Lack of reliable information on the origins of Neamț Fortress had resulted in several hypotheses whose reliability was often questioned. A number of historians and philologists, as A.D. Xenopol, B.P. Hasdeu, D. Onciul consider that - according to the papal bull of 1232 - the Teutonic Knights of Bârsa had built between 1211–1225 on the eastern slope of the Carpathians a castrum muntissimum which was later identified as the citadel. The Germanic (Teutons or Saxon) hypothesis was acquired by many of Romanian historians and sustained by both:
-the site's onomastic "Neamt", which in Slavic and Romanian language means " German"
-and by the fortification style, typical to Imperial German military architecture of Hohenstaufen period XII-XIV centuries.
The German knights "the Saxons" have been appointed to fortify the Carpathian passes against the frequent barbarian incursions into Transilvania.
The Saxons have been settled in Transilvania (Siebenbürgen- seven castles) since then, 150 years before the founding of later principalities of Valachia and Bogdania(Moldova).
Archaeological research of the citadel has not revealed any evidence of a fortification before the reign of prince Peter II (1375-1391) & oldest coins discovered on the site are from the same reign. The name might be related with the name of the district and later county of Neamț where later ( i.e. early 14th century) Saxon colonists settled in the nearby town of Baia (known then as Moldau).
Rehabilitation of the citadel
Neamț Citadel was rehabilitated between 2007 and 2009 with European funds through the Phare 2004-2006 Economic and Social Cohesion program, to which funds allocated by the Neamț County Council in partnership with the Târgu Neamț Local Council were added. The European funds were the majority, with the two institutions from Neamț county having a contribution of 10% of the value of the works. The feasibility study and technical project were prepared by a team led by architects Gheorghe Sion and Corneliu Constantin from the Institute of Historical Monuments Bucharest, and the contractors were SC Iasicon SA Iași and SC Proconsult Company SRL Pașcani.
The following works were carried out: modernization of the access road starting with Ștefan cel Mare Street, 1 Decembrie Street and ending with Aleea Cetătii; restoration of the entire architectural ensemble; illumination of the access roads and the monument; construction of new buildings to meet the functional requirements; development of the three existing parking lots near the citadel; water supply and sewerage.
Neamț Citadel was restored to the national and international tourist circuit on 4 July 2009. There are 21 rooms fitted out, including the hall of council and courtroom, the armory, the prison, the store room, the dining room, the chapel, etc. In some rooms the atmosphere of the past, when the citadel was inhabited, is recreated. In the room used as a prison there are four mannequins depicting villains in chains.
Description
Neamț Citadel is built of river stone (used both as elevation and infill for the walls), quarry stone (used for arches, ledges, pillars and buttresses) and greenish sandstone rock. Between the fortress and the rest of the plateau is a defense ditch on the north side. The fortress was entered through a gate called the 'Mușatin Gate' located in the middle of the northern wall.
The Mușatin fort has the shape of a quadrangle with unequal sides; the north side is 38.50 m, the south side 37.50 m, the east side 47 m and the west side 40 m. The walls are almost 3 m thick and were originally about 12-15 m high, supported and reinforced on the outside by 18 strong prismatic buttresses, which correspond to the direction of the inner walls. In the four corners of the Mușatin fort there are defense towers, which are not placed outside the walls, as in the fortresses of Suceava and Șcheia built in the same period, but directly embedded in the skeleton of the walls.
In the middle of the fort was a large inner courtyard, surrounded by rooms for various purposes:
on the east side were the prison, the mint, the store-room and the cuhnea (kitchen) - on the ground floor and basement, the "black dungeon", the "Sf. Nicolae" chapel, the living room, the chamber of the jail-keeper and the room for the citadel’s ladies - upstairs
on the west side were the armory - on the basement and ground floor, the council and judgment hall, a passage hall, an alcove and a secret room - upstairs
on the south side there was a lapidarium - on the basement and ground floor and a terrace - upstairs
on the north side there were no rooms, only the enclosure wall
The rooms in the towers had ceilings supported on thick oak beams, while the others had vaulted brick arches. There was a well in the inner courtyard. Most of the rooms in the fortress were for soldiers, as the fortress was used for defense, and the ruler, his family and close advisers only inhabited it in case of danger. It was usually inhabited by about 300 persons. The fortress was vulnerable on the north side, so a fairly deep trench was dug between the fortress walls and the Pleș Peak, which ran through the immediate vicinity of the wall, as archaeological excavations have shown.
Stephen the Great (Ștefan cel Mare) ordered the elevation of the fortress walls by about 6-7 meters and the construction of a wall flanked by four semicircular bastions on the north side of the fortress. This wall enclosed an outer courtyard.
In order to prevent the enemies from approaching the walls of the fortress and to avoid placing catapults in the vicinity, Ștefan cel Mare cut the connection from the north ridge of the hill through a defense ditch. The fortress was entered through an arched access bridge with a fixed and a movable part, supported on 11 prismatic stone pillars about 8 m high. The movable part was located on the portion of the bridge between the last pillar and the bastion wall and could be raised in case of danger by a pulley system, but once past it there were two traps with hatches, also known as "rattraps". The entrance to the Mușatin fort was through a Gothic gate shaped in a broken arch, in the north-east tower.
Initially, the fortress was reached by a road that went around the Cerdac peak, on which there were "părcane" (type of defensive structures), in the form of ditches reinforced with palisades. The present road was not built until 1834, during the reign of Mihail Sturdza.
