Moldova (Chisinau, Soroca, Balţi) June 10-11, 2019
I crossed the Romanian/Moldova border (the Prut River) at just east of Iasi. I knew my vehicle insurance was not valid for Moldova and purchased one month at the coffee shop at the border for €10. There were no issues other than the usual checks.
OBSERVATIONS
1. Rural Moldova has a much poorer look than any other country I have travelled in. There is little traffic (and what there is all passed me) and many people waiting at bus stops for the minibus transport. Old women in kerchiefs, walking along the road with hoes over their shoulders or one with two goats on a leash, horses and carts, wells obviously actively used with buckets and a drum windlass system, many roadside crosses covered with a semi-circular metal roof with an ornamental edge, shepherds with goats, sheep, cattle and even some geese.
2. Museums are unbelievably cheap at 5-10 Lei half the price as a pensioner. €.25-.5.
3. Prices: Diesel is very cheap at 17.44-7.56 MDL/L = €.853. Cigarettes 25 Lei (€1.25).
Parc.
Vulcanesti. Listed in the NM “XL” series, this is in the far west, not the far south as listed. It would be an appropriate entry for “small towns” as the village has many large, opulent homes all behind imposing decorative stone fences and gates. The facades are often garish stone. But the streets are narrow dirt. I don’t know what makes this town have such great homes, quite out of the ordinary for Moldova.
Hâncu Monastery. This is a huge complex of churches and outbuildings, all yellow with white trim. The grounds were lovely with flowers in pots and beds. 6-stories before the dome starts, this monstrous church with several black onion domes was completely unfinished inside, all exposed concrete and brick. Workmen were working on one side. There were a few icons in frames. The very bottom was finished, a huge area with many wonderful mosaics.
Services were being held in the small church. Beautifully frescoed, it had the most unusual collection of old nuns and priests – the nuns were ancient, all had two canes, were well less than 5 feet tall and stooped over with kyphotic spines. Two of the priests had long grey beards, were also stooped over and had canes.
Below was a ? hotel and 4 modern homes with flower beds and a small cemetery.
Access down a rough paved road then rutted dirt, 3.5 km off the highway.
Codru Natural Reserve. This is a lovely forest of mature, big deciduous trees. I stopped and filled up with water at a fountain and walked down a minimalist trail that didn’t go far.
Căpriana monastery. Fronted by a pond, the church is plain white plaster. The frescoes in Moldova are quite different – large scenes covering whole walls and these were fresh and new. The iconostasis was white/gilt and had four full-figure silver jacketed icons. The reliquary to a saint (1746-1821) was a gorgeous brass/enamelled tomb. The outbuildings were lovely 2-stories with columned porticos.
CHISNAU (pop 534,000)
Chișinău, also known as Kishinev, also referred to as Kishineu in Russian-language media in Moldova, is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Moldova. The city is Moldova’s main industrial and commercial center and is located in the middle of the country, on the river Bâc, a tributary of Dniester. Chișinău is the most economically prosperous locality in Moldova and its largest transportation hub.
History
Moldavian period. Founded in 1436 as a monastery village, the city was part of the Principality of Moldavia (which, starting with the 16th century became a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire, but still retaining its autonomy). At the beginning of the 19th century, Chișinău was a small town of 7,000 inhabitants.
In 1812, in the aftermath of the Russo-Turkish War (1806–1812), the eastern half of Moldavia was ceded to the Russian Empire. The newly acquired territories became known as Bessarabia.
Imperial period. Chișinău became the capital of the newly annexed oblast (later guberniya) of Bessarabia. By 1834, an imperial townscape with broad and long roads had emerged as a result of a generous development plan, which divided Chișinău roughly into two areas: the old part of the town, with its irregular building structures, and a newer city center and station. Between 26 May 1830 and 13 October 1836, the architect Avraam Melnikov established the Catedrala Nașterea Domnului with a magnificent bell tower. In 1840 the building of the Triumphal Arch, planned by the architect Luca Zaushkevich, was completed. Following this, the construction of numerous buildings and landmarks began.
On 28 August 1871, Chișinău was linked by rail with Tiraspol, and in 1873 with Cornești. Chișinău-Ungheni-Iași railway was opened on 1 June 1875 in preparation for the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878). The town played an important part in the war between Russia and Ottoman Empire, as the main staging area of the Russian invasion. During the Belle Époque, the mayor of the city was Carol Schmidt, considered one of Chisinau’s best mayors. Its population had grown to 92,000 by 1862, and to 125,787 by 1900.
Pogroms and pre-revolution. In the late 19th century, especially due to growing anti-Semitic sentiment in the Russian Empire and better economic conditions, many Jews chose to settle in Chișinău. By the year 1897, 46% of the population of Chișinău was Jewish, over 50,000 people.
A large anti-Semitic riot took place in the town on April 19–20, 1903, which would later be known as the Kishinev pogrom. The rioting continued for three days, resulting in 47 Jews dead, 92 severely wounded, and 500 suffering minor injuries. In addition, several hundred houses and many businesses were plundered and destroyed. The pogroms are largely believed to have been incited by anti-Jewish propaganda in the only official newspaper of the time, Bessarabetz (Бессарабецъ). Mayor Schmidt disapproved of the incident and resigned later in 1903. The reactions to this incident included a petition to Tsar Nicholas II of Russia on behalf of the American people by US President Theodore Roosevelt in July 1905.
On 22 August 1905, another violent event occurred: The police opened fire on an estimated 3,000 demonstrating agricultural workers. Only a few months later, 19–20 October 1905, a further protest occurred, helping to force the hand of Nicholas II in bringing about the October Manifesto. However, these demonstrations suddenly turned into another anti-Jewish pogrom, resulting in 19 deaths.
Romanian period. Following the Russian October Revolution, Bessarabia declared independence from the crumbling empire, as the Moldavian Democratic Republic, before joining the Kingdom of Romania. As of 1919, Chișinău, with an estimated population of 133,000, became the second-largest city in Romania.
Between 1918 and 1940, the center of the city undertook large renovation work. Romania granted important subsidies to its province and initiated large-scale investment programs in the infrastructure of the main cities in Bessarabia, expanded the railroad infrastructure and started an extensive program to eradicate illiteracy.
In 1927, the Stephen the Great Monument, by the sculptor Alexandru Plămădeală, was erected. In 1933, the first higher education institution in Bessarabia was established, by transferring the Agricultural Sciences Section of the University of Iași to Chișinău, as the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences.
World War II. On 28 June 1940, as a direct result of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, Bessarabia was annexed by the Soviet Union from Romania, and Chișinău became the capital of the newly created Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic.
Following the Soviet occupation, mass deportations, linked with atrocities, were executed by the NKVD between June 1940 and June 1941. In Chișinău, over 400 people were summarily executed in July 1940 and buried in the grounds of the Metropolitan Palace, the Chișinău Theological Institute, and the backyard of the Italian Consulate, where the NKVD had established its headquarters. As part of the policy of political repression of the potential opposition to the Communist power, tens of thousands of members of native families were deported from Bessarabia to other regions of the USSR.
On 10 November 1940, a devastating earthquake occurred. The epicentre of the quake, which measured 7.4 (or 7.7, according to other sources) on the Richter scale, was in the Vrancea Mountains and subsequently led to substantial destruction: 78 deaths and 2,795 affected buildings (of which 172 were destroyed).
In June 1941, in order to recover Bessarabia, Romania entered World War II under the command of the German Wehrmacht, declaring war on the Soviet Union. In the chaos of the Second World War, Chișinău was severely affected. In June–July 1941 the city came under bombardment by Nazi air raids. However, the Romanian and newly Moldovan sources assign most of the responsibility for the damage to Soviet NKVD destruction battalions, that operated in Chișinău until 17 July 1941, when it was captured by Axis forces.
Following the German and Romanian reoccupation, the city suffered from the Nazi extermination policy of its Jewish inhabitants, who were transported on trucks to the outskirts of the city and then summarily shot in partially dug pits. The number of Jews murdered during the initial occupation of the city is estimated at approximately 10,000 people.
As the war drew to a conclusion, the city was once again the scene of heavy fighting as German and Romanian troops retreated. Chișinău was captured by the Red Army on 24 August 1944 as a result of the Jassy-Kishinev Operation.
Soviet period. After the war, Bessarabia was fully reintegrated into the Soviet Union, around 65 percent of its territory as the Moldavian SSR, while the remaining 35 percent were transferred to the Ukrainian SSR.
Two other waves of deportations of Moldova’s native population were carried out by the Soviets, the first one immediately after the Soviet reoccupation of Bessarabia until the end of the 1940s, and the second one in the mid-1950s.
From 1947 to 1949 the architect Alexey Shchusev developed a plan with the aid of a team of architects for the gradual reconstruction of the city.
There was rapid population growth in the 1950s, to which the Soviet administration responded by constructing large-scale housing and palaces in the style of Stalinist architecture. This process continued under Nikita Khrushchev, who called for construction under the slogan “good, cheaper and built faster”. The new architectural style brought about dramatic change and generated the style that dominates today, with large blocks of flats arranged in considerable settlements. These Khrushchev-era buildings are often informally called Khrushchyovka.
The period of the most significant redevelopment of the city extended from 1971 when the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union adopted a decision “On the measures for further development of the city of Kishinev”, which secured more than one billion rubles in investment from the state budget, which continued until the independence of Moldova in 1991. Currently, the share of dwellings built during the Soviet period (1951–1990) represents 74.3 percent of total households.
On 4 March 1977, the city was again jolted by a devastating earthquake. Several people were killed and panic broke out.
After independence. Many streets of Chișinău are named after historic persons, places or events. Independence from the Soviet Union was followed by a large-scale renaming of streets and localities from a Communist theme into a national one.
Geography. Chișinău is located on the river Bâc, a tributary of the Dniester, at 47°0′N 28°55′E, with an area of 120 km2 (46 sq mi). The municipality comprises 635 km2 (245 sq mi).
The city lies in central Moldova and is surrounded by a relatively level landscape with very fertile ground.
Climate. Chișinău has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfa characterized by warm summers and cool, windy winters. Winter minimum temperatures are often below 0 °C (32 °F), although they rarely drop below −10 °C (14 °F). In summer, the average maximum temperature is approximately 25 °C (77 °F), however, temperatures occasionally reach 35 to 40 °C (95 to 104 °F) in mid-summer in downtown. Although average precipitation and humidity during summer is relatively low, there are infrequent yet heavy storms.
Spring and autumn temperatures vary between 16 to 24 °C (61 to 75 °F), and precipitation during this time tends to be lower than in summer but with more
With a population of 662,836 inhabitants (as of 2014), the Municipality of Chișinău (which includes the nearby communities) is the largest of these municipalities
Besides the city itself, the municipality comprises 34 other suburban localities: 6 towns (containing a further 2 villages within), and 12 communes (containing a further 14 villages within).
I then had a walk about in this unpretentious city to see the following sights. The museums here are easily the cheapest in the world – I averaged .25€ per admission with reduced prices.
There were several protests happening around government buildings, all peaceful with tents and sit-downs. There were lots of heavily armoured police. I talked to one young guy who said they were “protesting the president Dodon, who lies”.
National Museum of Ethnography and Natural History. In a nice stone art deco building with tiled decoration, the exhibits are all mixed up and what you might expect in an older museum: animals and birds in plastic boxes and glassed cases with painted scenes behind. There are many cross-sections of soil types. The ethnography is the usual: folk dress, furniture, jewelry, lovely woven carpets, looms, and embroidery. Continue in the basement with rocks, fossils, a full mastodon skeleton, a bear skeleton, then pots, farm implements, wood carving, and household. The highlights for me were the large central room and some of the art – naïve paintings and finely beaded mosaics. 5 Lei (€.25!) reduced. At these prices, it is embarrassing to ask for the pensioner rate.
National Museum of Fine Arts. Google Maps kept referring me back to the Urban Villa of Vladimir Hertza, a fine 1906 Baroque mansion, but an empty shell.
Stefan cel Mare si Saint Monument. Dated 1457-1504, this great bronze statue of a king holding a cross aloft in his left hand and a sword planted in his right occupies a corner of a large park. The statue sits on a large stone pedestal. The same dude is in front of the Capriana Monastery.
Triumphal Arch. This small cream stone arch has four corners of columns with Corinthian capitals. It sits astride the sidewalk to the east side of the main street. It has a clock on the west side. It has the sign “Portile Sfinte si Scuarul 1836”
Catedrala Naşterea Domnului (Metropolitan Cathedral “Nativity of the Lord”). Fronted by an impressive separate bell tower, it has 6 doric columns and is quite small (for a cathedral). The square church has a huge dome and is completely frescoed inside. The large gilt iconostasis and gilt frames around all the icons give the church an opulent look. God these people cross themselves a lot, each cross if followed by a touch to the ground. Free
National Museum of Fine Arts. Most are Moldovian modern art and sculpture from the 1950s – 1980s. Finish with a room of 18th-century foreign art.
Google Maps kept referring me back to the Urban Villa of Vladimir Hertza, a fine 1906 Baroque mansion, but an empty shell.
National Museum of History of Moldova. Start with bones, pots, metal, armour and weapons and then printing. Finish with a poorly done description of Moldova since the Russo-Turkic War of 1806-12 and progress through to the end of WW II. I learned little about the country in this museum. There is a large 11x45m diorama of the battle of Isni/Chisinau with a lifelike recreation in the foreground. In the basement is the “treasury” with the finds of several hoards. The finish Lei including the temporary exhibit.
House-Museum A. S. Pushkin. In 1820, Pushkin moved into this house. It has period furniture, draft manuscripts, the story of his life and childhood in Moscow and Petersburg and a lot of interesting art and prints. He was a poet and wrote 150 poems when he was here and started the novel “Ejgenie Oneghin”. 10 Lie
Central Market. This is an unbelievably dense warren of shoes and clothes, all displayed in small packed stalls on mannequins and hangers.
Ciuflea Monastery. In the middle of the south part of Chisinau, the lovely turquoise with white trim church has a bright brass spire and onion domes and unusually two wide aisles. The dark frescoes and many floral elements, an enormous gilt iconostasis and the reliquary of several saints are the highlights. It is a nice tranquil space after all the hustle and bustle of the city.
Chişinău Zoo. Sited on a hillside, descend 84 steps to where the critters start. This zoo has lovely landscaping but the animals are still in small cages. The wolves are the most distressing with their constant pacing, but capybaras seem well-suited to zoo life. Most of the cages seemed empty but maybe it was siesta time. All signs are unilingual Moldoviam. I didn’t have the energy to walk all the hills and maybe see half the zoo. They depress the hell out of me anyway. 30 Lei, 5 reduced
Village Open-Air Museum (Muzeul Satului). Google Maps directed me to this very small but nice church. The ancient timbers are set on a stone/50cm square wood beam foundation. Completely frescoed inside, there was a baptism happening when I was there. The other structures were a gazebo, a small log cabin, vegetable gardens and a vineyard, all surrounded by a woven branch fence.
A sign hidden behind a tree shows several old buildings, none of which are here. It appears to me that funds were insufficient to finish the entire museum.
Milestii Mici Wine Cellars. Mileștii Mici is a Moldovan wine producer located in the commune of Mileștii Mici.The State Enterprise Quality Wines Industrial Complex “Mileștii Mici” was founded in 1969 to store, preserve and mature high-quality wines.
Local ancient underground galleries reach the Chişinău borders. The limestone in the galleries maintains constant humidity (85–95%) and temperature (12–14 °C throughout the year. The longer some specific red wines are stored in such ideal conditions, the more they improve. Some wines are cellared for several decades before being sold. The cellars extend for 200 kilometres (120 mi), of which only 55 kilometres (34 mi) are currently in use.
In August 2005, Mileștii Mici was registered in the Guinness World Records as the biggest wine collection in the world.[2] Overall, the complex holds nearly 2 million bottles.[1] More than 70% of the stored wines are red, 20% are white and about 10% are dessert wines. The most valuable items of this collection, worth €480 a bottle, were produced in 1973–74; they are now exported only to Japan.
Wines are exported from Mileștii Mici to Sweden, Japan, the USA, Great Britain, the Czech Republic, Poland, Greece, Germany, Denmark, Finland, and China.
Wines. The wines stored here are made from crops of various years, beginning with 1969. Grapes include Pinot, Traminer, Muscat, Riesling, Dnestrovscoie, Milestscoie, Codru, Negru de Purcari, Trandafirul Moldovei, Auriu, and Cahor-Ciumai.
16 km SW of Chisinau, this is renowned for its 1 million plus bottles of wine stored in its cellars – long tunnels dug into the mountain. Tours of the tunnels and tasting room need to be reserved for groups of 5 or more. 200 Lei, 350 with tasting, 500 with food.