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Bistrita-Nasaud
The Voice of the Earth, the Voice of Love 

Transylvania is by far the most romantic Romanian province. The very name suggests images of high mountains that meet the sky over wood-covered valleys and clear waters; it suggests images of small wooden churches with thatched roofs and images of legendary castles and the remembrance of a stirred past.

But you can also find more interesting places: winter sport resorts and spas, hiking ways through the mountains and natural reservations, fascinating medieval towns, art museums and good hotels.   

In Transylvania you find at every turn a possibility to make a gorgeous holiday.

The district Bistrita-Nasaud is part of the province Transylvania and here live about 325,000 inhabitants on an area of 5355 km2; the district Bistrita-Năsăud lies in the very heart of Transylvania, in the central eastern part; the neighbouring districts are: Maramures in the North, Suceava in the East, Mures in the South and Cluj in the West.

You can reach the district Bistrita-Năsăud easily through the international airports of Cluj-Napoca (120 km) and Târgu-Mureş and over the roads DN17 (Cluj-Napoca – Dej – Beclean – Bistrita – Vatra-Dornei – Suceava (Bucovina)) that thus forms a real West-Eastern axis, the DN15 Bistrita –  Sărăţel – Teaca – Reghin - Târgu-Mureş – Bucharest und the DN17C Bistrita – Năsăud – Salva – Dealul Ştefăniţei – the Iza valley (Maramures) that is the shortest link road between the North and the South of Romania.

The relief is mainly mountainous. A rich fauna opens on the small and high mountains. In the depressions and along the rivers, on terraces in the south-western part of the district they grow wheat but also industrial plants but mainly vegetables.

In the mountains you find a great variety of wild animals such as: the Carpathian bear, wolf, the Carpathian deer, the mountain-cock, the white and black stork, the black eagle (they are under protection) are inhabitants of the mountains. The soil of the district contains important mineral wealth such as: nonferrous metals (copper, lead, zinc, gold and silver), non-metals and rocks (andesite, tuff), loam, salt and natural gas.

Possibilities to make tourism in the district Bistrita-Năsăud are outstandingly rich and various. The mountains are an attraction for those who like hiking but also for those who want to recreate and make sports. In the karsts region of the Rodnei-Mountains there are caverns of an extraordinary speleological value such as:  Peştera Zânelor (the Cavern of the Fairies), the Izvorul Tăuşoarelor (the Well of Tăuşoare) is the deepest cavern in Romania, then there is Jgheabul lui Zailan worth to be seen.

Tourists are interested also in the spa Sângeorz-Băi where there are many wells with mineral water – drinking water but also water to cure various diseases. Piatra Fântânele has a Hotel complex „Dracula Castle“, Colibiţa is a resort of importance with its reservoir and embankment-type dam on the river Bistrita; not to forget Valea Vinului, the dendrological park of Arcalia, where there still is an old castle and where you can see indigenous and exotic plants, Iezerele Bumbaiescului, the mountain lakes Tăul Petros and Lala Mare.

There are also many historic monuments and examples of ancient architecture. Important archaeological sites can be visited in Ardan, Bistrita, Coldau, Dumitrita, Săraţel and in Ciceu and Rodna there still are the ruins of old boroughs. The district is rich in monuments as here are 530 of them of national importance just to mention the wooden churches of Sărata, Silivaşu de Câmpie, Spermezeu, Sălcuţa, Ţigău, Zagra and the protestant churches of  Herina, Dipsa and Teaca, that are of a great importance.

Bistrita was founded 800 years ago by Saxon immigrants and is one of the most important medieval towns in Transylvania. Its cultural patrimony is quite extraordinary. The Evangelic Church is the symbol of the town; the arcade Under the Corn Market, the Beuchel-House, the House of the Silversmith, the Tower of the Coopers, the church of the former Franciscan Monastery and the downtown are just a few examples.

Bistrita is the capital of the district and the native town of Andrei Mureşanu, a revolutionary of 1848 and the author of the national anthem of Romania.
Năsăud is well known among scientists as it gave Romania 19 Academy members and thus they call it the town of academicians. They, who love horses, should go to Beclean as this town is well known for its riding facilities.

Sângeorz-Băi is a renowned  spa in Romania and abroad due to its curing mineral waters that often are compared to those of Karlovy Vary.

Liviu Rebreaun, the author of the social novels „Ion“ and „ Pădurea spânzuraţilor“ (The Forest of the Hanged) was born in 1885 in the district Bistrita-Năsăud, in Târlişua and the poet of the peasants, as they call George Cosbuc, was born in 1886 in Hordou, now George Cosbuc.

In the Tihuţa-pass there is the hotel complex Dracula – a materialization of the myth of Count Dracula, as he is described in the novel of the Irish writer Bram Stoker.

In the Bârgaielor Valley, in the Someş and Sieu valleys the inhabitants still live in the old traditions and habits and are a special attraction for the visitors of this district. 

The national park “Muntii Rodnei“ is one of the most important reservations of the Romanian biosphere. 

During the history the Romanian inhabitants were joined by Hungarians, Germans, Armenians, Jews and other nationalities.  This is the explanation why the architecture in the district is a mixture of styles as they still can be seen in civil but also in religious and military buildings, where different cultures and civilizations resulted in a peculiar mixture of Gothic and New Gothic mingled with elements of the Renaissance, the Baroque and new Byzantine. Thus, places built by the Saxons, peasants and tradesmen, who had come to Transylvania and used to live here since the 12th century and up to the 20th century left traces that are worth to be discovered.