#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

The compartment „Bessarabia in the first half of the 20th century”

(Permanent Exhibition “History and Civilization”)

This department of the exhibition is dedicated to the contemporary period of history and begins with a series of objects reflecting socio-cultural movements of the early 20th century, events of the World War I and the national movement in 1917, which culminated in the creation of the first Bessarabian parliament - the Country Council (Sfatul Tarii) and the unification of Bessarabia with Romania.

The compartment „Bessarabia in the first half of the 20th century”

The main events and persons who led first to the proclamation of independence from Russia on 24 January 1918 and then to unification with Romania on 27 March 1918 are presented in the museum exhibition: photos of Paul Gore, Alexei Mateevici, Nicolai Alexandri - the leaders of national movement in Bessarabia, photo images taken at the demonstrations in Chisinau and Balti in 1917 and a photo of the building where on 21 November of the same year the Country Council began its meetings. All these documents are of particular emotional resonance. The spirit of time is conveyed through the reconstruction of the editorial office of newspaper "Cuvant moldovenesc", an important organ of the national movement in Bessarabia.

The process of integration of the territory between the Prut and Dniester in political, economic, and cultural life of the unified Romania entailed important socio-economic transformations, but especially a large flourishing of culture and education. This is evidenced by the museum collections of photos, documents, books, medals and works of art. Among the most prestigious educational institutions of the time in the exhibition there are presented the "B.P. Hasdeu" Boys' Secondary School, the "Queen Maria" Girls' Secondary School, the "King Ferdinand" Military School, and of course the famous School of Fine Arts led by sculptor Alexander Plamadeala.

Many photos and playbills talk about the prodigious activity of the National Theatre in Bessarabia and highlight some prominent figures of political and cultural life of the interwar period, such as writer and politician Constantin Stere, composer Alexandru Cristea, director of the "Unirea" Conservatory Anastasia Dicescu, internationally renowned soprano Maria Cebotari, singer of opera houses from Vienna, Dresden and Berlin, opera singers Lidia Lipcovschi and Lidia Babici.