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The Chișinău Diocesan Girls' School opened its doors on May 3, 1864, addressing a pressing need: in Bessarabia there were no institutions dedicated to the education of clergy's daughters. According to the 1864 circular, teaching was conducted in the Moldovan language, a provision applied throughout the diocese. The school's first headmistress was noblewoman Anastasia Dmitrievna Rizo, invited by Archbishop Antonie.

The curriculum, approved by the Ministry of Public Education and the Chișinău Diocese, combined theoretical subjects with practical training. Students studied religion, reading and writing in Moldovan, Slavonic, and Russian, arithmetic and mental calculation, world history and geography. The program was complemented by church singing and practical skills such as sewing, embroidery, knitting, as well as household management - baking bread and prosphora, preparing meals and preserves, caring for livestock, and cultivating gardens.

The vignette, created in 1911 at the photographic studio of Z. N. Sumovski in Chișinău, depicts 29 graduates and 13 teachers. At the center are portraits of Bishop Serafim (Ciciagov), headmistress N. R. Mihelson, teacher V. E. Bejerian, and priests F. Ghiliarov and P. Jurikas. A notable figure is Praskovia Vasilievna Cuciurenko, a calligraphy teacher for 37 years, who in 1911 became senior educator and assistant headmistress. For her dedication, she was awarded the gold medal "For Long Service."

By 1911, the school had 648 students across 17 classes. Its library contained 7,414 volumes, including 3,955 for students and 3,459 for teachers. Graduates, often becoming priests' wives or teachers in rural and urban schools, contributed to spreading faith and moral education, strengthening the cultural and spiritual role of the institution.

On the reverse of the vignette is a label reading: "Store and workshop for frames, paintings, mirrors, and window glass, A. D. Kon'gova, Chișinău, Gogol Street no. 37, next to the State Bank."

This unique vignette was donated at the end of 2025 to the National Museum of History of Moldova by the Dadiștian family from Drochia.


Virtual Tour


Exhibitions

„How the Earth Breathes”

January 14 - February 9, 2025

On January 14, 2025, starting at 12:00 PM, the National Museum of History of Moldova will host the 22nd opening of the traveling photography exhibition How the Earth Breathes, created by director and photographer Dan Mihalcea.

How the Earth Breathes is a traveling artistic project with three objectives: to highlight a contemporary artistic work, to showcase a part of Romania's natural heritage, and to raise awareness about environmental pollution caused by materials that may negatively affect the natural function of ecosystems.

The exhibition How the Earth Breathes consists of 20 photographs taken by director Dan Mihalcea at the Mud Volcanoes of Pâclele Mici in Buzău County, Romania.

The exhibition was initially presented in Romania from April 2023 to December 2024, touring major cities in Romania and prestigious cultural institutions each month. From January 2025, it will be displayed outside Romania's borders.
Dan Mihalcea is based in Bucharest and was born in Râmnicu Vâlcea. He is a film and television director, director of photography, and artist photographer. He graduated from the Faculty of Arts at Hyperion University in Bucharest, specializing in Film and Television Direction. He earned a Master's degree in Cinematography and Media, with a focus on Cinematic Drama and Screenwriting, from the same university. He completed his doctoral studies in Cinematography and Media at the Faculty of Theatre and Film at Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca. Since 1995, Dan Mihalcea has worked in various artistic programs and held multiple positions in the television industry and beyond: artistic director, editor, director of photography, camera operator, documentary filmmaker, and product, catalog, and event photographer.

Dan Mihalcea is a laureate at both international and national documentary film festivals held in Romania. He is the author of the works featured in the traveling religious photography exhibition Canonicon, which was displayed in 12 cities across Romania from 2012 to 2014 at art galleries, museums of art and history, county libraries, and cultural centers. In Bucharest, the exhibition was presented at the Romanian Cultural Institute in 2014.

The exhibition How the Earth Breathes will be open to the public from January 14 to February 9, 2025, in Hall 1 at the National Museum of History of Moldova, Chișinău, 31 August 1989 Street, 121 A.


 




Independent Moldova
Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic
Bessarabia and MASSR between the Two World Wars
Bessarabia and Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in the Period between the Two World Wars
Revival of National Movement
Time of Reforms and their Consequences
Abolition of Autonomy. Bessarabia – a New Tsarist Colony
Period of Relative Autonomy of Bessarabia within the Russian Empire
Phanariot Regime
Golden Age of the Romanian Culture
Struggle for Maintaining of Independence of Moldova
Formation of Independent Medieval State of Moldova
Era of the
Great Nomad Migrations
Early Middle Ages
Iron Age and Antiquity
Bronze Age
Aeneolithic Age
Neolithic Age
Palaeolithic Age
  
  

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#Exhibit of the Month

The Chișinău Diocesan Girls' School opened its doors on May 3, 1864, addressing a pressing need: in Bessarabia there were no institutions dedicated to the education of clergy's daughters...

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The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
©2006-2026 National Museum of History of Moldova
Visit museum 31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
Phones:
Secretariat: +373 (22) 24-43-25
Department of Public Relations and Museum Education: +373 (22) 24-04-26
Fax: +373 (22) 24-43-69
E-mail: office@nationalmuseum.md
Technical Support: info@nationalmuseum.md
Web site administration and maintenance: Andrei EMILCIUC

 



The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
©2006-2026 National Museum of History of Moldova
Visit museum 31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
Phones:
Secretariat: +373 (22) 24-43-25
Department of Public Relations and Museum Education: +373 (22) 24-04-26
Fax: +373 (22) 24-43-69
E-mail: office@nationalmuseum.md
Technical Support: info@nationalmuseum.md
Web site administration and maintenance: Andrei EMILCIUC

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The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
©2006-2026 National Museum of History of Moldova
Visit museum 31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
Phones:
Secretariat: +373 (22) 24-43-25
Department of Public Relations and Museum Education: +373 (22) 24-04-26
Fax: +373 (22) 24-43-69
E-mail: office@nationalmuseum.md
Technical Support: info@nationalmuseum.md
Web site administration and maintenance: Andrei EMILCIUC