The Valley of the Twelve

In Tazlau commune from Neamt county is the memorial house where the doctor and writer Ioan I. Mironescu was born and lived. It was set up in 1969 as a museum and permanent exhibition including personal items, photographies, sketches, books and furniture that belonged to him. The house in Tazlău was, a long time ago, also the meeting place and spiritual relaxation of many prominent personalities of Romanian culture around the magazine "Romanian Life", among which we mention: Mihail Sadoveanu, Garabet Ibrăileanu, Panait Istrati, George Topârceanu, Otilia Casimir, Shepherd Teodoreanu, Ionel Teodoreanu, etc. A good friend of George Toparceanu, Mihail Sadoveanu and Panait Istrati, I. I. Mironescu was appreciated as a person, as a doctor but also as a writer. In order to get to know him better, Mihail Sadoveanu writes a precious piece of information and sends us to the place that was dearest to the writer, namely: "His life was not the University, the practice of an excellent doctor, politics and literature, his life was his parental village". Over time, the writer's sister, Lina Donea, organized numerous cultural activities in this house, such as: meetings of the literary circle or sessions. The museum was set up with the initiative and contribution of the writer's daughter, Rodica Mironescu, who managed to recover some documents, family letters, the author's notes, books and photographs from his relatives. The exhibition includes 2 halls where the reconstruction of a farm from the way of life of the interwar Tazlau was watched. Thus, the writer's work room was reconstructed with the original furniture, personal items, library, images from his medical activity. The scenery and the area of Tazlău commune, where the house of the doctor and writer Ioan Mironescu is located, is very beautiful! Surrounded by mountains and fir trees, strongly ozonized and swayed by the swirling flow of the Tazlau river, it is ideal for relaxation or to spend a vacation away from everyday stress! IMPORTANT: It is good to know that the location is temporarily closed, but you can contact the hosts to check if the memorial house has been reopened. Be that as it may, from the outside you can admire the beautiful construction in traditional style.

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE LOCATION It seems that the name of the locality comes from a certain Savin and his descendants, a fact that is not documented. The first documentary attestation of the locality is that of January 6, 1411, in which the village appears with the name of Sobolești, and then that of July 11, 1428, in which it is called Sobolea and which belonged to the Bistrița Monastery. The first mention of the current name is from March 4, 1797, when ruler Alexandru Calimachi orders the administrators of Neamț to investigate the complaint of the abbot of the Bistrița Monastery against the inhabitants of Săvinești village. The villages that are part of the commune are Săvinești, Dumbrava Vale and Dumbrava Deal. To these can be added Colonia Săvinești , a small community (currently a neighborhood) that came into existence with the arrival of the workers and specialists who contributed to the construction of the chemical platform in the 60s. The village of Dumbrava Deal (which came into being after 1907 from the inhabitants who fled from the boyar estates in the villages of Crăcăoani, Bârgăuani and Rediu) was called Dumbrava Roșie (the Red Glade) from the hill ('deal") and was established on the site of an oak grove that was deforested giving lots of property to the inhabitants. The inhabitants of this village were called "those from the hill" and hence the name of the village Deleni. THE CHEMICAL PLANT OF SĂVINEȘTI Săvinești is associated with the name of the synthetic yarns and fibers complex, once the pride of the Romanian chemical industry. According to the data on Wikipedia, the Săvinești industrial platform was built in 1957. It started with a synthetic fiber production unit. In 1958, the Azochim Fertilizer Plant, currently SC Ga-Pro-Co Chemicals Săvinești, was put into operation. Almost 3000 Germans worked at Azochim at that time. The industrial platform also included Fibrex, Rifil, Melana and the Research Institute for Synthetic Yarns and Fibers (ICEFS) Săvinești (founded in 1991). At one time, approximately 18,000 people worked on the Săvinești chemical platform, including those on the construction sites, the vast majority of them commuters from Piatra-Neamț.

The church was built in the center of Roznov, right in the park area, between 1884 and 1892 by colonel Gheorghe Ruset Roznovanu. The building has the shape of a cross with equal arms, being made with stone on the outside, which gives it an austere and massive note. The elevated roof is dominated by a bulbous spire, specific to Russian churches, and richly ornamented with three rows of stone brackets, whose dimensions decrease towards the base of the spire. The high foundation allowed the construction of a spacious basement that fulfills the function of a funeral crypt, housing the graves of the Roznovanu family, and the side apses, of semicircular shape, each have three windows with stone borders in relief and tympanums with trilobed braces. The entrance to the church is done in a solemn way, the stone stairs being particularly elegant. From the front of the church you enter directly into the spacious nave. The pediment of the church is also unique, it was made in Moscow, from gilded bronze, between 1890-1892. The fresco painting of the interior was done between 1913-1915 by Costin Petrescu. The votive paintings of the founders, in which Colonel Roznovanu, his wife, Alexandrina Ruset Roznovanu, and their son are depicted, are particularly authentic. Good to know: On an iconostasis to the right of the nave are two icons given to Roznovanu by Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovici and Tsar Nicholas II. Another icon, dressed in silver, was donated by Leon Urusov, ambassador of Russia in several European countries, and among the religious books in the church's heritage is a Gospel from 1644 written in Slavonic.

Girov is a commune in Neamț County, formed by the villages of Boțești, Căciulești, Dănești, Doina, Girov (residence), Gura Văii, Popești, Turturești and Verșești. The commune is located right in the center of the county, on the banks of Cracău. It is crossed by the national road DN15D , which connects Piatra Neamț to Roman. At Girov, this road intersects with the county road DJ156A, which connects it to the north with Dobreni (where it intersects with DN15C), Negrești and Crăcăoani (where it also ends in DN15C); and to the south of Roznov (where it intersects with DN15), Borlești, Tazlău and further in the county of Bacău de Balcani, Pârjol and Ardeoani (where it ends in DN2G). Two more county roads branch off from DN15D at Girov: DJ208G, which leads north to Ștefan cel Mare, Dragomirești, Războieni and Tupilati; and DJ157H, which leads southeast to Dochia. In the center of Girov is the beautiful church "St. Nicolae Conțești".

The "All Saints" monastery in Almaş is built on the site of an older monastic settlement whose community settled in the Neamţ lands since the 17th century, under the leadership of the hermit Vasile Almaş. The bell tower, which in the past protected the entrance to the premises, and a peasant-type house from 1725, which today houses a chapel dedicated to Saint Nicholas, are still preserved from the old buildings.

Both villages are located at the foot of the Cernegura Hill and are part of Alexandru cel Bun commune. The two localities are usually transited by those who visited the Bâtca Doamnei Lake area, the Petrodava Citadel and who continue to Bicaz. Of course, the order can also be reversed. Here is also a beautiful recreation area called "La Iazuri", attractive for fishing enthusiasts, but also the famous photo spot "La Lebede" (The Swans).

From a geographical point of view, Lake Vaduri in Neamț is located at an altitude of 350 m, along the river Bistrița, with Stanisoarei Mountains to the north and Gosmanu Mountains to the south. It is a reservoir formed in 1966 with the purpose of producing electricity. Currently, it belongs to the domain and is operated by S.C. Hidroelectrica S.A. - "Piatra-Neamț" Bistrița Hydropower Branch. 

Bisericani Monastery is an orthodox monastery located in the village of Bisericani, Alexandru cel Bun commune. The monastery is located 12 km west of the town of Piatra-Neamţ, on the Piatra Neamţ - Bicaz road. The road going up, with many serpentines, is of particular beauty, with Bistriţa Valley on the right, after which follows the chain of mountains covered with conifer forests.

The cross from Bisericani is a beautiful viewpoint well known to the locals of Piatra Neamț, situated just 12 km away from the city, on the way to Bicaz. Usually, on nice weekends, lots of people come here to enjoy the splendid view.