graminaceae. The
fauna, too, is rather poor, the species coming from the lower heights.
The spruce fir zone is the area where one can find, alongside spruce
fir, other resinous trees and where the fauna is represented by large
game: bears, dear, martens, lynx, wild boar. The mixed forests hold
the largest area of the forested zone; here the prevailing are the
fox, squirrel, doe as well as impressive variety of birds. The rivers
of the county are the home of the native trout and, more seldom, the
huck. Many species are protected within natural preserves stretching
over an area of 6,212 hectares, the most important being the Ceahlau
National Park with over 5,200 hectares.
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Touristic
Information
The Neamt
county with a population of 583,686 inhabitants is situated
in the North-East of the central part of Romania. Administratively
this county has two municipalities (Piatra Neamt, the capital
city, and Roman), two towns (Targu Neamt and Bicaz), 70 communes
and 347 villages. With altitudes going down from West to East,
the relief consists in mountains, Sub-Carpathian hills, plateau,
the Valleys of the Siret and Moldavia Rivers. The mountains
cover 51 per cent of the surface of this county. The Ceahlau
Massif is the most impressive one in whole Moldavia. The relief
and climate determine a variety of flora and fauna. The Ceahlau
national park with a surface of 5,200 ha, the Gosman forest
reservation with beech and coniferous trees which are 120-250
years old, as well as the two reservations situated between
Agapia and Varatec which are named "Copper Forests"
and "Silver Forest" by Romanian national poet Mihai
Eminescu, being fairy-like places for visitors. At 1,800 m above
sea level there is larch tree - the only coniferous tree with
falling leaves in Romania. Valuable historic and art monuments,
over 40 in number, are: Neamt Fortress; Agapia Monastery with
its paintings of Nicolae Grigorescu; Durau Monastery - painted
by Nicolae Tonitza; Neamt, Secu, Varatec Monasteries, and episcopal
Church built by ruler Petru Rares. At the Secu, Neamt, and Agapia
Monasteries there were real copying schools of the Romanian
liturgical manuscripts. The Agapia Monastery is known thanks
to its carpet and embroidery workshops. At only 10 km far from
Piatra Neamt, there is the Bistrita Monastery, built by ruler
Alexandru cel Bun, a cultural and historic place where he is
buried. At Pangarati there is a remarkable monument built in
1560 by ruler Alexandru Lapusneanu and which is a two storied
church. Also there are "Ion Creanga" memorial house
in Humulesti, "Mihail Sadoveanu" memorial house in
Vanatori, "Alexandru Vlahuta" one in Agapia, "Calistrat
Hogas" and "Veronica Micle" ones in Targu Neamt.
The travelers in this county have accommodation facilities in
38 places of which 13 are hotels. His tourist landscape is completed
by the Durau Spa and the famous "Hanul Anculei" (Anculas
Inn).
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Economy
Profile
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