Estates (villas)

House-museum of A. Donici

Alexandru Donici (1806-1866) - a classic of Romanian literature, fabulist and interpreter. Donici successfully combined his juridical practice and career in literature in Iasi. Among his first works of translations are the Pushkin’s poem "Gypsy" and the collection of works of  Antioh Cantemir, the classic of Russian literature, son of Dmitry Cantemir. Impressed by the  Cantemir fables, La Fontaine, and Krylov, Donici shifts some of them on the Moldovan way, adapting the content of the fable to the realities of his time.

Museum "Rodina A. Donici "was organized in 1976 in the family estate of Donici in the village Donici (Bezen), about 40 km north of Chisinau. In the estate it is recreated the atmosphere of the beginning of XIX century.: in the living room and the writer’s office the typical environment for mid-XIX century is restored.. The museum has an extensive collection of household items and publications of the period, as well as a collection of documents and photographs related to A. Donici’s life. Of particular interest are the writer's works published during his lifetime, and the first translations of "Gypsy" in the Romanian language.

The museum complex, in addition to proper estate, includes the homestead park and the family chapel Donici.

Address: Donici village, Orhei District

Telephone: + 373 235 53 249

Work time: 9:00 – 17:00,weekend-Monday

Museum of Alexei Mateevici in Zaim

Alexei Mateevici - one of the youngest and most famous poets in Basarabia. It was his poem "Limba noastra" ("Our Language"), put on music by Alexander Cristea, that  became the anthem of the Republic of Moldova.

The poet himself, a priest and the son of a priest, died at the age of 19 at the war, where he was sent for being too radical in his ideas. Nevertheless, Mateevici left behind an impressive literary heritage: a set of translations and nonfiction works on the history and development of Christianity in Moldova, as well as a collection of poems, released after his death.

Museum Alexei Mateevici in Zaim had been established in 1988, at the 100-th anniversary of the poet. It is included in the museum complex "Spiritual Ring, which also includes the Church of the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel, in the courtyard of which the poet's father  is buried, the priest  Mihail, a former primary school building, where Alexei Mateevici studied, permanent exhibition " Petru Carare”, house of the family Carare, and several water taps, built during the Turkish rule.

The museum preserves more than 7000 items, most of which  are documents, photographs and personal belongings of the family Mateevici. In addition, the museum preserves their family library with dozens of volumes in Russian, Romanian, French and German languages.

In one of the halls of the museum there is the so called "Table of Silence," where the earth from the graves of the classics of Romanian literature is kept : Mihai Eminescu, Ion Luca Caragiale, George Cosbuc, Mihai Sadoveanu, as well as from the graves of Alexei Mateevici parents.

Every spring in the memory of the young poet in Zaim , the competition of young talents "Comoara" ("Treasure") and poetry days Mateevici takes place.

Museum "Pushkin House"

Museum "Pushkin House" was opened at the end of 40-ies of the XX century in the merchant's house Naumov  in Chisinau, where during the fall of 1820 Alexander Sergheevici lived , expelled from Russia for three years. Now the museum has grown and it is not only the house where the poet lived, but also the adjacent mansion built in the late XIX century. In this house now there is a permanent exhibition showing the typical atmosphere of the basarabian "Noble Nest" of beginning of XIX century.

The basis of the museum collection formed the objects brought from Moscow and St. Petersburg, at the very beginning there were only about 300, but today the museum's collection includes about 30,000 items, most of which are the Russian and European paintings and graphics of the XIX century.

Particularly valuable are the collection of books published during the poet's life, the Alexander Sergeevich  bust made by  A. Opekushin, and a collection of decorative art objects of XVIII-XIX centuries.

Annual seminars and conferences are conducted in the museum, dedicated to the art of Alexander Sergeevich, as well as to the days of Pushkin's poetry. Since 1993, under the auspices of the museum in Chisinau the annual conference "Bassarabian Spring” is being hosted, where Pushkin’s fans from Russia, Ukraine, Moldova and Romania are involved.

Address: A. Pann Street, Chisinau city, 2005

Telephone: (+373 22) 29 41 38, 29 26 85

Work time: 10:00 – 17:00,weekend-Monday

Manor Zamfir Ralli-Arbore

Manor of Zamfir Ralli, one of the most active leaders in Basarabia in the beginning of the XIX., famous not so much by its masters, but by many famous guests: during his basarabian exil Alexander Pushkin lived here for some time.

Family Rally was very progressive for its time. Its head, Zamfir Ralli-Arbore, arrived in Moldova from Wallachia and voluntarily adopted Russian citizenship. His wife, Smaranda, belonged to an ancient family, fellowships of  Stefan cel Mare.

Secular salon Rally was one of the finest in Moldova, so that it is not surprising that the exiled metropolitan  poet became frequenter. He became friends with one of Rally five sons, Ivan, in whose apartment in Chisinau he spent most of his time.

It namely belonged to Ivan the idea to immortalize in Dolna the memory of Alexander. To the 50-th anniversary of his birth, he built a new church in the village and rebuilt the old paternal homestead. But the real museum on the estate was opened only in 1946. The majority of exhibits for the museum were brought from St. Petersburg and Chisinau. Of the original documents relating to the Pushkin's life and family Rally, in the museum there are stored only letters of Rally juniors and the will of the head of the family.

Due to concerns of local residents and the patronage of the President, the estate is in excellent condition, all of its exhibits have been preserved, and now it is a branch of the museum from Chisinau "Pushkin House".

In addition to the estate, in Dolna the tourists will be offered to visit the meadow and spring of Zemfira, named in honor of the gypsy baron’s daughter, which struck by her beauty the young Alexander Sergeevich and inspired him in the poem "Gypsies".

Address: Dolna village, Straseni District

Telephone: (+373 22) 24 26 53, 24 04 40

Manor Manuc- Bei

Manor Manuc-Bei in Hincesti, which now houses the Museum of History and Local History, is located about 40 km west of Chisinau.

Prince Manuk Bay (Mirzoyan), whose family owned the estate is a remarkable figure. He was a renowned diplomat, and with his assistance in his palace in Bucharest the Russian-Ottoman peace treaty in 1812 was signed, according to which Basarabia fell under the protectorate of Russia. In addition, he laid the foundation for the production of Moldovan wines on French technology. His descendants built winery on the estate and transferred the local wine production on industrial basis. The factory still exists, though, now it is a large modern enterprise - "Vitis Hancesti" (Vitis Hincesti), which produces high-quality wines. Experts from the French Institute of Wine (Bordeaux) classified some areas of the economy "Vitis Hancesti" as appellations, and one of the vineyards - even as a chateau.

The actual house is a real castle in the French style, with a winter garden, guard towers and a park - built in the second half of XIX century based on the project of Alexander Bernardazzi, and for decades was the estate of family Mirzoyan, descendants of Manuc-Bei.

In 70-ies of XX century Manor House Museum was opened, a collection which now number more than 20,000 artifacts. The most valuable is the collection of the Moldovan national costumes and textiles. At the same time, the museum permanently holds the exhibition "Maps and Documents," "The Lords of Moldova", "Ethnography," Diorama "Iasi-Kishinev battle during the II-nd World War, as well as the exhibition devoted to the flora and fauna of the Republic of Moldova. Of particular interest is the collection of butterflies and birds exhibited in the museum.

Address: Bernardazzi Street 2, Hincesti city ,3400

Telephone: +373 234 23 607

Work time: 10:00 – 17:00,weekend-Monday