Recently, just before the 22nd edition of the Medieval Festival “Days of  Neamț Fortress”, an article appeared on the Twinkl.ro platform, which included Neamț Fortress, Bison Land and Agapia Nunnery and Văratec Monasteries among the Top 15 destinations in the country for families, young people, and childrens.

Guarding over the valleys of River Moldova and River Siret, as well as over the access road to Transylvania, Neamț Fortress has gone through numerous sieges that have taken place throughout time, and represents the grand testimony of a turbulent history of the medieval Moldavian state.

Arriving at Neamț Fortress, tourists symbolically step into the old pages of history and discover the value and tumultuous past of the building by visiting its 21 exhibition spaces. Neamț Fortress attracts over 150,000 visitors annually.

Soon, in honor of this historically important building, the 22nd edition of the Medieval Festival “Days of Neamţ Fortress” will take place. This event is organized by Neamț County Council and Târgu-Neamț Local Council, in partnership with Neamț National Museum Complex, “Ion Creangă” Culture Centre in Târgu-Neamț, folk craftsmen, local producers, and others. There will be various music and medieval dance performances, demonstrations of battle in period attire, parades with princesses and knights, and folk art exhibitions. All of these aim to immerse visitors into the atmosphere of past times, and for the children, these events always provide fascinating history lessons.

 

 

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The author of the article recommends parents and children to also visit the monasteries in Neamț, historical monuments of national interest. These impressive places stand out through their architectural style, the large number of religious art objects they shelter (icons, manuscripts, textiles, etc.), their unique monastic life, as well as their age. Among them, Neamț Monastery, the largest and oldest monastic settlement in the historical region of Moldavia, with roots dating back to the 12th century, is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The second UNESCO site proposed by Romania, a year ago, for the indicative list of cultural monuments, is “Vânători-Neamț Monastic Cultural Landscape”, which also includes the two beautiful monasteries of Agapia and Văratec, mentioned on the Twinkl.ro platform.

The reason for the nomination of these cultural monuments is the fact that the monasteries in the area contribute to strengthening the connection with both the past and the future, with cultural heritage and spiritual aspects. The Vânători-Neamț area includes six large monasteries and ten hermitages, with about 1,000 nuns and monks living in all these monastic establishments. There are also monks living in isolated hermitages in the forest, evidence of uninterrupted monastic activity since the 14th century. In total, there are 40 places of worship (monasteries and community churches), a unique aspect in Romania. Moreover, the monastic villages of Văratec and Agapia together form the largest Orthodox monastic settlement in the world. The presence of these communities of nuns and monks in these places for hundreds of years has also meant a very special interaction with the surrounding landscape and a model for its preservation. Everything that happened here, everything that was produced, actually represents an economy dedicated to the community’s needs, a model of sustainable economy, and a model of resilience.

Neamț County has the largest number of monasteries in the country, and has 537 historical monuments: very old buildings, places of worship, numerous museums and memorial houses which host valuable collections, some dating back to 1210.

All these impressive establishments are located within  Vânători-Neamț Natural Park, a true treasure of the region, covering over 30,000 hectares, out of which 26,000 are forests. There are 41 species of mammals, 103 species of birds, and 7 species of fish in this area. Over a quarter of the plant species in Romania can be found here. It is precisely this harmonious combination of religion, history, and culture, seamlessly integrated into the natural landscape, that represents proof of a true heritage. This place is also known as the Mount Athos of Romania, an ideal space for the existence of monastic settlements.

Bison Land is also among the recommendations made by the Twinkl.ro platform in the article about summer vacation destinations, where children can enjoy a real adventure: https://www.twinkl.ro/blog/15-locuri-de-vizitat-in-romania-cu-copii-in-vacanta-de-vara

In Vânători-Neamț Natural Park, the  bison can be encountered in freedom, semi-freedom, and captivity, offering a unique experience in Europe, and the bison safari will definitely be a memorable adventure for children, who will have the opportunity to learn about wildlife in an interactive and captivating way.

”Dragoș Vodă” Bisons and Carpathian Fauna Reserve, a one of a kind reserve in Romania, is the only one located in the rural area, afar from urban areas, where 6 bisons roam in semi-freedom, and approximately 60 live in the wild. Besides the bison, the largest land animal in Europe, the reserve is also home to red deer, roe deer, wild boars, and various colorful birds.

Thanks to the involvement and efforts made, Bison Land has brought Romanian tourism to the international podium of the most important ecotourism destinations in the world in recent years. It is the only destination in the country that has been listed in an exclusive top worldwide, since 2017. Last year, in 2022, for the sixth consecutive year, Bison Land ranked first in the world in the same Top 100 Sustainable Destinations, in the public vote category.

We thank the Twinkl.ro platform for recommending these four destinations in our county! They have all the advantages to turn the parents’ and children’s vacation into a dream experience.

Twinkl.ro is one of the largest educational platforms in the world, present in over 150 countries, with over five million customers. In Romania, the platform offers over 100,000 resources in Romanian language for teachers, parents, and students, along with over one million resources in English language. Twinkl supports education and provides materials suited to the specific and requirements of the Romanian education system. Half a million Romanians, including parents, teachers and even children, visit Twinkl.ro every month, where they find the following categories: educational materials, articles, games, books and even an experimental artificial intelligence-based assistant.

 

The presence of our county in numerous national, European, and even global rankings from a tourism and historical-cultural perspective fills us with great joy, and it is by no means accidental, due to the uniqueness, picturesque landscapes, and beauty of these places.