Location: Located at a distance of 8 km on the west of Piatra Neamt, on the national road number 15 to Bicaz, in Alexandru cel Bun village , Bistrita monastery lasted for over 600 years despite the hardships of history. Bistrita monastery has a great historical and archeological value because it’s one of the oldest monasteries of Neamt County and Romania. Here we can find the tombs of some great Romanian princes.

Address: Bistrita village, Alexandru cel Bun commune, Neamt County

Tel: +(40) 233 24 10 91

The Patron of Bistrita monastery: “Adormirea Maicii Domnului” August 15 and “Izvorul Tamaduirii” (Adormirea Maicii Domunului means The Departure of Virgin Mary and Izvorul Tamaduirii means The Healing River)

Year of construction: 1406 by Voievod(prince) Alexandru cel Bun

Short history of Bistrita Monastery

The beginnings of the religious life here in Bistrita are from the end of XIV century in the period of Petru Musat, when here was built a wooden church by the care of father Pafnutie. In the year 1402 on the place of the wooden church from Bistritra Monastery ruler Alexandru cel Bun (Alexander the Good) built a church of stone, 30 m long, following the architectural standards of the era. Alexandru cel Bun will also place under the control of Bistrita monastery many nearby villages.

In the year 1418 take place the funeral of Miss Ana and in 1432 the funeral of Alexandru cel Bun. In 1498 Stefan cel Mare(Stefan the Great) subscribes to the list of Bistrita Monastery founders by building an imposing bell-tower with a chapel. After that moment, Petru Musat will rebuild the entire monastery between 1541 and 1546.

In the year 1677 lady Safta, the wife of ruler Gheorghe Stefan, will give Bistrita monastery under the jurisdiction of Jerusalem – this is the beginning of a long period of estrangement in which most of the heritage will be lost. As all the monasteries from Neamt County the events from the year 1821 affected Bistrita monastery – in that period of time the buildings were affected by fires and robbers. Through the decisions of Alexandru Ioan Cuza the Greek monks were forced to leave the monastery and beginning with the year 1863 Bistrita monastery emerges and becomes what it once was: a place filled by the religious life.

In the year 1932 the remains of the founders were moved to the north side under two arches of stone. A similar action also took place at the end of the year 1982, when there was a special service for the statue of ruler Alexandru cel Bun, sculpted by Gir Radulescu and placed on the south side of Bistrita monastery.
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Between 1967 and 1977 and then between 1979 and 1984 took place the reconstruction of the royal palace, the two houses, the school of Petru Rares, the inner walls and the cells of the monastery.

Monastery Bistrita from Neamt – ornaments and treasures

At Bistrita monastery there is The Icon of St. Ana – this is the holy icon that was a gift from the emperor Manuel II Paleologul to Alexandru cel Bun in 1407.

Besides the graves of ruler Alexandru cel Bun and his wife, lady Ana, in the south-east side of Bistrita monastery there is the grave of Ivascu Golescu who died on December 20^th, 1584 and in the north-east there is the grave the great chronicler Grigore Ureche. The royal chapel of Bistrita monastery also hosts the grave of Alexandrel, the first sun of Stefan cel Mare and the tomb stone of Lady Mary, the wife of Stefan Lacusta. The archaeologists discovered another tomb that is presumed to be of Iosif Musat, the first mitropolit of Moldavia – he was a close relative of Alexandru cel Bun.

Here, at Bistrita monastery, there was a school of copyists from the XVI century to the XIX century. Here were formed the famous copyists and miniaturists Paisie and Gavriil Uric. Also, this is the place where two of the fundamental books of our religious literature were written: we are talking about Pemelnicul(the work on this book began in 1407 and completed in the XIX century) and Letopisetul(which mentions the period 1359-1506 and was continued at  Putna Monastery)

The museum of Bistrita monastery was inaugurated in 1932 and it has coins of the era, icons from the centuries XVI-XVIII, sculptures, fresco, remains of royal clothing and other objects founded in the royal chapel.

At the entrance of the church we can see a bell that has almost 800 kg and which has a Slavic inscription and a beautiful emblem of Moldavia. This bell was a gift to Bistrita monastery from the ruler Stefan cel Mare in the year 1494.