Iaşi Places of interest

Iaşi is an outstanding educational centre, and preserves some beautiful pieces of architecture, such as the Trei Ierarhi Church and the neo-Gothic Palace of Culture (the site of four museums - of History, of Technology, of Ethnography, and of Art). Many buildings in the old city centre were demolished during the Communist regime, with a few Soviet-style blocks of flats built in their stead.

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Churches
Iaşi is the seat of the Romanian Orthodox Church Metropolitan bishopric of Moldavia, and of a Roman Catholic bishopric. The city houses more than 40 churches. The oldest one is Saint Nicholas, dating from the reign of Stephen the Great (1457-1504); perhaps the finest, however, are the 17th century older metropolitan church, Saint Spiridion and Trei Ierarhi, the last a curious example of Byzantine art, erected in 1635-1639 by Vasile Lupu, and adorned with countless gilded carvings on its outer walls and twin towers. Other beautiful churches, some surrounded by big walls, are: Galata (1581), Golia, St. Sava, Barnovschi, Bărboi (17th century), Cetăţuia (the end of the 17th century) and Frumoasa (18th century).

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Education, science
Iaşi is home to the oldest Romanian university (University of Iaşi), opened by (and nowadays named after) Domnitor Alexandru Ioan Cuza in 1860. The city is host to five universities, and is widely regarded as the cultural "heart" of the Old Kingdom (that is Moldavia, Wallachia, and Dobruja - the three regions comprising Romania until 1918).


Evening at the UniversityA society of physicians and natural historians has existed in Iaşi since the early part of the 19th century, and a number of periodicals are published. One of the oldest medical universities in Romania, founded in 1879, is in Iaşi. It is now known as the "Grigore T. Popa" University of Medicine and Pharmacy.

Besides the university, founded by Prince Alexander John Cuza in 1860, with faculties of literature, philosophy, law, science and medicine, there are schools of art and music; the university library, where the chief records of Romanian history are preserved; a chamber of commerce and several banks. The city is the headquarters of the 10th army corps. It has an active trade in metals, medical drugs (antibiotics), wine, preserved meat, textiles and clothing