The architectural complex “Curtea Domneasca” from Piatra Neamt was built between 1468 and 1475 by ruler Stefan cel Mare. This was the administrative center of Neamt County. Shortly after, was also built the church of St Ioan Botezatorul and the Bell-tower (also known as The Tower of Stefan cel Mare).

Also in this location the visitor can see some great museums such as the Art Museum, the Ethnography Museum and Cucuteni Culture Museum. These buildings are not part of the architectural complex “Curtea Domneasca” from Piatra Neamt but represent interesting attraction points for tourists.

“Curtea Domneasca” Architectural Complex on Google Maps

St Ioan Botezatorul Church from Piatra Neamt was built between July 15 1497 and November 11 1498 and represents the most valuable construction from the architectural complex “Curtea Domneasca” built by Stefan cel Mare. The church has a length of 25.90 m, width of 8.10 m and height of 11.30 m and it stands out because of its shape and fine style. The architecture of the building is classic for the Moldavian traditional style.

The interior of the altar is in the shape of a quarter of a sphere and has only one window on the central ax of the church. Between 1871 and 1973 numerous restoration operations were performed both on the inside as well on the outside of St Ioan Botezatorul Church from “Curtea Domneasca” Architectural Complex.

The Bell-Tower (also known as Stefan cel Mare Tower) located north-west from “St Ioan Botezatorul” Church is part of a bigger architectural complex called “Curtea Domneasca”  (in a direct translation would be The Royal Court) and was built as a necessity in 1499 a year after the construction of the church.

The tower, as well the entire architectural complex, represents a true landmark for Piatra Neamt and it looks almost like in its first days without many modifications. This small fortress, build out of hard stone with four counterforts that emphasizes the slim profile, impresses through its proportions and architectural details.

The Museum of “Curtea Domneasca” Architectural Complex is located on Str. Piata Libertatii, Piatra Neamt, Neamt County. The exhibition from “Curtea Domneasca” Architectural Complex from Piatra Neamt was included in the exhibition circuit in 1986 and it hosts tri-dimensional materials and documents that “talk” about “Curtea Domneasca” Architectural Complex, a place that was documented first in 20 April 1491.

The Art Museum from Piatra Neamt represents a panoramic vision of the evolution of art (painting, graphics, sculpture, tapestry) made by Romanian artists at the end of the XX century. In works of sculptors Ion Irimescu and Ion Jalea, painters like Gh Petrascu, Fr Sirato, N Tonitza, Corneliu Baba we can see the period between the two world wars – a period marked by the incidence of the European currents evolved in the XX century. The museum is located right in the Architectural Complex “Curtea Domneasca” from Piatra Neamt.

Founded in 1980, the Ethnography Museum hosts an impressive collection of ethnographic objects and traditional art from Neamt area which illustrates the occupations, customs and clothing but also traditional wood architecture. The museum is located few meters away from the Tower of Stefan cel Mare from the Architectural Complex “Curtea Domneasca” from Piatra Neamt.

The first ethnographic collection of the museum is from 1960 and it is composed from approximately 1,000 pieces. Today, the main collection of the museum offers elements of the traditional house of the Romanian peasant from the Bistrita Valley, the folk costume from this area and also the main handicrafts (weaving, woodworking) from the sub-Carpathian region of Moldavia – Romania.

The Museum for eneolitic art Cucuteni was first opened in the summer of 2005 and it’s the first museum for the Cucuteni art in Romania. The museum is located right near the Architectural Complex “Curtea Domneasca” from Piatra Neamt. The museum has two rooms for the exhibition. In the first one, that is located at ground floor, we can see art objects represented by decorated vessels and in the second room from the first floor, we can see art objects of figurative-plastic, anthropomorphic and zoo-morphic in all phases of development of Cultures Precucuteni-Cucuteni.