#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. According to the 1864 circular, teaching was conducted in the Romanian language, a provision applied throughout the diocese. The school's first headmistress was Anastasia Rizo, of noble origin, 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 Romanian, Slavonic, and Russian, arithmetic and exercises in 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 composite, taken in 1911 at the 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. Among the teaching staff was Paraskovia 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."

On the reverse of the vignette is a label from the store and workshop of frames, paintings, mirrors, and window glass owned by A. D. Kon'gova, Chișinău, Gogol Street no. 37, near the State Bank.

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

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Events Archive

Celebrating the International Museum Day

18 May 2017

In 1977, the International Council of Museums (ICOM) established the International Museum Day, which is celebrated on May 18, in order to recognize the role of these cultural institutions in the development of society. This day aims to help promote the idea that museums are an important means of cultural exchange, mutual enrichment of cultures and development of mutual understanding, cooperation and peace among peoples.

Every year on May 18, history, science and art are celebrated around the world through special programs.

The program dedicated to the International Museum Day:

• Free access to museum exhibitions
10:00-18:00

• Creative and educational workshops for children promoting the country's historical and cultural heritage and the need to protect it

10:00-17:00

• Interactive lesson and a competition on this year's theme of the International Museum Day - Museums and contested histories: Saying the unspeakable in museums
14:30

• Concert of classical music performed by the quartet of the Sergei Lunkevich National Philharmonic
13:40

• Opening Ceremony of the International Museum Day 2017. In the program: awarding the Ministry of Culture Prize for achievements in the field of museums, awarding the Diplomas of the Ministry of Culture for remarkable results in museum work 14:00

• Presentation of a series of postage stamps "Treasures of the Past. Ancient Artifacts from the Treasury of the Republic of Moldova" organized by the State Enterprise "Poșta Moldovei". The philatelic issue consists of 4 stamps depicting 4 exhibits from the collections of the National Museum of History of Moldova, an envelope and the first postmark.
14:40

• Opening of the exhibition of clocks from the museum collection "The Clock in the Course of Time"
15:00

• Performance of the quartet of the Sergei Lunkevich National Philharmonic
15:30