Romania and Moldova Create “Stephen the Great” Tourism Route

Romania and her neighbor the Republic of Moldova have launched a joint tourist route of historic and cultural sites. The route will cover 54 sites related to the famous Prince Ștefan cel Mare (Stephen the Great), who ruled from 1457 until 1504.

The new touristic route will take travelers to sites ranging from monasteries, churches, museums, and fortresses to art galleries. Tour organizers have also announced a wine tourism component, which they say covers the positive effect Stephen the Great had on wine production in the region. Rodica Verbeniuc, the general director of the Investments Agency in Moldova, had this to say at Europa FM:

“In the period of Stephen the Great and Holy viticulture has experienced the most prodigious development in the state of Moldova, the prince entering the position of cupbearer at the royal court. That’s why we thought that Moldova can complete this common route through the inclusion of wine cellars, among which we can enumerate Cricova, with galleries endless, Milestii mici, which holds the collection of gold recorded in the Guinness Book, the Castle Mimi or Ascony Winery, which offers visitors an experience of rural life.”

The route targets visitors from both Moldova and Romania, but also from abroad, from Japan, the Middle East, Israel or US. The new route includes 24 goals on the Romanian territory and about 30 goals in the Republic of Moldova. The new venture aims to expand cooperation Moldova-Romania and touristic development of the areas included in this route, domestic and international tourism.

Moldova’s domestic and incoming tourism developed significantly in the last years. Bloomberg included Moldova among the fastest developing destinations, with an increase of 19.6% of foreign tourists between January and September of 2018.