Tourist guide Botoșani

We park at the end of the pedestrian street in the Old Center.... rue 1 Decembrie ... and we head through the houses of the Old Center to Piata 1 Decembrie 1918 or Piata Carol to cross the threshold

1. Tourist Info Center

Address: 1 Decembrie Square 4

Open daily from 9am - 5pm, only Fridays until 1pm

I met a Tourist Info Center very welcoming, with a lady who provided information, a center with lots of documentation in Romanian about the city and the county. A good start for the city tour!

Information about the tourist info center and sights can be found on the center's website http://visitbotosani.ro/.

2. Old Center

Botoșani City Hall has rehabilitated 18 heritage buildings in Old Center, which represents about a quarter of the old buildings, the rest cannot be touched because of the owners they belong to. The beginnings of the city of Botoșani can be traced back to the transition from the 14th to the 15th century. The chronicler Grigore Ureche mentions the existence of a fair in these places in his Letopisețul Țării Moldovei. The year 1439 is considered to be the year in which Botoșani was founded.

The Old City Center of Botosani stretches mainly between 1 Decembrie Street and Independentei Street around the Square 1 December 1918. Here were buildings of targoveti from sec. XVII - XVIII, which had on the ground floor pravalii. They were rebuilt at the end of the sec. XIX after a fire. Their architecture is attractive.

3. "Stefan Luchian" Fine Art Galleries

Address: 3 or 12 Revolution Square

open Tuesday to Sunday from 9am to 5pm

After half a kilometer and after crossing Calea Nationala, we find on the ground floor of a block Stefan Luchian Art Galleries. The museum presents plastic and decorative art exhibitions. Stefan Luchian Art Galleries are a section of the Botoșani County Museum. In 1960, due to the large number of artists originating from Botoșani, the first picture gallery was opened, where about 100 works of art were exhibited. Later the museum's patrimony was completed, today there are over 2300 works in the museum. There are works by painters Stefan Luchian, R. Schweitzer - Cumpănă, Theodor Pallady, Ion Andreescu, Nicolae Grigorescu, Nicolae Tonitza, as well as sculptures and tapestries.

4. Town Hall

Address: Piața Revolutiei 1

Open Monday - Thursday 8 - 16 and Friday 8 - 14

Town Hall it was built by the squire Enache Codrescu, around 1800 in Mahalaua Varbierilor, in an eclectic style of German influence. In the 20th century it housed the Tribunal where the national poet Mihai Eminescu was copyist.

The City Hall website is https://primariabt.ro/.

5. Mihai Eminescu Theater and Mihai Eminescu Statue

Address: 3 - 5 Theater Street

In front of the town hall is the Mihai Eminescu Theater building. Mihai Eminescu Theater it was inaugurated in 1914, rebuilt in 1958 (by the communists), and at the time of my visit I found it under renovation and read that it will be restored to its original architecture. In front of the theater is Statue of Mihai Eminescu.

The theater's website is https://www.tmebt.ro/.

6. Union Pedestrian Walkway

We cross the Cuza Voda street and keep the same direction entering the Unirii Pedestrian Walkway. Here is an area where traffic is prohibited. Union Pedestrian Walkway links the City Hall and Mihai Eminescu Park. We find restaurants, stalls with souvenirs and products, cultural events are organized here. On the poles are placed images of Botosaniul of another time.

There are 2 remarkable buildings on the pedestrian walkway.

7. Văsescu House

Address: 10 Unirii Street

Văsescu House was built in 1880. Vasescu was a 19th century local politician. The architectural style is eclectic with elements of different architectural styles, especially neoclassical. For a period of time it housed the boarding school of the "Carmen Sylva" Girls' High School. Today the house houses the County Direction for Culture.

You can read more on the link https://visitbotosani.ro/2015/02/casa-vasescu/.

8. County Museum

Address: 15 Unirii Street

Open Tuesday - Sunday from 9am - 5pm

Botoșani County Museum includes several sections and museums. In Botoșani we list the History Museum, the Ethnography Museum, the Nicolae Iorga Memorial House, the Stefan Luchian Art Galleries, in Dorohoi the Museum of Natural Sciences, the George Enescu Memorial Museum, in Liveni the George Enescu Memorial House, and in Săveni the Archaeology Museum.

The building where the main headquarters of the Botoșani County Museum is located was built in the early 20th century, the architect was Petru Antonescu and it is declared a historical monument. Here was the old Prefecture. Today it hosts the Museum of History, which presents the history of the botosanean land.

Museum website https://www.muzeubt.ro/.

9. 1907 Uprising Monument

Address: 38 Mihai Eminescu Boulevard

Across the street from the museum is Monument of the 1907 uprising, which is the work of sculptor Gavril Covalschi in 1978. The sculpture depicts 3 sequences of the uprising and was erected in memory of the peasants who revolted in the village of Flămânzi (BT), an uprising that took on a national scale. The reason for the uprising was the unfair division of land. The peasants from Modova attacked the manors of the landowners. The repression of the uprising left human casualties among the peasants.

More information on the link https://visitbotosani.ro/2015/02/monumentul-rascoalei-de-la-1907/.

10. Mihai Eminescu Park and the Bust of Mihai Eminescu

Main entrance in Mihai Eminescu Park is located in Bd. Mihai Eminescu 49 - 55, near the monument. The park stretches back to Vârnav street. It was laid out in 1869. It was originally the Vârnav Public Garden. Vârnav is the name of the nobleman who owned the garden.

In the park there are several secular trees, and Mihai Eminescu stopped here several times in the last years of his life. The park also has an artificial lake, a square with busts of local personalities and a gazebo where the military brass band plays.

In 1980 it was placed in the park Bust of Mihai Eminescu realized by sculptor Ion Georgescu in 1932.

We exit the park to the right and walk on Bd. Mihai Eminescu where we will discover many special buildings.

11. Grigore Antipa House

Address: 54 Mihai Eminescu Boulevard

Grigore Antipa House was built in 1860 in French architectural style with rococo influences. Grigore Antipa and his brother Nicolae Leon, naturalists and biologists, were born here. Grigore Antipa lived most of his life here.

12. The Court

Address: 38 Mihai Eminescu Boulevard

In an area opening onto the boulevard, but also with an entrance from another street, there are The Court yes The Tribunal. The building, declared an architectural monument, is built in eclectic style by architect Petru Antonescu.

13. Carmen Sylva High School / Casa Manole / Casa Corpului Didactic

Address: 40 Mihai Eminescu Boulevard

Further along the boulevard, we arrive at Manole Housewhere the Carmen Sylva girls' high school was. It was built in eclectic style around 1900 by Nicolae Sofian, former mayor. Today here is the House of the Teaching Staff.

14. Ventura House / Museum of Ethnography and Folk Art School

Address: 50 Mihai Eminescu Boulevard

Open from Tuesday to Sunday from 9am to 5pm

Ventura House it appeared in the 19th century, is attested in 1872 and is built in neoclassical style with baroque interior architectural decorations in their original form. Maria Ventura is the name of an actress of Jewish origin and Grigore Ventura, her father, was a writer and composer. Casa Ventura now houses Museum of Ethnography.

Further information can be found at https://visitbotosani.ro/2014/04/casa-ventura-2/.

15. Urșianu - Fisher House and Jean Goilav House

Address: 52 Mihai Eminescu Boulevard / 12 Mihail Kogalniceanu Street

Urșianu - Fisher House is a historic monument and was last the headquarters of the Health Insurance House. It is currently closed and affected by a fungus.

Jean Goilav House is another old historic house in need of rehabilitation. It is being taken over by a private investor and is to be put to good use.

16. Nicolae Iorga Memorial House

Address: 14 Nicolae Iorga Street

Open from Tuesday to Sunday from 9-17.

The building was built in the 19th century. Nicolae Iorga lived here for 4 years. Nicolae Iorga Memorial House is a section of the County History Museum. The museum displays original photographs of Nicolae Iorga's family, diplomas of Dr. Honoris Causa received from famous educational institutions in Europe such as Sorbonne, Cambridge, Rome, and a large number of books written by Nicolae Iorga.

More information on the link https://www.muzeubt.ro/sectii/casa-memoriala-nicolae-iorga.

17. August Treboniu Laurian College (High School)

Address: 19 Nicolae Iorga Street

August Treboniu Laurian College is a reference educational establishment in Botosani, built since 1859. Here have learned personalities born in Botosani such as Nicolae Iorga, Octav Onicescu, Elie Radu. The college motto is: Laurianul is not just a high school, it is a family.

The college website is https://laurian.ro/.

18. Ciulei House

Address: 3 Nicolae Iorga Street

Another beautiful house on Nicolae Iorga street is Ciulei Housewhere today is the Forensic Medicine Laboratory.

19. Bolfosu House (Armenian Community)

Address: 5 Ion Pillat Street

We cross Calea Națională and go up Pillat St. to Bolfosu House. It was built at the beginning of the 19th century in classicist Moldavian style on the site of the oldest inn in Moldova. Bolfosu is the name of the Armenian merchant to whom the house belonged, who was also involved in administration. Botosani was an important center of merchants, the Armenian community embracing this trade. Over the years the house was an epitropy, school and police headquarters.

Further information can be found at https://visitbotosani.ro/2017/09/casa-bolfosu/.

20. Garabet-Ciolac House

Address: 7 Archimandrit Marchian Street

We cross the square near the warehouses, cross Calea Nationala again and immediately after Tricolorului Square, on the left side another old house stands out. It is Garabet-Ciolac House, built in French-influenced eclectic style with a high ground floor. Garabet - Ciolac is the name of its first Armenian owner.

21. Church of St. Basil the Great

Address: 91 Arhimandrit Marchian Street

We go a little further up to the church on the same side, after the hospital. It is the church of St. Basil the Great. In the church is the Museum of the Romanian Village and Soul. It is in the immediate vicinity of the County Hospital.

22. Church of the Assumption Uspenia

Address: 43, 1 Decembrie 1918 Street

We cross Calea Nationala once more to slowly close the loop in the Old Center. Here we meet Uspenia Church, founded in 1552 by Elena Rares, wife of Petru Rares. In this church the national poet Mihai Eminescu was baptized in 1850.

23. Statuary group "Mr. Ignat's Machine Gun Company under attack"

Address: 1 Decembrie Square

We arrive again near the Tourist Info Center in December 1st Square where in the middle of the square is a large statuary group representing Major Ignat, a hero of Botosanean World War I with all his soldiers.

24. Old Center

We posed a few more houses in the Old Center and we said "Goodbye!" to the city of Botosani, which I liked a lot!