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#Exhibit of the Month

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Manufactured in 1902 by AG vorm Siedel & Nauman in Dresden, Germany.

Dimensions: Length - 38 cm, Width - 35 cm, Height - 20 cm. Weight - 16 kg. It entered the museum collection in 1984, transferred from the National Museum of Ethnography and Natural History.

The typewriter features a standard carriage mounted on ball bearings and rollers, along with a keyboard equipped with 42 keys. These contain two complete sets of Latin and Cyrillic alphabets, punctuation marks, numbers, and mathematical symbols, enabling the typing of 126 characters. Beneath the metal casing, the type bars are arranged in a fan-like pattern, holding embossed characters and ink ribbon rollers. When the keys are pressed, the type bars strike the inked ribbon, imprinting characters onto the paper tensioned in the machine's roller system.
The side panels are elegantly decorated with refined cast-iron elements in the Art Nouveau style, displaying the brand name - "Ideal." The Polyglott model, featuring a bilingual keyboard patented in the United Kingdom by Max Klaczko from Riga, Latvia, was produced between 1902 and 1913, marking the first typewriter capable of writing in two languages. The "Ideal Polyglott" typewriter was actively sold in the Russian Empire and gained significant popularity in Poland, Bulgaria, and Serbia.
The typewriter - a mechanical device used for printing text directly onto paper - ranks among the most important inventions of the modern era, as it revolutionized communication. From the late 19th century to the early 21st century, it became an indispensable tool, widely used by writers, in offices, for business correspondence, and in private homes. The peak of typewriter sales occurred in the 1950s when the average annual sales in the United States reached 12 million units. In November 2012, the British Brother factory produced what it claimed to be the last typewriter, which was donated to the Science Museum in London.
The advent of computers, word processing software, printers, and the decreasing cost of these technologies led to the typewriter's disappearance from the mainstream market, turning it into a museum exhibit.
June 23 marks Typewriter Day, commemorating the date when American journalist and inventor Christopher Latham Sholes patented his typewriter. This day celebrates the simple yet revolutionary device that has become history, as well as the remarkable literary achievements it has enabled since 1868.

Virtual Tour


Exhibitions

"Maria Cebotari: Life and Work"

June 3–13, 2025

The exhibition Maria Cebotari: Life and Work is a tribute to the renowned singer and actress of international stature, marking the 115th anniversary of her birth. It features approximately 140 photographs, documents, personal belongings, awards, books, artworks, and testimonies that reconstruct the most significant stages of the diva's artistic and personal life. A large portion of these items were collected by her friend Hanna Schliesser and donated to the National Museum of History of Moldova by Maria Cebotari's son, Fritz Curzon-Diessl. The exhibition's cultural value is further enriched by contributions from distinguished personalities such as academician A. Dănilă, artist L. Sainciuc, and S. Pilipețchi, a soloist at the Maria Bieșu National Opera and Ballet Theatre.

Born on February 10, 1910, in Chișinău, Maria Cebotari displayed vocal talent from an early age, singing in the choir of the Nativity Cathedral under the guidance of Father Mihail Berezivschi. Between 1924 and 1928, she studied at the Unirea Conservatory in Chișinău, training in vocal performance with M. Zlatova, A. Dicescu, and G. Afanasiu-Gabrielli. In 1928, together with her future husband, actor A. Vârubov, she moved to Europe, where she embarked on her career. Accepted into the Dresden Opera ensemble, she made her debut on April 15, 1931, in Puccini's La Bohème, and from 1934, she began performing at the Berlin State Opera. That same year, at just 24 years old, she was awarded the title of Kammersängerin, becoming the youngest recipient in vocal history, astonishing audiences with the breadth of her repertoire in terms of time periods, styles, and genres. 

Maria Cebotari also distinguished herself in cinema, appearing in ten films-most of them musicals-where she played leading roles or performed as a singer. On set, she collaborated with prominent figures such as director C. Gallone, actors G. Diessl and F. Giachetti, tenor B. Gigli, and others. 

In 1937, during the filming of Strong Hearts, Maria Cebotari starred alongside Austrian actor and former painter Gustav Diessl, who became her second husband. Their marriage resulted in two sons: Peter (born 1941) and Fritz (born 1946).  Maria Cebotari's performances graced the stages of Dresden, Berlin, Vienna, and Salzburg, as well as opera houses in Prague, Riga, Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, Venice, Rome, Stockholm, and Basel. The final stage of her career was at the Vienna Opera. 

On June 9, 1949, Maria Cebotari passed away prematurely and was laid to rest in the Diessl family crypt at Döbling Cemetery in Vienna. 

Her extraordinary talent, unwavering determination, and thirst for life gave rise to the cultural phenomenon of Maria Cebotari, which remains a vital part of both national and European cultural heritage.


 




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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Entrance fees:  adults - 50 MDL, Pensioners, students - 20 lei, pupils - 10 MDL. Free access: enlisted men (...)

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#Exhibit of the Month

Manufactured in 1902 by AG vorm Siedel & Nauman in Dresden, Germany. Dimensions: Length - 38 cm, Width - 35 cm, Height - 20 cm. Weight - 16 kg. It entered the museum collection in 1984, transferred from the National Museum of Ethnography and Natural History...

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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.
©2006-2025 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.
©2006-2025 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.
©2006-2025 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