#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 noblewoman Anastasia Dmitrievna Rizo, 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 mental 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 vignette, created in 1911 at the photographic 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. A notable figure is Praskovia 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."
By 1911, the school had 648 students across 17 classes. Its library contained 7,414 volumes, including 3,955 for students and 3,459 for teachers. Graduates, often becoming priests' wives or teachers in rural and urban schools, contributed to spreading faith and moral education, strengthening the cultural and spiritual role of the institution.
On the reverse of the vignette is a label reading: "Store and workshop for frames, paintings, mirrors, and window glass, A. D. Kon'gova, Chișinău, Gogol Street no. 37, next to the State Bank."
This unique vignette 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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Publications

Library „Tyragetia"

Historic site “Camp of king Charles XII of Sweden at Varniţa”. Recovery of the memory

Biblioteca „Tyragetia” XXIX, Chişinău, 2017, 164 p. ISBN 978-9975-80-903-0; 978-9975-87-250-8

The volume was developed within the framework of the project "Historic site Camp of King Charles XII of Sweden from Varniţa - valorization and promotion" / SITVAR within the program "Cultural Heritage: Opportunity for Improving Civic Engagement" (CHOICE) funded by the European Union under the Eastern Partnership Program. In the Republic of Moldova, the program is implemented by the Public Association National Committee of ICOM Moldova in partnership with the Association of Local Democracy Agencies - ALDA (France). At the same time, the project is carried out in Belarus, Ukraine and Armenia, with the consultative and informational support of the partner organizations: "EuroBelarus" International Organization (Vilnius, Lithuania), Cultural Management Center (Lviv, Ukraine), Millennium Foundation (Erevan, Armenia), and the Public Association "Center for Cultural Innovations" (Minsk, Belarus).

The Public Association "Woman. Hope. Future" is the applicant of the project "Historic site Camp of King Charles XII of Sweden from Varniţa - valorisation and promotion" having as partners the National Museum of History of Moldova and the Agency for Inspection and Restoration of Monuments.