#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

International Collaboration

Working visit of Livia Sîrbu, Deputy Director of NMHM to Baku, Republic of Azerbaijan

August 19-27, 2023

The EU4Culture project

Between August 19-27, our colleague Livia Sîrbu, Deputy Director of the National Museum of History of Moldova, visited the city of Baku, Republic of Azerbaijan. The mobility was carried out within the EU4Culture program and aimed at the exchange of experience in the field of museum and cultural management, cultural heritage protection and sustainable development.

The program included several working visits to the National History Museum of Azerbaijan and the National Carpet Museum of Azerbaijan, with the aim of establishing partnership relations with the national museums of Azerbaijan and charting future directions for cooperation. Also, Livia Sîrbu paid a visit to the embassy of the Republic of Moldova in Azerbaijan, where within the discussions with Chargé d'Affaires Mr. Dorin Bolbocean. an activity plan was established for the promotion of national culture and history in the city of Baku, receiving the necessary assurances of the full support of the diplomatic corps.

A first step in establishing the directorate lines of joint partnerships was the signing of a partnership memorandum agreement with the National History Museum of Azerbaijan. During the visit, productive discussions were held with Naila Valikhanly, director of the museum, and Farkhad Jabbarov, deputy director, regarding new challenges in museography, establishing future collaborations both in the field of museography and in the scientific direction. They presented us with the organizational chart of the institution and presented their visions regarding our collaboration in the future. After visiting the permanent exhibition and the historical building, it was agreed on an exhibition project in Chisinau and Baku, where the history, culture and potential of our countries will be presented.

Another important visit, where technology combines with Azerbaijani carpet craftsmanship, took place during the two days of meetings with Mira Mammadkhanova, Deputy Director of Heritage and Aynur Mammadova, Deputy Director of Public Relations, at the National Carpet Museum of Azerbaijan. The discussions focused on the possibility of signing a memorandum of cooperation that will allow us to collaborate in order to organize joint exhibitions, as well as exchanges of experiences and courses for restorers from both museums.

The interaction with the Azerbaijani museological environment allowed the establishment of contacts with colleagues from these museum and research centers, which will contribute to future collaborations both in the field of museology and in that of historical research.

The mobility was funded by the European Union in the framework of the EU4Culture project implemented by the Goethe-Institut, Czech Centers, Danish Cultural Institute and Institut Français de Géorgie.