Vatra Dornei Resort

Vatra Dornei is a municipality in south-western Suceava County, in the historical region of Bukovina, made up of Vatra Dornei, Argestru, Roșu and Todireni. The town lies at 802 m in the Dorna Depression, at the confluence of the Bistrița Aurie and Dorna rivers, between the Călimani Mountains to the south, the Rarău and Giumalău mountains to the north-east and the Suhard Mountains to the north. It is crossed by the DN17 (E58), 110 km from Suceava and 84 km from Bistrița, and by the DN17B towards Neamț County. It became a town in 1907 and a municipality in 2000; the 2021 census recorded 12,578 inhabitants. The mineral waters, which locals called "burcut", were known to shepherds by around 1750. Studies by Dr Ignatziu Plusch from 1805 led to the approval, in 1811, of a first building with six baths. In 1870 the baths were bought by the Bukovina Church Fund, and after a geological study in 1895 the resort was redeveloped: by 1899 its main features were completed, including the Ioan (now Unirea), Ferdinand and Sentinela springs next to the casino. The resort was nationalised in 1948 and expanded after 1950. The centre of the resort holds the park with the mineral springs and the Baths Casino, built in 1898 to designs by the Viennese architect Peter von Brang and listed as a class A historic monument (SV-II-m-A-05670). Left to decay after 1989, the casino was restored with EU funds by the Archdiocese of Suceava and Rădăuți, through the Orthodox Church Fund of Bukovina, and opened to the public in 2023 as the „Cazinoul Băilor” Museum Centre. Other listed monuments include the bath house (1898), the former Town Hall (1897), at Strada Mihai Eminescu 17, home to the Ethnographic Museum founded in 1987, the library (1901), the post office (1929) and the two railway stations. The Museum of Natural Sciences and Hunting, at Strada Unirii 3, was founded in 1952 and opened in 1957. In winter there are four alpine ski runs, including Dealu Negru, served by the chairlift, and Parc, in the centre of the resort, plus a cross-country trail. The winter customs festival „Porniți Plugul Feți Frumoși” is held before the New Year, and the „Serbările Zăpezii” winter festival takes place at the foot of the Parc run.