#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

„Magic of the Old Carpet”

27 September - 31 December 2018

On the occasion of the European Heritage Days the National Museum of History of Moldova opened the exhibition "The Magic of the Old Carpet". The even took place on Thursday, September 27, 2018, at 15.00.

Moldovan carpets on display are dated with the end of the 18th - beginning of the 20th centuries and represent the collection of the National Museum of History of Moldova. Some of them are exhibited for the first time.

The museum carpet collection has been formed in the last decades of the 20th century by acquisitions, donations and transfers, counting today more than 250 pieces of outstanding documentary and artistic value. The collection includes: traditional Moldovan carpets, contemporary carpets, carpets dedicated to special events in social-political life, carpets of memorial value, tapestries, etc.; woolen fabrics of different sizes and destinations.

The pieces reflect a multitude of motifs and ornamental compositions, specific to the Moldovan rug. The most widespread motives in ornamentation of woolen fabrics are vegetal and geometric, the representation of birds, man, tools, and so on.

Among the vegetal motifs, we find the tree of life, the vase and bouquets of flowers, branches, garlands, fruits, etc., all of which are stylized. The "Tree of Life" motive has various forms which embodies the fruitful force of the living nature or tree of wisdom, the tree of the nation. This particular ornamental motif is reproduced on an 18th-century wall rug presented in the exhibition, which is also the oldest wool fabric in the collection of the museum.

The most common geometric motifs are straight and curved transverse spars, triangles, diamonds, squares, stars, teeth, hooks, broken lines, and so on. "The Stars" rug is worked in the best traditions of the Moldovan carpet, dated to the first half of the 19th century. The light green central field décor consists of several rows of eight-pointed stars, and the dark red border is decorated with polychrome diamonds. The eight-pointed star symbolizes the time engine, the regenerative energy.

Often, along with geometric and vegetal figures is represented the face of women considered symbol of life and fertility.

On Moldovan carpets are often stylized birds - cocks, geese, ducks, peacocks; different insects - beetle, spider; monograms, signs and year of making. Many of these ornamental motifs, in various variants, can be seen on the pieces from the exhibition.

"The Magic of the Old Carpet" exhibition contributes to the promotion of national cultural values, which are part of the cultural heritage of humanity. It will be open to the public until December 31, 2018.