#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.

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Events Archive

The National Fair of the Carpet „COVORUL DORULUI” 5th edition

December 16, 2018

The National Fair of the Carpet was organised for the 5th consecutive year by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research in the contextxt of the promotion of the ellement "Traditional techniques of weaving carpets in Romania and the Republicof Moldova" which was inscribed on the UNESCO's Representaative List of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity of December 1, 2016.

The aim of the National Fair of the Carpet is to valorize the authentic Romanian rug and the rugs of other ethnicities living in the Republic of Moldova, to discover the basic motifs and symbols of the carpets, and to familiarize with the traditions and customs of the inhabitants of Moldova. The mistletoe caroling, which is part of the Universal Heritage from 2013, will be the key moment of the artistic program.

The 5th edition of the National Fair of the Carpet was held simultaneously in three national museums: the National Museum of Ethnography and Natural History (Mihail Kogălniceanu Street, no. 82), the National Museum of History of Moldova (31 August Street, no. 121A) and the National Art Museum of Moldova (31 August Street, no. 115).

PROGRAM:

14:00-15:00 National Museum of Ethnography and Natural History

The official opening of the event, as well as the opening of the exhibition "The Image of the World woven onto Wool" with carpets from the museum collections, as well as 12 ponevi (thick cloth of wool, cotton and other materials from which are made carpets) from the collections of the Museum of the Criş Country in Oradea (Romania). The first part of the event included a vast informative and fun musical program with many representations of carpet weaving traditions, as well as numerous creative and interactive workshops. In the courtyard of the museum was organized a peasant household where visitors had the opportunity to taste traditional dishes.

15:30-16:30 National Museum of History of Moldova

The museum became a place of interaction between different ethnic groups living in the Republic of Moldova, a meeting place for many cultures, languages and traditions. In the hall of the museum were presented the most beautiful winter traditions of Bulgarians, Ukrainians, and Gagauzians. Workshops were organized by experienced weavers from the "Rustic Art" Craftsmen Complex from Clişova. The exhibitions and workshops were accompanied by a musical performance, which included pieces from the folklore of minorities living in Moldova. Visitors were also able to admire the exhibition "The Magic of the Old Carpet", which includes selected pieces from the collection of the National Museum of History of Moldova from the 18th - beginning of the 20th century, some of which are exhibited for the first time. In the museum courtyard was arranged an artisan craft fair.

17:00-18:00 National Art Museum of Moldova

Was opened the exhibition "Tradition and Modernity" with a display of artworks signed by Mihai Grecu, Elena Bontea, Vladimir Palamarciuc and woven artworks by Elena Rotaru, Silvia Vrânceanu, Andrei Negură, Maria Saca-Răcilă and others.

The binder that secured the connection between different locations and compartments was the Winter Parade of Traditional Costume. Special guests at the National Fair of the Carpet were: the group Flori de măr from Râșca, Suceava; Folkloric group Glasul Odăieșilor, Galați County; Group Cerbul from Heleșteni, Iași.

Event partners: Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation in Moldova, Primex Com, MIMI Castle.

Media partner: Publika TV