#Exhibit of the Month

The work In Memoriam. In Memory of the Heroes Who Fell at the Nistru (1992) was developed within the Center for Culture and Military History and published under the auspices of the Government of the Republic of Moldova, the Bureau for Reintegration, and the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Moldova. Authors: Gheorghe Bălan, Vitalie Ciobanu, Gheorghe Cojocaru.

This work provides a retrospective of the events that led to the outbreak of the war on the Nistru, accompanied by photographs of the heroes who lost their lives in the battles to defend the independence and territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova.

On March 2, 1992, the political conflict in the Nistru region escalated into a true fratricidal war. Under the fabricated pretext of "defending Russia's southern borders," political adventurers from the former Soviet metropolis encouraged Transnistrian separatism by arming secessionist paramilitary groups. At the same time, thousands of mercenary Cossacks and prisoners released early from jails, along with tanks and missiles, were sent against Independent Moldova, in a desperate attempt to revive the fallen empire.

Russia's undeclared war against the Republic of Moldova left behind hundreds of dead and wounded, shattered families, and villages in ruins. More than 50,000 peaceful residents from the conflict zone were forced to flee their homes, seeking refuge from the horrors of war.

For the sake of freedom and the future, Moldova's defenders faced death, enduring the hardships and humiliations of war.

During the Nistru war, 198 soldiers of the National Army and 89 personnel from the Ministry of Internal Affairs lost their lives, while 40 combatants went missing without a trace, and nearly 300 were left disabled.

Virtual Tour

Exhibitions

"Czech Castles in the Heart of Moldova"

May 15 – June 16 2024

On May 15, at 16:30, in the upstairs hall of the National Museum of History of Moldova, the exhibition "Czech Castles in the Heart of Moldova" will be inaugurated, organized in partnership with the National Museum of the Czech Republic and the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Chisinau.

This exhibition presents a selection of 11 of the most interesting castles and chateaux of Bohemia and Moravia, two of the historic areas that make up the Czech state. The criterion for the selection of the localities has been their historical significance as well as their architectural, artistic, and historical value. A prominent position is occupied by sites of European importance, including not only those already on UNESCO's list (Prague, Český Krumlov, Kroměříž, Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape) but also several other potential candidates (e.g. Karlštejn, Křivoklát, Jindřichův Hradec). This selection also includes impressive and romantic ruins (e.g. Bezděz), castles turned into imposing chateau-like residences (e.g. Hluboká nad Vltavou) and modern palaces surrounded by splendid parks (e.g. Jemniště, Lednice). The exhibition thus opens up the space to create a mosaic that informs us about selected cultural treasures and in part also about works of art and furnishings. We believe that the exhibition will provide not only an aesthetic experience and information but also motivation for a closer investigation into castles and chateaux, as well as an invitation to visit the Czech Republic.

The Czech Republic abounds in cultural treasures, among which castles and chateaux as historical residences of the social elite, of rulers, of the aristocracy, and of religious institutions attract special attention. Castles, fortified residences of the Middle Ages, were built from the twelfth to the early sixteenth century. In the modern era (from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century) they were replaced by comfortable and often sumptuously furnished chateaux. The fact that the Czech Republic ranks among the countries with the highest density of these remarkable buildings per square kilometer and that they are preserved in such an unusually authentic form gives us every right to call it a "country of castles and chateaux." Most accessible sites are managed by the National Heritage Institute or by various museums, towns, municipalities, and private persons, including descendants of the historic Czech noble families.

The exhibition "Czech castles in the heart of Moldova" can be visited between May 15 - June 16, 2024, in the upstairs hall of the National Museum of History of Moldova, Chisinau, 31 August 1989 street, 121A.