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We find ourselves in the month of April, as we prepare to celebrate Easter-a moveable religious holiday rich in festive rituals and ceremonial activities that place this event at the very heart of Christian spiritual life. The spirit of the Resurrection is beautifully complemented by ten Easter-themed postcards from the heritage of the National Museum of History of Moldova, printed a century ago. These pieces were added to the museum's postcard collection over a decade ago following a successful acquisition; as the fund for Easter-themed illustrations is modest, we are in a constant search for new additions.

These postcards are "extraordinary" in terms of their postal, typographical, and chromatic effects-the primary reason for revisiting this genre of greetings. Unlike "classic" postcards, these are smaller in size (6.5 cm x 11 cm), made of cardboard (with the exception of one piece made of photographic paper in black and white), and feature "vivid" colors. Printed in Romania and Germany, they bear the marks of having been sent and circulated through the post.

The name of the holiday originates from the verb persach, meaning "to pass," a term adopted by the Jews from the Egyptians. It entered the Romanian language through the Byzantine-Latin form Paschae, signifying the "passage through death to life, the victory of life, and liberation from the bondage of sin." Easter is a holiday of tolerance and forgiveness, representing a bridge between the present and the past. The significance of this celebration is conveyed through its symbols, which are also featured on these postcards: Hand-painted eggs, the Easter Bunny and the Lamb, traditional sweet breads (cozonac and pască), biblical scenes related to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The Easter table also features pască-a ritual food reminiscent of ancient, bloodless "reconciliation" sacrifices. Its preparation is the exclusive task of women, the givers of life, as the leavened dough is considered "alive."

The most significant component of the Easter holiday, however, is the Light. The Ceremony of the Holy Light is associated with the miracle of the light appearing on Easter Sunday at Christ's Tomb in Jerusalem. The candle, often depicted in these images, carries a powerful message; it is with the Resurrection candle that we return home after the midnight religious service. Furthermore, the Easter Bunny represents the rebirth of nature, so eagerly awaited after a harsh winter.

Unlike Christmas, when the announcement and ritual integration of the community into sacred time was the duty of caroling groups, at Easter, "one does not go from house to house." Instead, the ritual meal is organized within each family, symbolizing a direct communion with God.


Virtual Tour


Exhibitions

„Monuments of the Great Union”

November 27 - December 31, 2018

The photodocumentary exhibition „Monuments of the Great Union"National was opened in the upper lobby by the National Museum of History of Moldova in partnership with the National Institute of Heritage in Bucharest. The exhibition aims to promote the monuments relevant to the Great Union, silent witnesses of events and actions that prepared the act of December 1, 1918.

The project is to highlight the role of the major capitals - Alba Iulia, Arad, Bucharest, Iaşi, Chişinău, and the historical and political personalities participants in the national movement and the achievement of the Great Union.

Alba Iulia represents the place where the Great Union was made. Later, in Bucharest, the capital of the old kingdom, the Union Act of 1918 was confirmed. Iuliu Maniu, Iuliu Hossu, Miron Cristea, Gheorghe Pop de Băsești, Alexandru Vaida Voievod, Iosif Jumanca, Aurel Lazăr, Elena Pop are one of the key personalities in the organization of the Great National Assembly in Alba Iulia, as well as other events that have prepared the Union. Along with these, it is also important the participation of local personalities from Alba Iulia, such as the lawyers Zaharia Muntean, Camil Velican, Rubin Patiția and photographer Samoila Mârza.

Arad was the center where the plebiscite was thought and prepared. Personalities such as Vasile Goldiş, Ştefan Cicio-Pop and Ioan Suciu were at the head of the Central Romanian National Council, which set the date and place of the Great Assembly. The national movement of the Transylvanian Romanians from Arad attracted the attention of both Romanian and Hungarian and German media. This brought about the move of the political nucleus to Arad, where, in 1908, the Romanian National Party moved its headquarters.

In Bucharest, on May 7, 1918, was signed the Treaty of Peace by which Romania gave up the Romanian territories in Austro-Hungary, while the territory of Bucovina was to be enlarged with some the parts of Hotin, Herţa, Dorohoi and Dorna. On the day when the Great Assembly took place in Alba Iulia and was proclaimed the Union of Transylvania with Romania (18 November / 1 December), King Ferdinand and Queen Maria arrived in the liberated capital. Thus, the previous treaty was invalidated by the defeat of the Central Powers by the Entente.

Iași, the „capital of war", was the capital of Romania at the beginning of the First World War, when the royal family and the government left Bucharest, increasingly threatened by a military occupation. For two years, the Royal House, the Government, the Senate and the Parliament of Romania have been working in Iași. During this time under the leadership of the Prime Minister Ion I. C. Brătianu, reforming laws were adopted which laid the foundations for the formation of the Romanian unitary national state.

Chișinău, the heart of Bessarabia, was the place where the meetings of Sfatul Țării took place on March 27, 1918, when 86 deputies voted for the Union Act, in which was written that: "The Moldovan Democratic Republic (Bessarabia), within its boundaries Prut, Nistru, the Black Sea and the old borders with Austria, ripped off by Russia a hundred and more years ago from the body of old Moldavia, based on the power of historical law and nation law, based on the principle that the peoples alone should decide their fate, today and forever unites with its mother, Romania. Long live the Union of Bessarabia with Romania forever and ever!" On behalf of Sfatul Țării, the Declaration of the Union was signed by Ion Inculeț, President, Pan Halippa, Vice-President, and Ion Buzdugan, Secretary of Sfatul Țării.

At the exhibition opening on November 27 participated: Andrei Chistol, State Secretary at the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research of the Republic of Moldova; Dana Mihai, Program Director, National Institute of Heritage in Bucharest; Alexandru Mureşanu, Deputy Ambassador of Romania to the Republic of Moldova; Ion Negrei, historian; Elena Postică, deputy director of the National Museum of History of Moldova.


 




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
  
27 March – 30 April 2026
 
September 25, 2025 – September 1, 2026
 
August 11, 2025 – January 31, 2026
 
Over 2500 pieces made of precious metals with historic, artistic and symbolic value
  

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#Exhibit of the Month

We find ourselves in the month of April, as we prepare to celebrate Easter-a moveable religious holiday rich in festive rituals and ceremonial activities that place this event at the very heart of Christian spiritual life...

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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