EN RO















#Exhibit of the Month

>>>

The artifact is a battle axe made from magmatic rock (diabase) of gray-brown color. It was accidentally discovered in 1966 within the territory of Aluniș village, Rîșcani district. Based on its morphological characteristics, the artifact can be attributed to the Catacomb culture (29th-22nd centuries BCE).

The axe features a massive, elongated naviform body with slightly pronounced shoulders, a short and narrow edge that is flat and circular in cross-section. The blade is slightly curved. The hole was drilled in the maximum width of the object. It is circular in shape with a diameter of 2.2 cm. The surface of the artifact is meticulously polished, worked with great care, and shows no signs of damage or chipping.

Dimensions: Length: 20.0 cm; Maximum width: 8.4 cm; Edge diameter: 5.0 cm; Blade width: 7.0 cm; Weight: 2.3 kg.

Stone battle axes are characteristic of the Catacomb culture communities and are most often found as grave goods, deposited in tombs. Their presence in funerary complexes suggests a multifaceted functionality: weapons, social symbols, and ritual objects. Initially used as weapons, the axes became social symbols for their owners, later acquiring votive significance when deposited in tombs to serve the deceased in the afterlife.

The social symbolic function of stone battle axes is indicated by the high-quality rocks used for their manufacture and the exceptionally meticulous craftsmanship. The large dimensions of the axe from Aluniș support this hypothesis and distinguish it from other examples.

The discovery of stone battle axes outside a funerary complex may indicate their votive deposition. It is difficult to imagine that these exceptionally well-crafted pieces, made from high-quality rocks transported over great distances, could have been abandoned or lost accidentally. It is far more likely that they were deposited for magical-religious purposes, a possibility that may also apply to the stone axe discovered at Aluniș.

Virtual Tour


Exhibitions

„Petru Lucinschi: Portrait Over Time”

January 27 - February 28, 2025

The exhibition marks the 85th anniversary Petru Lucinschi, second President of the Republic of Moldova. It features approximately 180 photographs, documents, distinctions, books, works of art, personal items, and other documentary evidence that reconstruct the most significant stages of the renowned politician and statesman's life and career.

Petru Lucinschi's biography is closely intertwined with the times in which he lived and worked with passion and dedication, as well as with the recent history of the Republic of Moldova, including its political and socio-economic transformations during the early years of independence and the international affirmation of the young sovereign state.
Born on January 27, 1940, in Rădulenii Vechi, Florești District, Petru Lucinschi graduated from the State University of Moldova, Faculty of History and Philology, in 1962. He is a member of the Academy of Social Sciences of the Russian Federation (Moscow) and holds a PhD in Philosophy (1977).

Between 1960 and 1971, he held roles as instructor, department head, secretary, and first secretary of the Central Committee of the Leninist Young Communist League (ULCT) in the Moldavian SSR. From 1971 to 1976, he served as secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Moldova (CCPCM). Between 1976 and 1978, he was first secretary of the Chișinău City Committee of the Communist Party. From 1978 to 1986, he worked as deputy section chief of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). From 1986 to 1989, he was second secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Tajikistan.

In 1989, he was elected first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Moldova, serving until 1990. Between 1990 and 1991, he was secretary of the Central Committee and a member of the Politburo of the CPSU. From 1991 to 1992, he worked as a senior researcher at the Institute of Socio-Political Research of the Academy of Sciences of the Russian Federation and as executive director of the Fund for Social Science Development of the same academy. From 1992 to 1993, he served as the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Republic of Moldova to the Russian Federation.

On February 4, 1993, he was elected President of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova. From December 1, 1996, to April 4, 2001, he served as President of the Republic of Moldova.

Petru Lucinschi was a deputy in the Supreme Soviet of the Moldavian SSR (1967-1980), the Supreme Soviet of Tajikistan (1986-1990), and the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (1986-1991). From 1990 to 1996, he was a deputy in the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova.

Currently, he is the president of the Lucinschi Foundation for Strategic Studies and Development of International Relations.

In 2005, Petru Lucinschi was awarded the "Order of the Republic". He also holds prestigious international honors, including the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor (France, 1998), the Order of the Savior (Greece, 1999), the Grand Order of the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher (Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, Jerusalem, 2000), and the Order of the Star of Romania in the rank of Collar (Romania, 2000).

The exhibition will be open to visitors from January 27 to February 28, 2025, in the upper-floor hall of the National Museum of History of Moldova, located at 121A 31 August 1989 Street, Chișinău.


 




Independent Moldova
Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic
Bessarabia and MASSR between the Two World Wars
Bessarabia and Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in the Period between the Two World Wars
Revival of National Movement
Time of Reforms and their Consequences
Abolition of Autonomy. Bessarabia – a New Tsarist Colony
Period of Relative Autonomy of Bessarabia within the Russian Empire
Phanariot Regime
Golden Age of the Romanian Culture
Struggle for Maintaining of Independence of Moldova
Formation of Independent Medieval State of Moldova
Era of the
Great Nomad Migrations
Early Middle Ages
Iron Age and Antiquity
Bronze Age
Aeneolithic Age
Neolithic Age
Palaeolithic Age
  
  

Come to Museum! Discover the History!
  
Visit museum
Visit museum
Summer schedule: daily
10am – 6pm.

Winter schedule: daily
10am – 5pm.
Closed on Mondays.
Entrance fees:  adults - 50 MDL, Pensioners, students - 20 lei, pupils - 10 MDL. Free access: enlisted men (...)

WiFi Free Wi-Fi Zone in the museum: In the courtyard of the National History Museum of Moldova there is Wi-Fi Internet access for visitors.


#Exhibit of the Month

The artifact is a battle axe made from magmatic rock (diabase) of gray-brown color. It was accidentally discovered in 1966 within the territory of Aluniș village, Rîșcani district. Based on its morphological characteristics, the artifact can be attributed to the Catacomb culture (29th-22nd centuries BCE)...

Read More >>

































The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
©2006-2025 National Museum of History of Moldova
Visit museum 31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
Phones:
Secretariat: +373 (22) 24-43-25
Department of Public Relations and Museum Education: +373 (22) 24-04-26
Fax: +373 (22) 24-43-69
E-mail: office@nationalmuseum.md
Technical Support: info@nationalmuseum.md
Web site administration and maintenance: Andrei EMILCIUC

 



The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
©2006-2025 National Museum of History of Moldova
Visit museum 31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
Phones:
Secretariat: +373 (22) 24-43-25
Department of Public Relations and Museum Education: +373 (22) 24-04-26
Fax: +373 (22) 24-43-69
E-mail: office@nationalmuseum.md
Technical Support: info@nationalmuseum.md
Web site administration and maintenance: Andrei EMILCIUC

menu
The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
©2006-2025 National Museum of History of Moldova
Visit museum 31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
Phones:
Secretariat: +373 (22) 24-43-25
Department of Public Relations and Museum Education: +373 (22) 24-04-26
Fax: +373 (22) 24-43-69
E-mail: office@nationalmuseum.md
Technical Support: info@nationalmuseum.md
Web site administration and maintenance: Andrei EMILCIUC