When the threat from the Ottoman Empire grew large in the 14th century, a line of fortresses was built all over Moldavia.
The man behind their construction was Prince Petru II of Moldavia, and the fortress in Suceava was beefed up in the following centuries by his successors.
Stephen III added the moat and the present indomitable defensive walls, which stood up to a barrage by Mehmed the Conqueror in the 15th century.
