Initialy a commune, it has been cosiderate town since 2003 (over 9000 inhabitants). It is situated at 17 km south-east of Piatra Neamţ. It was mentioned first time in a historical paper in 1419.
The most important touristic monument is St. Nicholas Church founded in 1892 by the prefect Gheorghe Ruset, on the spot of an old church founded in 1759 by boyar Nicolae Ruset in memory of the voivode Dimitrie Cantemir. The monument is remarcable due to its decorations, dimensions and the unusual architecture (Russian, not Moldavian as we would espected) . The interior painting was made in 1915 by Costin Petrescu. The golden bronze altar sceen was made at Moscow in 1892. The church posseses a Gospel from 1644 and two icons, one of them given by the tzar Nicolae II.