Travel Guide Iaşi

Spread over seven hills, Iași (pronounced "Iache"), once the capital of Moldavia, is the country's second-largest city, with 270,000 inhabitants. While foreigners often ignore it in favor of Suceava, closer to the monasteries, Iași enjoys great prestige among Romanians. The town is rich in monuments of medieval architecture, churches and other historic buildings. The monumental ensemble of the Palace of Culture, the Church of St. Nicholas and Casa Dosoftei is particularly noteworthy. The cultural tradition with which it is imbued (monuments dedicated to Mihai Eminescu are omnipresent) lends it an added charm. Iași, for some years the country's capital, is now a dynamic university town, where it's pleasant to stroll along the tree-lined boulevards in fine weather. They will take you from museums to churches, from monasteries to parks. At the beginning of July, Copou Park is the setting for a major ceramics fair, with artisans from all over the country. Every year on October 14, the city plays host to an impressive crowd of pilgrims who come to pay homage to Saint Parascheva, whose relics are housed in the Metropolitan Cathedral.