#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

Conference „30 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall”

November 07, 2019

On November 9, 2019 was celebrated the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. On this occasion the National Museum of History in in partnership with the German Cultural Center AKZENTE organized the Conference "30 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall" with the participation of historians from Germany and the Republic of Moldova.

Built over night, in August 1961, with the purpose of separating East Berlin / East Germany from West Berlin / West Germany, the Berlin Wall is one of the most famous symbols of the Cold War and the Iron Curtain. The fall of the Berlin Wall was also a first step towards the reunification of Germany.

What is the historical significance of the Berlin Wall? What did the fall of the Berlin Wall mean? How did the two countries evolve after the fall of the Berlin Wall? Where are we 30 years after the memorable events from the fall of 1989?

All these questions were discussed by the special guests of the conference:

Dr. Robert Kindler, historian, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany
Dr. Igor Cașu, historian, Moldova State University
Dr. Andrei Cușco, historian, State Pedagogical University „Ion Creangă"
Ivan Pilchin, translator, researcher