Repedea Hill, from a landscape point of view, is a distinctive feature of the Moldavian Plateau, controlling the hilly depression of Jijia and Bahlui. The small topography, consisting mainly of sandstones, offers an attractive sight to visitors and provides biologists with the opportunity to investigate various ecosystems.
The sprawling and picturesque village of Bucium was named after an instrument of the same name, used by sentinels on the hills to warn of the possible approach of enemies.
The special charm of the region was immortalized in a painting made by the painter Th. Pallady, who lived in Bucium; this painting can be admired in the galleries of the art museum in Iasi. In the village of Bucium, the house where he lived is still preserved.
Before entering the village, you can see the old building of the Socola Clinical Hospital for Neuropsychiatry (Sos. Bucium no. 36), housed in the former buildings of a monastery; in the courtyard of the hospital is the Church of the Transfiguration, built by Alexandru Lăpușneanu (16th-17th century) and renovated in 1808. Near this church, the "Socola Seminary" functioned, established in 1804 by Metropolitan Veniamin Costache, with the aim to organize education in the Romanian language.
This seminar was born in a Phanariot period, as an expression of the spirit of national resistance. Among the subjects studied were Romanian grammar, Latin and arithmetic. In this seminar, choral music was introduced for the first time in the country. Professors from Transylvania were brought to teach, and among the graduates of the seminar were Ion Creangă and Th. Hope.
At the beginning of the century, the seminary turned into a hospital. This medical institution has links with key moments of the revolutionary activity in Moldova, benefiting from the presence of the remarkable Romanian scientist, Dr. C.I. Parhon, in the medical body of the hospital.
Source: Iași Municipality and surroundings (Ministry of Tourism, 1980)
