Holiday apartment in Costinești: church, stream and local history

Costinești combines a clear connection to the landscape with a multilayered local history. The western and northern sides are bordered by the right bank of the Bucecea stream. The earliest documented mention dates from June 6, 1617; in a document from 1620, Costinești is associated with the name “Șarba”. The place name is derived from the personal name Costin; who Costin was and when he lived cannot be determined more precisely. The Bucecea marks the geographical aspect of the place; the dates 1617 and 1620, by contrast, lead into the early history of Costinești.

Holiday apartment in Costinești between history and church architecture

A particularly concrete chapter is formed by the “Sfinții Arhangheli Mihail și Gavriil” Church. Its construction in hewn stone began in 1941, it was completed in 1963, and it was consecrated on December 6. Costinești is also home to the “Sfinții Voievozi Mihail și Gavriil” parish. The church and the parish have different names: “Sfinții Arhangheli Mihail și Gavriil” and “Sfinții Voievozi Mihail și Gavriil”.

Older testimonies in the church

The “Sfinții Arhangheli Mihail și Gavriil” Church preserves, among other things, a “Penticostal” from 1800 and a Gospel from 1806 from the earlier wooden church destroyed by fire in Costinești in 1886. The iconostasis was taken from a church in Stulpicani and made in 1853. Stulpicani is therefore another specific geographical reference as the place of origin of the iconostasis. The wooden church destroyed by fire forms part of the prehistory of the stone building whose construction began in 1941.

An archaeological trace near Costinești

The time span reaches back even further. In the territory of Costinești, N. Beldiceanu and Gr. Butureanu discovered, between 1892 and 1895, at a site whose exact location was not determined, a settlement that presumably belonged to the Cucuteni culture. For the classification, it remains important that the site was not determined more precisely and that the affiliation with the Cucuteni culture is only presumed. The years 1892 to 1895 refer to the period of the discovery; they do not imply a more precise dating of the settlement.

Historical connections and local orientation

The municipality of Leorda lies on a historic route that once connected the Baltic Sea, Poland and Moldavia and ran from Gdańsk via Kraków, Chernivtsi, Iași and Galați.

The Leorda–Costinești road is designated DC66A. The route through Gdańsk, Kraków, Chernivtsi, Iași and Galați thus stands alongside the DC66A road between Leorda and Costinești.

Historical themes in Costinești

Costinești thus brings together landscape, church architecture, the history of its name and archaeological traces. Those interested in culture will find concrete points of reference in its location on the Bucecea stream, in the “Sfinții Arhangheli Mihail și Gavriil” Church, in the older ecclesiastical objects and in the merely presumed classification as Cucuteni. The themes range from the place name and sacred testimonies to an archaeological trace within the municipality.

Further places for orientation

Further destinations for geographical orientation: Ștefănești, Zăiceşti, Botoşani and Mesteacăn.

For the overarching travel overview: Botosani.