Abstract: The article "On museumification of the historical site Camp of Swedish King Charles XII at Varnița" considers the problem of residence of the Swedish King Charles XII in Moldova, on the right bank of the Dniester, in Bender and Varnița, as well as the need for research and lighting this common segment of Moldavian, Turkish, and Swedish history through the museumification of the historical site. Particular attention is paid to the plans of arrangement of the Swedish king's camps at Bender and Varnița drawn up during the 19th century, especially to the plan created in 1840 by Bogdan Eitner, which now is stored in the collections of the National Museum of History of Moldova (Chișinău). In considering the issue a new approach was used, which is particularly reflected in the emphasizing of the role of certain figures and institutions in preserving the memory of the Swedish King Charles XII in the period of time between the two wars. There are also original the prospects concerning the educational role that could carry the museumification of the historical site. E. Ploșnița believes that protection of the historical site through its museumification will offer a retrospective of history, thus stimulating memory that contributes to individual cultural identity. The author hopes that Sweden and the Republic of Moldova, the local community and the authorities will be able to use the common history segment associated with the name of the Swedish king Charles XII. In recent years employees of the National Museum of History of Moldova put forward a lot of ideas and proposals for the rehabilitation of the historical site Camp of Swedish King Charles XII at Varnița. Thus, in 2007-2008 A. Cornețchi drafted the project Historical Heritage, which included the involvement of experts from the Republic of Moldova, Sweden and Romania in the restoration of the Varnița site. For some reasons the project was not implemented. At the end of 2015, in the framework of the European CHOICE program (Cultural Heritage Opportunity For Improving Civic Engagement), Doctor in history Elena Ploșnița on behalf of the public association of Varnița developed and presented the project "Historical site Camp of Swedish King Charles XII at Varnița - development and promotion". This project aims to achieve several important goals: - Scientific and public development of the historical site and its introduction into the cultural and tourist use; - Conservation and museumification of the historical site, including the restoration of the monument to the King of Sweden; - An innovative interpretation of the cultural heritage of the historical site; - Mobilization of the local community in the protection of cultural heritage and strengthening the role of local public organizations in the process. The project received a grant and will be implemented in the period from April 2016 to April 2017.
List of illustrations: Fig. 1. Plan of the camp of the Swedish King Charles XII at Varnița drawn up by B. Eitner, 1840. Fig. 2. Monument to the Swedish king Charles XII at Varnița, 1932. Fig. 3. Monument to the Swedish king Charles XII at Varnița, 2015. Fig. 4. Archaeological research at Varnița, on the site of the camp of the Swedish King Charles XII, 1993. Fig. 5. Ceramic vessel discovered during archaeological excavations at Varnița in 1993.
The item is the lower part of a leg of a festive table made of white and gray marble. In the upper part, it has a protrusion, similar to a Doric capital, on the horizontal platform of which a square recess is engraved, designed to fix the second part of the leg (upper). The lower part of the leg is made in an anthropomorphic style, and, in our opinion, there are two variants of identifying the depicted character...
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.
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.
31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
The item is the lower part of a leg of a festive table made of white and gray marble. In the upper part, it has a protrusion, similar to a Doric capital, on the horizontal platform of which a square recess is engraved, designed to fix the second part of the leg (upper). The lower part of the leg is made in an anthropomorphic style, and, in our opinion, there are two variants of identifying the depicted character. The first involves the image of the head of the young Heracles (Heracles - Ἡρακλῆς) (beardless), the most favorite hero of antiquity, wearing on his head the skin of the Nemean lion - Λέων της Νεμέας, a vicious monster from Greek mythology who lived in Nemea and was eventually killed by Heracles. The first labor of Heracles, of the twelve set by King Eurystheus (his cousin), was to kill the Nemean lion and bring his skin to the king. It is also known from Greek mythology that the lion of Nemea took the form of a beautiful woman in order to seduce the inhabitants of neighboring villages, who wanted to save the girl from danger. Upon entering the cave, a man saw the woman, who usually pretended to be wounded, and rushed to help her. When he approached her, the woman turned into a lion and killed him. Then the lion devoured the man, giving his bones to Hades - ᾍδης, the god of Hell, who lived in the kingdom of shadows. The second version of the anthropomorphic image interpretation suggests Alexander the Great, king of Macedonia in the second half of the 4th century BC, one of the most famous heroes of the Greek world, who sometimes is depicted as Hercules - wearing a lion's skin. Some researchers consider the custom of wearing the skin of a slain lion a sign of royal power. The word βασιλεύς itself, translated from ancient Greek, means "walking the path of the lion", that is, the king. This title was held by the Greek kings from the Homeric period, and later, starting from the 7th century AD - by the Byzantine emperors.
