Ceahlău is a commune in

Neamț County Neamț County () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in the historic region of Moldavia, with the county seat at Piatra Neamț. The county takes its name from the Neamț River. Demographics Population In 2011, it had a population of 470,766 ...

Western Moldavia Western Moldavia (, ''Moldova de Apus'', or , also known as Moldavia, is the core historic and geographical part of the former Principality of Moldavia situated in eastern and north-eastern Romania. Until its union with Wallachia in 1878, the P ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. It is composed of three villages: Bistricioara, Ceahlău, and Pârâul Mare.

Attractions

In addition to a respectable church at Bistricoara, the village of Ceahlău has a larger 19th century wooden church, with wild swirling spires similar to those at

Curtea de Argeș Curtea de Argeș () is a municipiu, city in Romania on the left bank of the river Argeș (river), Argeș, where it flows through a valley of the Southern Carpathians (the Făgăraș Mountains), on the railway from Pitești to the Turnu Roșu Pass ...

Argeș County Argeș County () is a county (''județ'') of Romania, in Muntenia, with the county seat at Pitești. Demographics At the 2021 Romanian census, 2021 census, the county had a population of 569,932 and the population density was . At the 2011 Ro ...

. The village of Ceahlău also features a handful of three and four-star guesthouses and a hotel facing the beautiful Bicaz Lake (''Lacul Bicaz'' or ''Lacul Izvorul Muntelui'', meaning "Mountain Spring Lake"). In addition to a little local general store, the village offers an ethnographic museum, and the remains of a princely castle just up behind the museum. Lodging at Ceahlău is a reasonable alternative to the higher prices of the resort community of Durău further up the river.

Geography

Ceahlău is on the edge of the Ceahlău Massif portion of the Eastern Carpathian Mountains. The village itself runs along the Hermitage Brook (''pârâul Schitu''), and includes a small portion on the north-west side of the river along Mountain Spring Lake.

Ceahlău commune

Ceahlău commune is made up of three main villages, that of Ceahlău, along with Bistricioara on the main road from Piatra Neamț, and Pârâul Mare ("Big Stream"). All of these villages are sited in the mountains, situated along the main watercourses which flow out of the surrounding peaks and ranges.

Ceahlău Village

The actual village of Ceahlău is the seat of local government for the wider eponymous township, with about 1,500 villagers, mostly along the Pârâul Schit ("Hermitage Stream") (named for the original hermitage in Durău upstream) which runs through the village centre. The settlement here was originally named ''satul Schit'' ("Hermitage Village").

Bistricioara

The nearby village of Bistricioara is on the main road, the national highway DN15 where it intersects with the DN155F, which runs along the lake, up through Ceahlău, and then up to the Durău resort. With about 800 inhabitants, Bistricioara is spread across the alluvial soils of the lower river of the same name, just before it flows into Lake Izvorul Muntelui (also known as Lake Bicaz).

Pârâul Mare

A newer development along the shores of the lake (which was man-made by damming the river in the 1950s to power a hydroelectric plant), 140 people enjoy excellent lake views, also along the Pârâul Mare river.

Natives

Remus Pricopie Remus Pricopie (born January 22, 1970) is a Romanian education administrator. He was the Education Minister in the Victor Ponta cabinet from December 2012 to December 2014. Biography Born in Ceahlău, Neamț County, Pricopie entered the Chemist ...

(born 1970), education administrator

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ceahlau, Neamt Communes in Neamț County Localities in Western Moldavia