Cercul Gospodinelor (The Circle of Housewives Restaurant))

The amphora house is located on Ştefan cel Mare street, no 14, and was built at the end of the 19th century. This is a one-story brick construction. The facade is highlighted by a sequence of voids and fills, curved and countercurved lines, wide arches. The windows are decorated with sculptural motifs, reminiscent of ancient Greek vessels. The house is typical of eclectic architecture, with dominant neoclassical and baroque elements.

Located on Ștefan cel Mare str., at no. 44,  Lalu house hosts today the Children's Palace. The beautiful building was built by the contractor Carol Zane, according to the plans of the architect Roger H. Bolomey. The name of the house comes from Dimitrie Lalu, who remained in the locals minds as "one of the most famous figures of our city... a great merchant and industrialist, who for over 40 years was active in the economic field of Piatra-Neamț and Neamț County". Coming as a young man from Greece, he settled in Piatra-Neamț, trading in wood, through an association and then on his own. He was not endowed with "a superior culture" but "endowed with a lively intelligence and vocation for trade", becoming not long after one of the biggest merchants and industrialists in the county and in the country, as recorded in the publications and documents of the time. Text source: www.ziarpiatraneamt.ro

"In the vicinity of the Sports Hall is the house where Lady Elena lived her last years - the ideally good and modest woman who was his wife, Her Highness Elena, the companion of Cuza Vodă - as Nicolae Iorga characterized her in 1909, a month before the illness that took her life, after he had personally visited her in this house in Piatra-Neamț." describes the writer Victor Nămolaru in the book "Small tourist guide to Piatra-Neamț (1969)". The same author continued: "...in that black room, in which she could be seen at the bottom of an armchair, in a poor dress of eternal mourning, under a nun's cassock, covered with a simple woolen veil, a small figure finely carved in pale ivory - in that room there was a life that knew, read, learned, that united the entire memory of the past with the perfect consciousness of those today, it was a lonely and decent thought, it was a heart that beat for all that is noble and eyes in which the fountain of tears of those who keep alive the great pains, hidden from the world, which they do not look at, had not dried up." Elena Cuza (b. June 17, 1825, Iași – d. April 2, 1909, Piatra-Neamț), also known as Elena Doamna (Lady Elena), was the wife of ruler Alexandru Ioan Cuza. She was born in Iași, in the Rosetti family and died in Piatra-Neamț, being buried in Solești, Vaslui.

Victor Brauner (1903–1966) was born in Piatra-Neamț and distinguished himself, in the 1920s, as an emblematic figure of the Bucharest avant-garde. In 1933, Brauner joined the surrealist movement initiated by André Breton and in 1938 he permanently moved to Paris. Also then, the artist accidentally loses an eye and, because he had painted himself many years before in a self-portrait with an enucleated eye, he becomes the "visionary painter" of the Surrealist movement, capable of premonitions. Author: Lucian Tudorache Year: 2003 Material: artificial stone Location: the courtyard of the Victor Brauner Art High School, building C Photo source: www.ziarpiatraneamt.ro

On Tuesday, January 14, 2014, on the eve of the National Day of Culture, the bust of Mihai Eminescu was inaugurated in front of the County Library "G.T. Kirileanu" from Piatra Neamț. Author: Lucian Tudorache Year: 2014 Material: bronze Location: Library "G.T. Kirileanu" Photo & text source: www.ziarpiatraneamt.ro

The little mermaid from Piatra-Neamţ is a copy of the famous statue in Copenhagen, made by the sculptor Silviu Bejan, who immigrated to Canada in the meantime. The statue was specially prepared for the visit to Romania of Queen Margareta II of Denmark, who arrived in the municipality of Piatra-Neamț on May 18, 2000. It was initially placed at the Elena Doamna Placement Center, a place that her highness visited together with Prince Consort Henrik. The statue remained at the Placement Center until after May 25, then was moved to the downtown park.   Author: Silviu Bejan Year: 2000 Material: bronze Location: str. 22 Decembrie, no. 1, Piatra Neamţ, on the green space in front of School no. 3

The artistic heritage of the municipality of Piatra-Neamţ was enriched in 1924 with a tribute monument dedicated to the founders of the "Petru Rareş" High School: Ion Negre, Calistrat Hogaş and Mihai Stamatin. Their faces were fixed in bronze by the sculptor Mihai Onofrei. The Italians Carol Zani, construction contractor, and Vincenzo Puschiasis, stone sculptor, also participated in the creation of the stone sculptures that decorate the memorial monument at the "Petru Rareş" National College. He carved the background stone, carved the rectangular border decorated with two laurel wreaths and the relief profile of the goddess Athena, placed at the base of the work. The three bronze medallions, sculpted by Onofrei occupy the upper area of the composition: in the middle, viewed from the front, there is the bas-relief bust of Calistrat Hogaş, on the left, the bas-relief profile of Ion Negre and on the right the one of Mihai Stamatin. The portraits are realistic, they have expressive features, the focused looks capture the interest of the viewers. Their position and the decorative elements give rhythm and symmetry to the unitary and balanced ensemble.   The monument was inaugurated on July 26, 1926, the event being attended by numerous residents, members of the "Popular Athenaeum" association, the initiators of the project, high school students and the sculptor Onofrei. In the tribute speech, the then director of the high school, V.A. Trifu, spoke the following words: "You, the young generation, who tomorrow will support on your shoulders the heavy but expensive burden of our nation,... take an example from our ancestors...".

Did you know that in Piatra Neamț there is a beautiful lipovan church? Its spires are so similar to those of Saint Basil's Cathedral in Moscow. The church was built in 1818, right in the central area of today's city. Once upon a time, an important community of Lipovan Russianslived here, being among the most numerous in the area of Moldova. Close to the banks of the Bistrita river, the locals called this area the slum of lipovans. The original church was built of wood and burned down completely in 1918. Unfortunately, a second fire destroyed it in 2008. However, the community found the strength and resources to rebuild it again, and it was completed and consecrated in 2012. Currently, the community of Lipovan Russiansin Piatra Neamț is considerably smaller, counting only 150 members.

The "Lascăr Vorel" Art Gallery is a small county museum located in the city center, near the Ceahlău Hotel. It was organized in 1993 and hosts exhibitions of contemporary artists. ACCESS IS FREE TIME SCHEDULE: Monday - Saturday 10:00-18:00 It is closed on Sunday.