Commune in Buzau county, made up of 5 villages, located at the southern foot of Istrita Hill, on the upper course of the Naianca river; the first documentary attestation of the locality dates from the sec. 16th century. 1869 inhabitants as of July 1, 2001: 917 male and 952 female. Basic occupation of the inhabitants - viticulture Center of artistic processing of the stone. On the territory of Naeni village a bronze statuary group was discovered, depicting an Iranian female deity (goddess Anaitis or Anahita), master of wild beasts, riding on a lion and accompanied by two servants standing, located to his left and right (to his preserved only the one to the right of the goddess). This statuary group is attracted to the Scythians, present in the Danube area and dates from the end of the first period of the Iron Age.
ISTRIA HILL
Massive hilly in the Sub-Carpathians Buzau, framed to the west and east by the Cricovu Sarat and Niscov rivers. Made of cochiliferous limestone, sandstone, marl, clay systems s.a. It is covered with gorse, beech and hornbeam forests. Maximum altitude 754 m. To the west, continue with Dealu Mare. Limestone exploitation. Viticulture (Pietroasele Vineyard) At its foot, in the NE side, is the spa resort Sarata-Monteoru.
SARATA MONTEORU
Sarata-Monteoru village known for its old oil exploitation from 1845 is located in the territory of Merei commune, Buzau county. On the territory of Sarata-Monteoru village were discovered material remains from the Bronze Age (2nd millennium BC) - one of the most important archaeological complexes of Romania - in the area of a fortified settlement, with several cemeteries, specific to the Monteoru Culture. Here were found several gold rings, a bronze ax and lots of decorated ceramics (two tall cups, made in the form of a ram's head, amphorae, etc.). well individualized from a cultural point of view, the population of Monteoru Culture is the result of the synthesis of the ancient inhabitants of the Late Neolithic with Indo-European tribes. Monteoru culture has a wide spread in NE Montenegro, Se Transilvaniei and in Moldova and belongs to a population.
MUD VOLCANOES
Near Berca commune, Buzau county is the Paclele Massif, a hilly massif from Buzaului Subcarpathians, having as the main feature the presence of mud volcanoes, called suggestively by the locals "boiling" or "pacle" - a geomorphological phenomenon rarely encountered in the world, studied in us yet from 1867. Mud volcanoes were created in the anticline area, in the basement where oil and natural gas exist. The gases that infiltrate through the cracks of the rocks enter the infiltration water together with the elements of clay, marl and sand, bringing them to the surface in the form of a viscous material, sometimes accompanied by small quantities of crude oil. The mud brought to the surface forms small cones.
CIOLANU MONASTERY
On Ciolanu Hill, belonging to Tisau commune, Buzau county, there is the Ciolanu Monastery (of monks). The monastery has a small church, dedicated to "St. Gheorghe ”, built in 1590 and painted inside only in 1860 and a large church, with the dedication“ Holy Apostles Peter and Paul ”, built in 1828 through the striving of Bishop Chesarie. In 1854 the large church was destroyed by a fire, being restored and repainted in the fresco in 1862; In 1934, over the previous painting, another painting was executed, in oil, and this last picture was restored in 1984. The monastery has a museum of religious art, with collections of old books and objects of worship and icons.
The most pleasant way to honor God is the song. Unfortunately, Orthodox religious music is not yet very familiar to the majority of believers. Despite the ignorance of the history of church music, it remains an art specific to the ecclesiastical space.