If we are to meet in the centre of Chisinau, in most cases we will say, „Let’s meet at Stephen the Great Monument,” or in „ Stephen the Great” Park, or in one of the locations on Stephen the Great boulevard, which stretches over 3.8 km in the heart of the capital. And throughout the country, the main streets of most towns are named Stephen the Great.

Stephen the Great” Public Garden

The „Stephen the Great” Public Garden is the oldest park designed and arranged in classical manner in Chisinau. It is believed to have been planted in 1818. In fact, the plan was drawn up by Ozmidov in the years 1816-1817, the architect and cadastral engineer of Bessarabia in those years. The main works started in 1825, when the cadastral engineer Bogdan Eitner traced the alleys, trees and shrubs were planted, including 1,000 acacia trees. The Public Garden acquired its final shape in 1835. Later the entrances, two artesian fountains with a depth of 13 m, recreational pavilions, shrubs, and two clocks appeared. Access to the park was paid. Until 1863, the park was surrounded by a wicker fence, replaced by one of wood, then by a stone wall, by City Hall’s decision, and finally by a cast iron fence designed by Alexander Bernardazzi. In 1885, the monument of Aleksandr Pushkin was installed here, and in 1928 the one of Stephen the Great. In 1958, the Classics Alley with 12 busts of the Romanian classics was arranged, completed in the 1900s with the busts of some great Romanian literary writers from the 20th century. There are 50 tree species in the park, some of them – mulberry and acacia - reaching the age of 130-160 years

Stephen the Great Statue

The monument was made in the period 1925- 1928 by sculptor Alexandru Plămădeală and placed in the „ Stephen the Great” park. The monument was cast in Bucharest at Riscanu’s foundry in 1927, from the bronze of six large cannons captured from the Ottomans during the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878. The monument was inaugurated on April 29, 1928, at the tenth anniversary of the Union of Bessarabia with Romania, mounted on a pedestal from stone extracted from Cosauts quarry, designed by E. A. Bernardazzi, the architect of Chisinau, and engineer G. Leviţchi. The monument was 11.20 meters high. The pedestal was composed of five monolithic stones and was six metres tall. The statue is 5.20 meters high. The main inscription on the main façade was: „Stephen the Great - Ruler of Moldova. 1457-1504”. After the Soviet ultimatum in 1940, the statue was transported to Vaslui, where it was installed near the Church of Saint John, founded by the great voivode. In August 1942, the statue was reinstalled in Chisinau, in front of the Arc of Triumph. In 1944, the statue was evacuated again, being transported to Craiova. In 1945, the sculptor Claudia Cobizeva (1905-1995), a student of sculptor Al. Plamadeala, then translator at the Allied Commission (in fact, Soviet) of Control, accidentally saw Stephen’s statue in a park in Craiova and notified the Soviet authorities of that. The statue thus returned to Chisinau as a cultural asset taken out of the USSR. In 1971, it was decided to restore and install a new pedestal that would correspond to the author’s idea. In 1972, the country’s leadership set out to get rid of the „inconvenient” monument, wishing to remove the monument from the city, but after the patriots’ protests, it was left in the Public Garden, but moved 18 meters further into the park and placed on a plain pedestal from cement. The monument of Stephen the Great was restored in the years 1942 and 1945, as well as in 1990, by the Restoration Complex of the Ministry of Culture of Moldova. In 1990, the monument was relocated. The new pedestal was also made from stone of Cosauti by architect Eugen Bernardazzi, the son of Alexandru Bernardazzi. Once the monument was reinstalled, the original inscriptions were restored.

Stephen the Great Boulevard

It is between Freedom Square and Dimitrie Cantemir Square, it is 3.8 km long and is the most important urban highway, the main axis of Chisinau, along which the most important city institutions of social and political, economic and cultural life were located. The Boulevard is the most important street in the country from a symbolic point of view. Here the main social and political events in the Republic of Moldova or Bessarabia have taken Place

Four museums to visit in the heart of Chisinau

They communicate our nation’s history through objects and images, they breathe art, tradition and history, and visits to these buildings can be tantamount to dozens of books or lessons. In our daily rush and in the multitude of tasks on the agenda, we often forget about this part of life - culture. Whether you are a native or a visitor to Chisinau, what about dedicating a weekend to an itinerary through the centre of Chisinau to visit the museums. An interesting activity for the whole family.

The national Museum of Ethnography and Natural History

It is the oldest museum in the Republic of Moldova. The history of the Museum begins in 1889, when Basarabia Zemstvo organized the Agricultural and Industrial Exhibition, which laid the foundation of the museum. Founded as an Agricultural Museum, during its existence it has gradually expanded its field of activity, creating collections that reflect the natural history, the contemporary nature, the evolution of the human society and the traditional culture from the territory of Bessarabia, and later of the Republic of Moldova. At present, it has a heritage of about 135,000 pieces.

It has organised numerous exhibitions that have highlighted the animal and vegetable world, the natural wealth of the country, reflected the occupations of the population. Parts of museum collections were displayed at various exhibitions organized in many countries in Europe, Asia, America and Africa. The heritage of the museum is made up of numerous geological, paleontological, zoological, entomological, archaeological, ethnographic, numismatic collections, many of which are very valuable and even unique. The skeleton of a Dinoterium Gigantisimus, the archaeological treasures Carbuna, Larguta, Dorotcaia, the Bessarabian carpets, etc. are of unique value. (Information source: muzeu.md)

The National Museum of the history of Moldova

The National Museum of the History of Moldova is among the most important museums in the Republic of Moldova, both in terms of its heritage and scientific prestige. The Act of Establishment of the History Museum is dated December 21, 1983. At present, the National Museum of the History of Moldova is subordinated to the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Moldova, its scientific activity being coordinated by the Academy of Sciences of Moldova. The heritage of the museum, originally made up of the Military Glory Museum funds and history collections of the State Museum of History and Study of the Native Land, has been enriched year after year with increasingly significant pieces of work and of a true scientific value through research, donations and acquisitions. Patrimony transfers from a number of abolished museums - the Republican Museum of Peoples' Friendship, the CPM History Museum, the Republican Museum of Komsomol History, the Republican Museum "G. I. Kotovski and S. Gh. Lazo", the Republican History Museum of Religion, the Bulgarian Volunteer Memorial Museum and the Archaeology Museum of the ASM - also contributed to the growth and diversification of its heritage.

Today, the National Museum of the History of Moldova owns 348,619 pieces of patrimony, whose diverse typology catches Moldova's profile over the centuries, from prehistoric times to the present, attesting the human habitat, facts, events, portraits of personalities. (Information source: www.nationalmuseum.md)

The National Museum of Fine Arts

The National Museum of Fine Arts from Moldova is the only institution of this kind in Moldova. The museum has three representative edifices, architectural monuments from the late 19th century – the early 20th century. Vladimir Herţa House, built in 1906, is a Viennese Baroque sample with many ornamental patterns on the main façade. It is one of the most beautiful historical buildings in Chisinau, having a special charm, thanks to the sumptuous decoration. A rich embossed decorative garment is placed in the upper part of the main façade, crowned with domes of various shapes. Kligman House, the second edifice, built in 1897, belonged to lawyer Moses Kligman and is characterized by the neo-classicist style, where the line and rigour predominate. Since 1989, the entire exhibition and administrative activity of the National Art Museum of Moldova takes place at the headquarters of Natalia Dadiani. Built in 1900-1901, after a project by architect Alexandru Bernardazzi and specific to the neo-classicist style of Gothic elements, this building remains a model of civilian architecture of late 19th century – early 20th century. At present, the patrimony of the National Museum of Fine Arts includes over 39,000 works and reflects the development of the fine arts of the XV-XXI centuries. (Information source: www.mnam.md)

The Museum of the History of Chisinau

The museum is in the building of a former water tower, which has already existed for 119 years. The water tower was built in 1892. The building was designed by the famous architect Bernardazzi. As a museum of Chisinau, the tower started working in 1971. The tower, initially, was responsible for the city centralized water supply. The upper floor is a wooden superstructure. The height of the building up to the crowning cornice is 22 meters. The walls-gate is made of local stone, bricks, including masonry. The thickness of the wall varies from 2 meters from the base to 0.6