Republic of Moldova

History Part of Europe, Moldova has a rich history.

Being located at the contact of different cultural and historic changes - Carpathian-Balkan, Central European and Eurasian - over several centuries harmoniously joined diverse cultural traditions of the Thracians, Slavs, Celts, Goths, Huns. Along the way they have taken specific features.

Geography Moldova is located in the central part

of Europe in the northeastern Balkans. Capital - Chisinau. To the north, east and south is

surrounded by Ukraine, and west - separated from Romania by the Prut River.

Physical and geographical position of Moldova has determined the specific features of its natural conditions.

Relief of the country represents a hilly plain. Mineral Resources of the Republic of Moldova are mainly represented by sedimentary rocks, such as limestone, chalk, gypsum, sand, which can be used in construction, cement and glass production, food processing, etc.

Geography Moldova has a temperate continental climate,

characterized by a lengthy frost-free period, short mild winters, lengthy hot summers, modest precipitation, and long dry periods in the south.

The hydrographic network includes more than 3,000 rivers and rivulets. The main rivers are the Dniester, Prut, Raut. Moldovian flora is rich and includes more than 5500 species of wild plants.

The fauna of Moldova is relatively rich and varied. The country inhabit over 15 500 species, including 461 species of vertebrates and more than 15,000 species of invertebrates. In Moldova there are five scientific reserves.

The cultural patrimonyMoldovan culture has a wide range of cultural

activities: literature, theater, music, fine arts, folk art, archives and libraries, books editing, and others.

The Republic of Moldova has been preserved and is spread in the territory, an important cultural inheritance of incontestable value: archeological sites, houses, manors, castles, monasteries and churches, monumental art works, monuments and technical equipment, building ensembles - squares, streets, neighborhoods, villages and urban centers or traditional architecture ethnographic areas.

The culture of ethnic minorities

In the Republic of Moldova there are many ethno-cultural associations. 18 minorities - Ukrainians, Russians, Bulgarians, Gagauz and Hebrew, Belarusians, Poles, Germans, Gypsies, Greeks, Lithuanians, Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Tatars, Chuvash, Italians, Koreans, Uzbeks - have associations which operate under the form of communities, societies unions, centers, cultural foundations etc.

Under the principle of equality and universality of cultural legislation, ethnic minorities have the opportunity to develop their traditional culture and national art. In Chisinau Russian Drama Theatre "APCehov"; Taraclia - Theatre Bulgarians from Bessarabia "Olimpii Panov".

Ungheni The Eiffel is a bridge over Prut and a checkpoint between

Moldova and Romania. There is another border town with the same name in Romania (Ungheni, Iași), on the other side of the Prut River.

In 1876 after the spring flooding of the river Prut the railway bridge that linked Bessarabia and Romania was almost destroyed. Railway Department invited Gustave Eiffel in Bessarabia (Moldova) to redesign and rebuild the bridge. The bridge was opened on April 21 1877, just three days before the outbreak of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878). On April 23 1877, the Russia's troops entered Romania at Ungheni and next day declared war on the Ottoman Empire. Nowadays it is still a strategically positioned construction under the supervision of frontier guard.

In the nearby city of Iaşi, Gustave Eiffel also built Grand Hotel Traian.

The Eiffel Bridge

The Eiffel Bridge

The Eiffel Bridge

Orhei Old Orhei is a historical and archaeological complex, located in

Trebujeni, at 60 kilometres north-east of Chişinău, on the Răut River, in Moldova. Also the reserve has a special status and is the most important cultural site in Moldova, being in the process of nomination to be included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The ancient city Old Orhei - a unique natural and historical complex in the open air. It organically combines the natural landscape and vestiges of ancient civilizations. As a result of enormous archeological excavations here there were discovered the cultural layers of different epochs such as - the Paleolithic, Eneolithic, and Iron Age.

Old Orhei contains traces of different civilizations, including the rests of earthen and wooden fortresses of Geto-Dacian fortress (6th-1st centuries. BC. Oe.), Golden Horde fort Shehr al-Jedid (or Yangi-Shehr) (14th century.), Moldavian fort (14th-16th centuries), Orthodox monasteries (c 14th century.), and the Moldavian town Orheiul Vechi (Old Orhei) (14th-16th centuries).

ChisinăuChisinau Gates are a set of buildings on

Dacia Boulevard, located at the entrance to Chisinau.

On the left of the City Gates is the Zoo and Botanical Garden on the right.

Thanks to all !