#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

"The Archaeological Landscape of Old Orhei"

February 20 – March 20, 2025

The Archaeological Landscape of Old Orhei is an ensemble of exceptional archaeological sites, located in a fortified natural space with unique features on a global scale. As a result of millennia of collaboration between human genius and the natural environment, the Archaeological Landscape of Old Orhei represents an extraordinary repository of heritage values, a place of rare beauty and great attractiveness that deeply impresses any visitor.

The exhibition aims to present these remarkable heritage values through a collection of photographic panels, offering visitors a comprehensive insight into the rich history and cultural significance of Old Orhei.

The landscape is in the central-eastern part of the Republic of Moldova and extends along the Răut River gorge, 50 km from Chișinău. It is situated in a strategically important location, at the confluence of ancient civilizations: barbarian and Greek, sedentary and nomadic, oriental and western, Christian and Muslim.

The landscape includes a natural amphitheatre of rare beauty, formed by the confined meander of the Răut River, with high banks along its winding course, providing remarkable defence conditions, in fact being a splendid natural fortress.

Old Orhei has multiple elements that give it remarkable universal value, such as: the unique configuration of the landscape; the unity and diversity of the natural framework; the remarkable richness of vital natural resources for the inhabitants; the very important geostrategic position of the place; the strong natural fortification of the landscape; the positioning of the site at the border between spaces with very different cultural models; the remarkable sacredness of the place; the ingenious anthropic adaptation of the space; the high political-economic and military status of the space in various eras, and the extremely high concentration of anthropic traces in this area.

This special place has strongly attracted human communities since ancient times. Within the Landscape of Old Orhei, there is a very high concentration of archaeological sites, perfectly adapted to the relief forms here.

The oldest traces of habitation represent two Upper Palaeolithic sites (ca. 30,000 - 20,000 BC). There is also a long-term settlement from the Copper Age (ca. 5,000 - 3,500 BC). Sparse traces from the late Bronze Age (ca. 1400 - 1100 BC) are also encountered. In the same space, vestiges from the early Iron Age (ca. 1000 - 100 BC) are documented.

On the same promontory, sporadic traces from the late antique period (3rd-4th centuries) are found. Two early medieval settlements (5th - 13th centuries) follow. In the 12th - 13th centuries, in the upper part of the promontory, there was a fortified rural settlement, conquered and destroyed by the Mongols around 1241.

In the first half of the 14th century, an oriental-type city - Şehr al Cedid / Yangı Şeher (New City) - was founded on this site, which existed until 1369 when the Mongols withdrew from the region under pressure from Lithuanian and Moldovan armies.

On the ruins of this city, after 1369, one of the most important medieval Moldovan cities - Orhei - was founded, which existed until the mid-16th century.
The exhibition " The Archaeological Landscape of Old Orhei " can be visited from February 20 - March 20, 2025, at the National Museum of History of Moldova, Chișinău, 31 August 1989 Street, No. 121 A.