#Exhibit of the Month

One of the great technical achievements that revolutionized the idea of time and space, opening a new era in the history of communication, is telegraphy. It is based on the transmission of electrical signals through a cable over long distances, allowing people to communicate instantly. The telegraph spread very quickly and a network of wires stretched around the world.

In 1837, the American painter and physicist Samuel Morse invented the first electromagnetic device for telegraphy, patented in 1840. To send messages by wire, Morse developed in 1838 a simple code of dots and dashes, which represented the letters of the alphabet, known as "Morse code ".

Both Morse code and the telegraph machine were improved over time, with the telegraph becoming the most widespread system of communication and information transmission for more than a century, until the advent of the Internet. The telegraph system consisted of a series of stations repeaters along the transmission line route. Each station had an operator who received and transmitted messages by telegraph. The Morse machine transmitted about 25 words per minute, which were recorded in code on a paper tape. The operator in charge of transmitting the message would decode it and write it on paper using a special typewriter.

In Bessarabia, the telegraph entered in 1860: on April 8, the Bender telegraph station began its activity, and on April 24, the one in Chisinau, following the construction of the first Odesa-Chisinau-Leova telegraph line. Currently, telegraph services have been discontinued. The only ones who still use coded communication are radio amateurs.

The Morse telegraph machine shown comes from the Osinoostrovsky electrotechnical plant, Soviet Union, and dates back to 1934. The exhibit was restored by Mihail Culașco.

Virtual Tour

Exhibitions

"Historical Monuments in Pictures"

November 21, 2012 - December 5, 2012

National Museum of Archaeology and History of Moldova invites the public to visit the temporary exhibition entitled "Historical Monuments in Pictures". The main museum pieces presented in the exhibition are illustrated postcards "accompanied" by a mini-collection of clocks, symbolizing the time, which erases... but also preserves. The aim of the exhibition is to present deltiological images to the visitors and to attract public interest both to the diversity of the historical heritage of the Republic of Moldova and its vulnerability that requires joint efforts to protect and conserve. The exhibition calls for respect for the history and reminds of the danger for some of the monuments, despite their beauty and value.

The exhibition was conceived by the Department of Modern History and includes over 300 objects of deltiology, wall and floor clocks, and postcard albums, in the framework of time from the late 19th century until 2011. The history is reflected in the architecture of churches, monasteries, different social and administrative buildings, etc. The exhibition is divided into two sections:

1. Postcards' Memory: includes vintage postcards with pictures of historical monuments of Bessarabia, including Chisinau, between the late 19th century and 1940s. By means of the postcards visitors will "travel" back in time, admiring the city's central boulevard, architecture of administrative buildings, educational and cultural institutions, places of rest, etc.

2. Historical Monuments Today: presents picture postcards, which reflect a segment of history of the Republic of Moldova since the late 1980s till present. Along with images of old monuments preserved until today, there are exposed images of buildings, which are symbols of the Republic of Moldova: the Presidential Residence, Parliament, Government House, City Hall, etc. A special place occupy picture postcards with art and cultural institutions, monuments and statues, churches and monasteries, museums of natural history in the area between the Prut and Dniester.