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Name: Vatra Dornei. Also known as Dorna and
Dorna Watra (the latter is the old German name). The town got its name from
the river Dorna.
Location:
Vatra Dornei lies in the middle of Northern Romania, some 300 km north (as the crow flies) of the capital
→Bucharest. It marks the western border of the
Southern Bukovina (Land of the Beeches) and concentrates around the confluence of the
small river Dorna and the larger river Bistriţa. The town is surrounded
by up to 2,000 metres high mountain ranges - namely the Calimani, Suhard and Bistritsa Mountains.
Because of that, Vatra Dornei is a famous place for winter sports and makes a perfect base for
interesting climbing and hiking tours.
Population: Around 19,000. Vatra Dornei once had a strong Jewish community,
but almost all Jews were killed or moved to other countries during the Second World War.
Orientation:
The town is many kilometres long, stretching along a river valley. However, the centre of town is very small
and compact. The railroad runs parallel to the river Dorna and divides the centre into a northern and a southern part.
Most of the restaurants and shops concentrate in the northern part. In the southern part, you will find some
interesting buildings and a nice park. The mountains already start right behind the centre.
The bus station is located in the southern part next to a large bridge. The fact that there are at least two train stations
might be confusing. When coming from →Suceava, you should get out at the
second train station named Vatra Dornei - hence, when coming from →Cluj-Napoca, it's
the first station.
Getting there:
There are several long-distance buses from destinations all over Romania, but it's also convenient to go by train.
Express trains (accelerat) run from →Cluj-Napoca (4½ hrs,
around 250,000 Lei) to Vatra and continue via →Suceava (3 hrs, 124,000 Lei)
and →Iaşi (4½ hrs, less than 200,000 Lei) to Galaţi.
Halfway, the same trains stops in Gura Humorului, which is the perfect base for exploring the
nearby →Cinci Mănăstiri (the famous monasteries of the Southern Bukovina)
If you want to pass the mountains direction Borşa and →Sighetu Marmaţiei
in the north-west, you will have to take the bus. The bus passes →Prislop Pass and
runs all the way to →Vişeu de Sus. The route is very scenic. There's only one
bus a day (probably not in winter, because the road will became impassable, esp. for the old buses). The bus leaves at 1:30 pm, the
trip takes 3½ hours. The fare is 100,000 Lei (€ 2.5).
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Vatra Dornei has never been an historically important place, but its location is just marvellous. This is what the Habsbug monarchy
thought as well, and so the place was already used as a mountain resort during the Austro-Hungarian period.
At that time, starting in the 19th century, a nice park, some luxurious hotels and a splendid casino were erected. Unfortunately,
not much has been done to preserve the former beauty during the communist times. And so many of the old buildings are
crumbling. Nowadays, Vatra Dornei is trying hard to restore the town.
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The river Dorna and the dilapidated casino
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The first thing you will notice in the centre is a large church and the park around the church. Many other buildings
clearly show that the Bukovina has once been a part of Austria-Hungary. There's a public mineral spring behind the
church, and the tasty mineral water is worth a try. Vatra Dornei is quite famous for its mineral water as well as for
dairy products - stockbreeding is very popular in the area around the town.
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One of the old buildings on Str. Republicii
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There are several museums in town - among them the Ethnographic Museum.
Unfortunately, the museum was closed when we went there (2004) - it didn't look like it would re-open in the near future.
Not far from the old town, a ski lift whisks visitors up to the ski slopes of more than 1,600 m high Mt Dealul Negrii.
Of course the lift doesn't operate during the summer months. All in all, Vatra Dornei is a pleasant small town in an idyllic setting.
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Rodna Mountains near the Prislop Pass
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A new church is being built near the highest point of the road. Additionally, there's a monument commemorating the
last invasion of the Tartar hordes. A place not far from Prislop pass stages the famous
Hora de la Prislop, a huge folk festival taking place annually in August.
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Vatra Dornei is a mountain resort and therefore it offers a great variety
of hotels and pensions - for prices below average (at least in summer).
Two pensions on Str. Parcului are only 300 metres away from the centre.
The one on the right side (when coming from the centre) is called
Villa Zimbrul (rechte Seite). Usually, the landlord? landlady? is not present.
Instead of that, there's a public phone next to the door so that you can call the
owner. It's easier to cross the street and try Villa Căprioara.
The family is very nice, and so are the spacious doubles with all the amenities you need.
The price per person is 200,000 Lei (€ 5). Here's the address:
Str. Parcului 29. Tel.: 372 643, Fax.: 373 844.
Between the church and the casino there's the restaurant and hotel Euro Intersport.
It's not the real name and the hotel has nothing (or not much) to do with sports,
but that's what's written on the board. The restaurant inside is excellent and the service
can't be better. My recommendation: Try the Caşcaval Pane (breaded cheese) and
the steaks!!! It's less expensive than you might think when you come in.
In the south-west of Vatra Dornei, a few hundred meters away from the centre, there's a
shop and an attached restaurant called Camy-Lact, selling regional
dairy products. The restaurant specialises in dishes using dairy products, too, and it's well worth a visit.
And here comes another one:Les Amis on Str. Luceafarului 15, the small
shopping street close to the train station, is a very cheap, modern restaurant serving
Romanian and Italian food. The meat & mushroom filled crêpe are quite tasty.
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www.geocities.com/bucovina01
Obviously still under construction: A website about Vatra Dornei and the
area around it, incl. some pictures. In English.
www.rennkuckuck.de/php/klettern
Useful information for hiking and climbing tours around Vatra Dornei. In German.
Do you have or do you know a good website about Vatra Dornei? Don't hesitate, let me know!
After checking it, I would love to add it to the link list.
Please note that commercial websites will be declined. For e-mail link see menu on the left.
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