There is a tangled history linking the northern Romanian region of Moldavia and the adjoining country of Moldova. In the future this part of Europe could well become another geopolitical flashpoint in the same way as the (current) Ukrainian & Russian one is. Iasi, the capital city of Moldavia is only about 10 miles from the border.
Our tour of Iasi was mostly a stroll down the largely pedestrianised Boulevard Stefan Cel Mare.
0101 Iasi (Large)
A pleasant part of the boulevard
0102 Iasi City Hall (Large)
City Hall – Roznovanu Palace
Ann next to King Ferdinand I statue
0113 The National Theatre (Large)
The National Theatre
0119 The Calling (Large)
This odd sculpture by Alexandru Podea is inscribed “Chemarea”
So I thought it was a take on the mythical hybrid creature the Chimera
But No! – “Chemarea” is the Romanian word for Calling and the bells are meant to be rung
0115 Palace of Culture (Large)
The Palace of Sculpture now a grand museums complex
0120 Casa Dosoftei (Large)
Casa Dosoftei, residence of the influential 17th century monk and scholar
0117 St Nicholas Church (Large)
The Church of St Nicholas – the oldest church in Iasi
Romania is a very religious country; three quarters of the population are Eastern Orthodox. Observance is very high across all the age ranges. A couple of the more spectacular churches we saw walking down the boulevard were the Church of the Three Holy Hierarchs and the Metropolitan Cathedral. For both services were going on at the time I was taking photos – so I only took outside photos & none of the interiors as I thought it would be a bit disrespectful.
Church of the Three Holy Hierarchs
0104 Church of the Three Holy Hierarchs (Large)
0105 Church of the Three Holy Hierarchs (Large)
0106 Church of the Three Holy Hierarchs (Large)
The exterior walls are very ornately carved in bands
0107 Church of the Three Holy Hierarchs (Large)
The Metropolitan Cathedral
0108 Metropolitan Cathedral (Large)
West Porch
0109 Metropolitan Cathedral (Large)
The Eastern façade has a quaint jumble of architectural motifs.
Not exactly harmonious (IMHO)
0110 Porch of St George’s Church (Large)
Porch of the older adjacent St George’s Church
which was the previous Metrpolitan Cathedral
0111 Porch of St George’s Church (Large)
The frescoed porch of St George’s Church
0112 Porch of St George’s Church (Large)
The spire and dome of the Catholic Cathedral of St Mary,
built at the end of the 20th century
from the porch of St George’s Church
