PIATRA-NEAMT

city, capital of Neamt judet (county), northeastern Romania. It lies in the valley of the Bistrita River and is surrounded by mountains. It is first documented in the 15th century as Piatra lui Craciun, or Camena, a market town where fairs were held. Stephen the Great of Moldavia built the Church of St. John there in 149798, a classic example of ornate Moldavian architecture. The Bistrita Monastery, founded at the beginning of the 15th century by Prince Alexander the Good and rebuilt in 1554 by Prince Alexander Lapusneanu, is 5 miles (8 km) west of Piatra-Neamt. The city has a state theatre, a regional natural-science museum, and an archaeological museum of Neolithic pottery. The city's industries include a fertilizer plant, a pulp and paper mill, and several food-processing plants. Southeast of the city, in the Bistrita River valley, are large factories producing synthetic fibre and nitrogenous fertilizer. Pop. (1989 est.) 115,782.