Cetatuia Monastery was built in the 17th century on top of Cetatuia Hill, in the south of the old Moldavian capital: Iasi (a beautiful town in the north east of Romania, town with more then 300.000 residents).
The name: Cetatuia, means citadel or fortress in Romanian language. The monastery is surrounded by thick stone walls of almost 1.40 m, and 7 m high, with towers on the corners, and it provided refuge during enemy siege or invasions..
The uniqueness of Cetatuia Monastery consists in the fact that the entire ensemble of monastic architecture has been preserved, everything is clean and well maintained.
You can find here a gothic hall “Lady Anastasia”, a museum of medieval art, a tower called “Pilgrim’s Dinner” from where one can admire the panorama of Iasi and its famous wine cellars with wine obtained from its own vineyard.
In 1682, at Cetatuia came into being a printing house for religious books. According to the legend there is a tunnel that connected the Holy Table of the altar with the Iasi Royal Palace.
Iasi city panorama seen from the wall of the fortified monastery
Door to the wine cellars with wine obtained from its own vineyard
I counted at least 10 cats :)
