JASSY
W 1565 r. do Jass (Iasi) the capital of Moldova was transferred. After the reunification of the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia in 1859 r., Iasi served as the national capital – to year 1862, when Bucharest received this honor. In the period from the 15th to the 19th century, when Moldova was the trump card of the great power policy in Central and Eastern Europe, Iasi was constantly hosted by messages from neighboring powers and important countries, and the ducal court was the scene of constant interstate games.
This illustrious past explains the origins of the great monasteries, churches, public buildings and museums, surprising for tourists, who have not heard of this city before. For a long time, Iasi was a leading research center, w 1860 r. the first Romanian university was established here.
Contemporary Iasi counts 345 000 residents (many of them are students at the local university) and is the third largest city in Romania. More restaurants here than anywhere else, bars and nightclubs.
Because tourists usually don't go to Jass, local people care about it, to get to know each visitor from abroad as well as possible. The inhabitants of Jass also make efforts, so that the visitor would feel good in their city. You need at least one full day to visit the city.
Orientation
Do Piata Unirii, in the city center, can be reached from the train station, walking north-east along Garii street and then turning right into the Arcu strada. From Piata Unirii bulevardul Stefan cel Mare leads southeast, past the Metropolitan Cathedral of Moldova, to the Palace of Culture., one of the most splendid Romanian buildings.
A 24-hour luggage storage facility is located below 11 two-story apartment block, to the right of the exit from the train station, opposite the car park.
Information
Tourist offices – Around the corner from the Hotel Moldova, Agenda de Turism is located on the strada Anastasie Panu. Maps are sold here, provides information on museums, but it is not possible to reserve a place in private accommodation.
Automobile Clubul Roman (tel.112345), train station Street 13-15, near the station, provides services for motorized tourists and distributes hotel tickets.
Money – BANCOREX, Stefan cel Mare Boulevard 6, exchanges traveller's checks (1,5% commission, minimum 5 $; pn.-pt. 8.30-12.30).
By exchanging cash, it is worth checking first the rates offered by exchange offices in the city center – there are many of them near Piata Unirii and at the Cuza Voda strada.
Post and telecommunications – The main post office is located at strada Cuza Voda. A new functional telephone exchange has recently been built in Iasi (codz. 7.00-12.00) – opposite the Tineretului cinema, on the Lapusnean slope. Country code for Jass: 032.
Travel agencies – Biro CFR (pn.-pt. 8.00-20.00) is located at Piata Unirii, opposite the Traian Hotel.
Moldova Travel Agency (tel.115309) He is based at the TAROM headquarters at the Strada Arcu 3-4. The agency offers a variety of bus tours in Northern Romania, three to ten days. Although the offer is essentially aimed at Romanians, if there are vacancies, foreigners are also invited. The prices are affordable.
Sightseeing
There is a statue in the center on Piata Unirii (1912) Prince Alexander Jan Cuza (1820-1873), founders of modern Romania. The prince's residence is reached via the pedestrian zone next to Hotel Traian. In this large neoclassical building (1806) now it houses the Unification Museum, Lapusneanu street 14.
Wide, The three-lane boulevard Stefan cel Mare leads southeast straight to the monumental Palace of Culture.
On the way, you pass magnificent churches on the right: first, the Moldavian Metropolitan Cathedral (1886), with four towers and a spacious interior, and then the excellent Orthodox Church of Three Prelates (Three Hierarchs; 1639), colloquially known as the "golden church”.
The slender body of the temple is covered with intricate decorative motifs carved in stone, taken from oriental art. None of the fancy arabesque stripes is repeated. Once upon a time, the entire façade was covered with a layer of pure gold, but during the march of Turkish troops the church was set on fire, to melt the gold; At that time, many kilograms of the precious metal were stolen. The interiors hide the tombs of the founder of the church, Prince Vasile Lupu, and Prince Alexander Jan Cuza, as well as 16th-century icons. It is worth coming here for the Sunday sung service, leaving great memories. The white stone building behind the church is a gallery of 17th-century frescoes.
On the site of the 15th-century ducal court, there is a huge neo-Gothic Palace of Culture (1906-1925), former palace of administration. The first ducal residence was built here in 1407 r., but devastating fires (there were twelve of them) did, that the complex had to be built from scratch; each time a palace was built in a style fashionable in a given epoch and larger than the previous one. Currently, the building houses four excellent museums – historical, fine arts, ethnographic (exhibiting, among others. complete equipment of old folk mills and fulling mills) and technical. Temporary exhibitions are placed in the corridors.
Tickets for each of the above-mentioned facilities are purchased separately. Like most institutions of this type in Romania, they are closed on Mondays. The biggest attractions are the round portraits of Romanian rulers (starting with Decebal, ruling in the 1st century. n.e.) in the historical museum, painting of the Italian and Dutch Renaissance at the Universal Gallery and Romanian national costumes in the ethnographic collection on the top floor.
On the square in front of the Palace of Culture and Science, there is an equestrian statue of Stefan the Great (1883). On the same square there is the church of St.. Nicholas (Str Nicolae Domnesc; 1492), the oldest building in the city, and the ancient stone structure of the House of Dosoftei, where the Moldavian exarch Dosoftei published the first significant work in verse in Romanian (1673; currently a branch of the Museum of Literature).
A bit further north, near the market at the Cuza Voda strada, there is the Golia Monastery (1660), towering over Tirgu Cucu. The monastery walls with a 30-meter tower surround a 17th-century church, decorated with colorful frescoes and intricate patterns carved into the entrance. A high rectangular entrance gate and part of the defensive walls have been preserved, the church itself, originally combining the Byzantine style with the Russian-church style, survived unchanged from the 17th century.
Coming from Tirgu Cucu by tram #14 the 8 westbound and getting off, when a building with the inscription “Stadionul Emil Alexandrescu”, it goes to the largest Botanical Garden in the country (Botanical Garden,- 80 ha), at the far end of the Expositiei Park (looking from the stop). There are many greenhouses in the garden, and use shaded paths to reach its remotest nooks and crannies.
Coming back to the center, walks past Copou Park, where you can write greetings on postcards or complete your diary. The romantic poet Mihai Eminescu had a special fondness for this place (1850-1889); a lime tree still grows next to the lion statue, under which some of his best works were created. (Eminescu was from Ipotejti, near Botosani in northern Moldova, but his sweetheart, Veronica, she lived in Iasi, hence the poet was often here).
Walking on Copou Boulevard, you pass a huge neoclassical university (1897). To the left of the statue standing in the middle of the street is the building housing the Casa Pogor Literature Museum, Vasile Pogor street 4. Many famous Romanian writers have been honored here, who lived in Iasi, among them the poet Vasil Alecsandri (1821 -1890).