The Fortress of Neam■, which is situated on the Ple║ului Hill near the town of TΓrgu-Neam■, was one of the most important fortresses in medieval Moldavia. It was built between 1382 and 1387 by Prince Petru I Mu║at (1375û1391) at the time when the first stone fortresses were built in Moldavia. Fortified by Stephen the Great (1457û1504), this citadel was never conquered.
In the 17th century, the Turk Sultan ordered it pulled down. Transformed into a monastery in the 17th century, the fortress of Neam■ lost its military and political importance only at the beginning of the 18th century.
Partially restored in the 1960s, the fortress of Neam■ strikes one by its very size: it covers an area of about 1800 sq. m., has 3 m thick walls and is surrounded by deep moats. The ethnographic objects (coins, weapons, jewelry) discovered during the restoration of this monument are on display in the museum of the monastery and in the ethnographic museum of the town.
