#Exhibit of the Month

The Chișinău Diocesan Girls' School opened its doors on May 3, 1864, addressing a pressing need: in Bessarabia there were no institutions dedicated to the education of clergy's daughters. According to the 1864 circular, teaching was conducted in the Romanian language, a provision applied throughout the diocese. The school's first headmistress was Anastasia Rizo, of noble origin, invited by Archbishop Antonie.

The curriculum, approved by the Ministry of Public Education and the Chișinău Diocese, combined theoretical subjects with practical training. Students studied religion, reading and writing in Romanian, Slavonic, and Russian, arithmetic and exercises in calculation, world history and geography. The program was complemented by church singing and practical skills such as sewing, embroidery, knitting, as well as household management - baking bread and prosphora, preparing meals and preserves, caring for livestock, and cultivating gardens.

The composite, taken in 1911 at the studio of Z. N. Sumovski in Chișinău, depicts 29 graduates and 13 teachers. At the center are portraits of Bishop Serafim (Ciciagov), headmistress N. R. Mihelson, teacher V. E. Bejerian, and priests F. Ghiliarov and P. Jurikas. Among the teaching staff was Paraskovia Vasilievna Cuciurenko, a calligraphy teacher for 37 years, who in 1911 became senior educator and assistant headmistress. For her dedication, she was awarded the gold medal "For Long Service."

On the reverse of the vignette is a label from the store and workshop of frames, paintings, mirrors, and window glass owned by A. D. Kon'gova, Chișinău, Gogol Street no. 37, near the State Bank.

This graduation composite was donated at the end of 2025 to the National Museum of History of Moldova by the Dadiștian family from Drochia.

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Exhibitions

"From the Past of Chisinau"

The National Museum of Archaeology and History of Moldova in collaboration with the Scientific Archives of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova, the Cultural Heritage Institute of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova, and the Institute of Zoology of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova organizes the exhibition "From the Past of Chișinău" dedicated to the celebration of the 575^th anniversary of the first documentary evidence about Chișinău. The exhibition presents the objects reflecting the history of Chișinău from ancient times to the early 19th century.

An important section of the exhibition presents the archaeological remains discovered in Chișinău. Among these there are objects found at Valea Morilor, which cover several historical periods, from Paleolithic to the 15th century; a hoard of tools dated from the Bronze Age; objects found near the Mazarache church. Many of these artifacts will be exhibited for the first time.

For years in the city area there were discovered many coins, in hoards or as individual finds, which evidence the trade activity of the market town. The exhibition includes coin hoards found in Chișinău, which are kept in the collections of the National Museum of Archaeology and History of Moldova

In medieval times Chișinău and places in its vicinity, which now are the parts of the city, have been mentioned in a great number of gospodars' papers, in which Chișinău was represented as a market town, as a property of the Galata and St. Paraskevi Monasteries from Iași, etc. In these acts there are also mentioned other owners of the town, as well as founders of churches who contributed to the development of Chișinău. The collection of such documents is kept in the Scientific Archives of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova and will be presented to the public in this exhibition. Most of these papers will be exposed for the first time.

Opening of the exhibition took place on Thursday, October 13, 2011, at the National Museum of Archaeology and History of Moldova, 121"A" 31 August 1989 St., (Room no. 1, ground floor).

In the framework of the event "Poșta Moldovei" SE presented a series of postcards and stamps dedicated to the anniversary.

#Exhibit of the Month

Vignette of Graduates and Teachers of the Chișinău Diocesan Girls’ School, 1911

"From the Past of Chisinau"

#Exhibit of the Month