Ancuța’s Inn – presentation

History pages in a fairytale place

Ancuța’s Inn is a renowned place where you find the authentic Moldavian cuisine and enjoy the best quality natural food, directly from the local farms, with an incomparable taste.

Here is where the great writer and storyteller Mihail Sadoveanu liked to eat and because he was inspired by this charming place, he wrote the famous book “Hanu Ancuței” (Ancuța’s Inn) in which one can find out more about the traditions and customs of the area.

According to some of the documents, the Inn dates since the 18^th Century, when it is said that it was opened for the vendors who were passing by towards Roman, Suceava or Iași. Back then, Ancuța’s Inn was situated on the outskirts of a village and then was moved on the estate of the Catargi boyars.

In 1819, governor Ștefan Catargiu, the owner of the Tupilați estate, receives the privilege to organize fairs and bazaars. Because the Inn was situated at an important commercial crossroads – Șiretului Road and the road that tied Piatra Neamț to Iași or Târgu Neamț through Tupilați – a new Inn was built that also served as a Post Office.

The Inn, beautifully described by Mihail Sadoveanu, is still famous and it is considered a symbol for the entire location. Here, at the Inn, tourists find even nowadays the charm and traditions of the old days: ”You have to know that Ancuța’s Inn wasn’t just that, it was also a stronghold. It was surrounded by thick fences and locked gates as I had never seen anywhere else. Apart from shelter, the Inn was also a place of gathering. Inside you could shelter people, cattle and carts and thieves wouldn’t dare to come near it…The gates would stay wide open as if it was the Princely Court. During the autumn days you could to see through them the entire Valley of River Moldova, and also the mountains with the fir tree forests till Ceahlău and Halauca. The Sun set towards the other side of the land and all things gently faded away in the darkness. Then the fire lit up the stone walls, the black holes of the doors and the bars on the windows. The fiddlers would stop singing and the fairytales began…” (Hanu Ancuței, Mihail Sadoveanu)

In times past, the fairytales would keep flowing, as long as there were still guests left around the fire. The Moldavian traditional dishes are still served today, just like in the old days.

Today the site is different, but the special charm of the place has been preserved and the fiddlers music brings back to life the atmosphere from 200-300 years ago.

Associated with a character who “breathes, lives, trembles and shudders”, Ancuța’s Inn is an “eternal presence that will live as long as people will love telling and listening to good stories.” (Alina Ene)

The writer Mihail Sadoveanu himself used to say about Ancuța’s Inn that, “there is no other INN like this one, no matter where you go on this place called Earth.”

”Wine was brought by Ancuța in a full wooden pot, always in a new jug, and before the narrators would begin their stories, they all inserted their jugs in the pot and the fiddlers would begin their song. From time to time, Ancuța brought them fried chicken from the oven. When the guests arrived, Ancuța welcomed them with fried chicken in a mud bowl and with freshly backed bread.”

The tranquility from the Inn has been preserved over the years and people highly appreciate it even today.

In the same scenery, a different Ancuța still welcomes the guests coming from all over the world with salt and bread, and mostly with the smile on her face.

The Inn’s restaurant has a capacity of 500 places, while the rooms with 28 beds keep the picturesque atmosphere of Sadoveanu’s stories, which make this Inn a suitable stopping by place for rest and relaxation.

When you leave, you can also buy for yourself jams, sorbets, stew, home-made pastrami, pies, sweet bread, cakes and many other good foods from Ancuța’s Pantry.