Muzeul Satului in Chișinău and its 1642 wooden church

Muzeul Satului is an open-air museum on the outskirts of Chișinău, near the Porțile Orașului, conceived as a reconstruction of a Bessarabian village from the 17th to the 19th century. Its highlight is the wooden church from Hirișeni, built in 1642, the oldest surviving religious building in the country and, at 27 metres, one of the tallest wooden churches in Moldova. The museum is a branch of the National Museum of Ethnography and Natural History.

What you see

Everyone comes here for the wooden Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God. It was built in 1642 by the people of Hirișeni and, according to the sources, first stood at Hîrjauca Monastery and later in Hirișeni commune in Telenești district. It remained in use there until 1928, when the village got a stone church. In 2009 it was dismantled and moved to Chișinău for restoration; it was reconsecrated in the autumn of 2011.

At 27 metres, the church is a rare large example of the timber architecture that once stood all over Bessarabia. Space has been set aside around it for farmhouses, mills and outbuildings. The first monument erected here in 1995, a windmill from Opaci in Căușeni district, burned down in 2001 and was not rebuilt.

History

The museum was founded in 1991 as a branch of the National Museum of Ethnography and Natural History and opened in May 1995 as 'Muzeul Satului'. The idea was to recreate a Bessarabian village of the 17th to the 19th century with vernacular buildings at risk of being lost in their original locations, much like open-air museums elsewhere in Europe, such as Bokrijk in Belgian Limburg. The wooden church, the oldest church building to survive in Moldova, now makes the museum a stop that also appeals to lovers of churches.

Tips for your visit

The museum is about eight kilometres from the centre, close to the two tower blocks of the Porțile Orașului on the road to the airport. A taxi gets you there quickly, and it is easy to combine with arriving at or leaving from the airport. Allow an hour. Because the grounds are not always open, it is best to check beforehand with the Ethnographic Museum in the centre whether the church can be visited. It is a consecrated church: cover your shoulders and knees, and women should bring a headscarf. In the late afternoon the low light gives the dark timber the most depth in photos.