Focsani Sights and Landmarks Guide, Romania

Focsani, Sights – Museums and Memorial Houses

Focsani sights are really worth visiting as the city houses the largest museum in Vrancea County, the Vrancea Museum, which is an institution founded sixty years ago aiming to find and exhibit historical artifacts and to develop the scientific research in the field. The museum has four departments: the history and archeology one, the conservation one, the ethnography one, and the natural sciences one. The latter one houses a captivating exhibit of local and exotic aquatic fauna in all of its 16 aquariums and 9 large basins. In the same place one can visit the “Aquatic Animals” exhibition which offers tourists a lot of information through photo albums, graphics and other materials about different species of animals. The museum also houses one of the largest bird collections in the country called “The Wonderful World of Birds” and which can be admired every day in a special place set up at the ground floor of the building.

Another important sight in Focsani is the “Unification Museum”, presenting several historic documents attesting the importance of Focsani in the unification process. The institution also houses ancient furniture and other objects which belonged to an important Romanian ruler.

Focsani, Sights – Natural Attractions

Due to its location in the low plain of Siret, a short way from Iasi and Constanta and between the Putna River in the east and the Milcov River in the south, Focsani offers tourists diverse and captivating landscapes. All these are completed by the numerous green areas within the city, like public gardens, the river banks, the zoo and more. The neighboring western hilly area culminating with Magura Odobestilor (1001m) dominates the scenery and invites to characteristic outdoor activities like hiking, mountain biking, climbing and others.

The waters of both Milcov and Putna River are the main attractions for tourists looking for going on a fishing trip or just spending some time on the green river banks.

Focsani, Sights – Culture and Arts

Focsani is located in an extremely interesting and original folkloric and ethnographic zone, still preserving traditional crafts like wood processing, weaving, pottery and creating traditional masks. Culture plays an important role in the city’s life and the best proof is the presence of numerous related institutions which organize or house art exhibitions, theatre shows, classical music concerts, traditional music shows and so on.

Some of the most important such places are the Popular Athenaeum, a place where numerous traditional and classical music shows are held, the “Leopoldina Balanuta” Culture House and the County Theatre.

Tourists visiting Focsani will be attracted by the local’s simple way of life, their customs and wonderful traditional holidays.

Focsani, Sights – Monasteries and Churches

Focsani houses an important number of churches, some of them of a great historic and cultural importance, declared architecture monuments. One of the oldest such edifices is the “Ovidenia” Church, built in 1687 with a strong rock foundation and well preserved until today is still keeping wonderful wall paintings and a marble slab with illegibly Cyrillic texts. Another important local church is the “Saint Nicholas” Church, also an architecture monument, built in 1732 and restored in the nineteen sixties. Due to its special architecture, rich history and good location in the old city centre the church is one of the top tourist attractions in the city.

Other important churches are also the “Nasterea Maicii Domnului” Church and the “Precista” Church, both of them dating from the eighteen century and still keeping some elements form the initial building.

Focsani, Sights – Theatres

Built at the initiative of Gheorghe Pastia, the Focsani County Theatre is famous for its perfect acoustics due to the style in which the edifice was built, similar to the Odessa and Berlin theatres. The city has about 150 years of theatric activity. History proved that the locals’ passion for art has remained constant, only the quality of the artistic performance, performers’ talent and repertoire changed throughout the time.