#Exhibit of the Month

Fire artillery in Romanian space is attested from the first half of the 15th century. The oldest pieces of artillery are the bronze and iron bombards discovered in the fortresses of Giurgiu, Severin, Bârlad and Orheiul Vechi.

The exposed cannon was discovered in the village of Grinăuți-Moldova, Ocnița district, it dates from the second half of the 15th century. From a typological point of view, in the central-eastern European space, the cannon from Grinăuți-Moldova is a unique piece.

It is a short-barreled mortar-type artillery piece that fits perfectly into the line of bombards in Europe used in the second half of the 15th century - the beginning of the 16th century.

The cannon was used to launch projectiles (bullets) at the enemy behind fortifications or natural obstacles. The projectiles were loaded through the mouth of the barrel. The firing angle was over 45 degrees, and the trajectory of the projectile was curved with a range of up to 300-400 m. In Europe, these cannons were called mortars, and in Romanian space they were designated by the word piua, thanks to the shape of this object.

The cannon from Grinăuți-Moldova was discovered by chance in the "Red Bank" location, located 15 km southwest of the Lipnicu plain where Lord Stefan the Great defeated the Tatars in 1470. According to a legend from the village of Grinăuți-Moldova, in the "Red Bank" location, a military confrontation between Moldovans and Tatars would have taken place prior to the battle of Lipnic.

The cannon from Grinăuți-Moldova is made of cast iron by the casting method. The barrel is provided with a single hole in the front, the opposite side being blocked by the flat bottom with flared edge. The inside of the pipe is a relatively wide channel that narrows slightly towards the bottom. Loading with powder and cannonballs was done through the mouth of the cannon. A hole is provided near the base for the wick to ignite and detonate the dust inside the cannon. The surface of the cannon is embossed. The edge of the mouth is thickened, slightly curved. Two cylindrical supports with a diameter of 3.5 cm are provided in the central part of the body of the cannon in the axis, which served as handles for the installation and handling of the cannon on a wooden frame.

The length of the cannon is 30.0 cm, the maximum diameter of the body - 17.8 cm, the outside diameter of the mouth - 19.4 cm, the diameter of the body in the middle - 13.5 cm, the outside diameter of the base - 17.0 cm, the caliber of the cannon (mouth diameter) is 12.8 cm, the length of the inner chamber of the cannon - 27.4 cm, the weight of the cannon - 18,730 kg.

The cannon from Grinăuți-Moldova entered the custody of the National Museum of History of Moldova through the care of local history teacher Vlad Lvovsky.

The conservation of the piece of cultural heritage was carried out by Valeriu Bubulici, and the reconstruction of the atmosphere by the restorer Mihail Culașco.

Virtual Tour

Events Archive

The “Coronation Centenary Caravan” was on the trail of the royal visits from the Republic of Moldova

September 3, 2022

A new stop of the Coronation Centenary Caravan, a project organized by the Artis Association in partnership with the City Hall of the Municipality Iași, took place between September 2-3, 2022, in Chisinau, in the presence of ambassadors Irina-Margareta Nistor (Cinema Ambassador), Adrian Cioroianu (Historian, Ambassador), Nicolae Pepene (Historian, Ambassador), Alexandru Muraru (Historian, Ambassador) and of the special guest - Pedro J. Fuentes Cid (Jurist, Cuban dissident).

Approximately 500 students and teachers from the capital of the Republic of Moldova participated in events that marked the Centenary of the Coronation of King Ferdinand I and Queen Maria, within the project organized under the auspices of the Royal Family of Romania.

On Saturday, September 3, the National Museum of History of Moldova hosted the episode number 13 of the Coronation Centenary Caravan. It hosted experiences, confessions and emotions that reminded of Maria - the Heart of Romania.

At the end of the screening of the documentary Maria – The Heart of Romania (director Trevor Poots), took place one of the most emotional question-and-answer sessions within the project. It was a session of confessions from the spectators, many of whom were students, teachers or tour guides. The reactions were different, full of emotion and admiration.

"I come from the period when we were discussing about Stephen the Great, about the Romanian people, and I was burning with the desire to reach Romania one day. I never dreamed then that I would present Romania to tourists from the Republic of Moldova, I am a guide to this day. Thank you for making an extraordinary journey and softening my soul and heart! You came home, I've been waiting for you!"

"The most beautiful surprise for me was this museum. It is so well cared for, so inspiringly organized that it was a surprise that reached my heart, I felt at home" - Nicolae Pepene, historian and ambassador of the project.

"Talking about the Centenary of the Coronation means talking about statehood, patriotism, loyalty, steadfastness. That is, these values that Royalty and the Royal Family have embraced so well. Not only during the eight decades that the monarchy was part of the political structure of the Romanian State, but also after" - Alexandru Muraru, ambassador of the project.

"I think it's very nice that I arrived in Chisinau on Thursday, Queen Maria also came here on a Thursday, so I think she arranged it to be that way. The films have also been picked up by the History Channel here and across the ocean, so you can be sure that they're not just showing a good picture or the things that set you up for one reason or another. It's really a real history lesson" - Irina-Margareta Nistor, Cinema Ambassador.

After each film screening, there were Q&A sessions with guests present, as well as the opening of the exhibition 1922. The Year of the Coronation (curator Nicolae Pepene). Entry to all events was free.

Coronation Centenary Caravan in Chisinau was organized with the support of the Romanian Cultural Institute in Chisinau and the Dulcinella patisserie chain.

The National Museum of History of Moldova is honored to host such a large-scale event, in the hall where the emblems of royalty are at home!