Romanian city to spend EUR 500,000 to map underground network of tunnels

The City Hall of Botoşani, a city in northeastern Romania, plans to spend EUR 500,000 to map the underground tunnels spreading underneath the city, daily Adevarulreported.

The local authorities have requested a professional scan to asses the surface of the tunnels.

The project will be covered by EU funds, and the Botoşani City Hall partnered with the city of Ivano Frankivsk, in Ukraine, for this.

Part of the funding will go towards assessing how the tunnels could be turned into a tourist attraction. The sum also covers the setting up of a multimedia museum of the ethnic diversity of Botoşani.

“For the first time, using modern means, we will scan the tunnels in the downtown area. We never knew what happened to them, how many they are, where they are. Later we will make use of them and in all of our future projects we will know how to proceed when we will want to make important investments, especially in the downtown area,” mayor Cătălin Flutur said, quoted by Adevarul.

The tunnels are believed to cover tens of kilometers and connect various areas of the city to the monastery of Popăuţi, established by ruler Steven the Great (Ştefan cel Mare) at the end of the 15th century. According to some, the tunnels date back to to the 13th century, when people dug them to take cover from Tatar incursions. Others estimate that the tunnels were built during the 17th century.

(Photo: Visit Botosani Facebook Page)