General Information about Moldova
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Republic Of Moldova

The Republic of Moldova is a small country located in South-Eastern Europe bordering Ukraine in the North, South and East, and Romania in the West.

The land surface of Moldova covers 33.7 thousand km2. The maximum distance between its extreme points from the West to the East is 150 km, and from the North to the South extreme points is 350 km. The main rivers are Dniester (Nistru) and Prut.

Area: 33,700 km²

Population: The population of Moldova is 4,362,000 (1990), about 65% of the population is Romanian, 14% is Ukrainian and 13% is Russian.

Major cities are:
Chisinau, a capital city, - more than 800,000 people;
Tiraspol - 184,000;
Balti - 162,000;
Tighina - 132,000;

Language: Romanian (official), Russian, Gagauz (Turkish dialect)

Religion: Orthodox Christianity, Roman Catholic, Judaism, Moslem (Islam)

Administrative Units: 10 counties, 1 autonomous territory

National Currency: Lei (MDL), 1 Lei = 100 bani

Money

In Moldova there are a lot of exchange departments apart from banks where it is possible to change any currency of the world. Some exchange departments work nonstop. The most usable currency is American Dollar and Euro. You can change them easily. All malls, supermarkets and shops accounting is made in only the national currency though.

As a rule, in large trade centers there is a currency exchange office. Visa and Europay/Mastercard plastic cards are frequently accepted for payment. There are a lot of Cash Dispensers throughout the city and one who has a credit card can take off the cash money (in Moldavian leis).

The Traveler Checks can as well be changed in the banks.

Customs System

As far as the import to the country and the export from it is concerned, not more than 1 block of cigarettes (200 pieces) and 1 liter of strong alcoholic drinks are permitted. The cash money in up to 5,000 US dollars volume (or the equivalent sum in other currencies) is not required to be declared. The video cameras, personal portable computers and other equipment need the compulsory declaring.

Food

There are many interesting restaurants in Chisinau which are worth visiting while staying in Moldova. As a rule, they offer visitors some traditional European and national (the symbol of which is definitely Moldavian "mamaliga") cuisine dishes. Besides, there are Mexican, Irish, Russian, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Jewish and Italian cuisine restaurants.

Climate

Moldova's climate is continental, with warm, semi-humid summers and cold winters, mild springs, long warm autumns (Indian Summer).

Local Time

Moldova is in the Eastern European Time Zone (GMT+2 hours). When it is noon in Chisinau it is: 11:00 in Paris, Berlin and Amsterdam, 10:00 in London, 05:00 in New York, 19:00 in Sydney and 13:00 in Moscow.

The time in Chisinau, Moldova

A great advantage of the Republic of Moldova is its geographical location. Republic of Moldova is an integral part of the East-West and North-South transport corridor and also the new "Silk Road". The country's position between two rivers offers an excellent soil combination favorable for agriculture development and grapevine cultivation.

One of the most important achievements in the political life of Republic of Moldova was the adoption of Declaration of Independence in 1991 and a new Constitution in 1995, which declared the Moldavian people desire to live in compliance with the principles of the protection of the human rights and the maintenance of democracy and sovereignty.

The territory of Republic of Moldova encompassing an area between Prut and Nistru Rivers and the Black Sea was populated in ancient times by gheto-daki tribes. Throughout the first millennium B.C. Moldova was populated and successively inhabited by different migratory people such as: Goths, Huns, Slavs, Bulgarians, Hungarians, etc.

The Golden Horde politically controled the whole region following the Tartar invasion (1242). The first independent Moldovan State was established in 1359 by Bogdan I and comprised the territories between the Eastern Carpathian Mountains, Nistru River, Black Sea and Danube.

The most glorious period in the history of Moldova Principality is connected with the reign of Stefan cel Mare (Steven the Great) - a national hero of Moldova. In the second half of XV century, Stefan cel Mare achieved the greatest victories over the Turkish, Polish, Hungarian and Tartar armies that successively invaded the territory of Moldova.

On December 2, 1917, Moldavian Democratic Republic was proclaimed and on January 24, 1918 independence was voted. On March 27 /April 3, 1918, Statul Tarii - Moldova's Parliament voted the unification of Moldavian Democratic Republic (Basarabia) with Romania.

On June 28, 1940, following Article 3 of the Secret Act annexed to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Treaty, Basarabia was again annexed to the USSR. On August 2, 1940, the Soviet Socialist Republic of Moldova was established. From June 1941 to August 1994 the Soviet Socialist Republic of Moldova was reintegrated into Romania only to be subsequently occupied by the Soviet Union.

In 1989 the Moldavian Parliament voted the original name of the Republic - Moldova, the Latin script, as well as Romanian language as an official one. It was something tremendous in the spiritual life of the country. The period of "perestroika" led to the disintegration of the Soviet Union. On August 1991 the Moldavian Parliament declared Moldova's independence.

Natural environment Moldova is a hilly plain that includes three physical geographic zones: forest, forest-steppe and steppe. The maximal altitude is of 429.4 meters. The main rivers in Moldova are the Nistru and the Prut.

Flora and fauna combine elements of different origin and under the influence of relief and soil-climatic features two types of vegetation prevail: woodland vegetation and steppe vegetation. Forests are predominated by oak trees, elm, beech and hornbeam. Steppe vegetation has been preserved only in certain areas in the form of patches of steppe vegetal associations.

The climate in Moldova is temperate. The average annual temperature is 8-10°C above 0, (on January 3-5°C bellow 0, on July 20-25°C above 0). The average annual rainfall level is about 380 mm in the South and 560 mm in the center and northern parts.

Natural Resources

Moldova's water resources are part of the Black Sea Basin. The main rivers are Nistru and Prut and a small portion of Danube River reaches Moldova in the southern part. Lakes are small, being located mainly in the river meadows of Prut and Nistru. Due to this inter-river location Moldova has the most fertile soil that is the treasure of the republic.

At the same time Republic of Moldova is rich in building materials namely: granite, limestone, clay, grit-stone, etc.

Moldova is a rich land, land of grapes, fruits and various vegetables; the favorable natural and climatic conditions contribute to the growth of such riches. And no wonder that Moldavian cuisine at all times has been used these riches. But historical destinies of Moldavian people, the geographical position of Moldova on a junction of countries with different cultures, on one of the most ancient and most active trading ways "from Varangians to Greeks" also influenced Moldovian cuisine. These relations are reflected not only in the inclusion of a number of Greek dishes in the Moldavian cuisine (placinte, invartite), but also in the fact that the Moldavians have acquired methods and technologies, characteristic for the majority of the Mediterranean cuisines (yeast and puff pastry, vegetable oils, application of dry wine at preparing vegetable and meat dishes, spicy sauces).

At the same time three hundred years of enslavement of Moldova by Turkey had a big influence on the formation of Moldavian cuisine. The effects of the Turkish influence are observed in the combined preparation of meat, in the tendency to use the mutton meat and in the identical names of some dishes, common for all Balkan nations been in the Turkish empire (Givech, Musaka, Chorba). Also the Slavic influence is not alien to the Moldavian cuisine. The Cabbage pies, the Moldavian Easter cakes and the developed system of salting and souring vegetables prove that.

But with all this going on Moldavian cuisine generated into a very integral and original cuisine with its own attributes. It has found the most successful flavoring combinations of products and has chosen its favorite food materials. So, the usage of brynza (cottage cheese) and corn is rather typical for Moldavian cuisine.

In comparison with brynza the corn became a characteristic product for the Moldavian cuisine rather recently - only 200 years ago. It has been brought to Moldova only in the XVII century and widely spread in the XVIII century, becoming, first of all, the daily food of poor people. Eventually, people in Moldova have learned to prepare various dishes from corn. The national porridge mamaliga is well-known, the corn is widely used in soups and garnishes, it is boiled and baked. At the same time in Moldova traditionally the wheaten, instead of corn bread is used.

The vegetables play a huge role in Moldavian cuisine. Garnishes and independent dishes are prepared from them. Vegetables are often boiled, baked, stuffed, stewed and salted, and rarely fried. The favorite and specific vegetables for Moldavian cuisine are green beans, lentil, tomatoes, gogoshars, sweet pepper, eggplants, vegetable marrows.

A task of hostesses is selection of a corresponding drink to each dish. The Moldavian wines are world renowned for their gentle taste, aroma, and refinement. The stretched out on the hills vineyards allow to prepare a wide spectrum of wines - from white up to ruby, from dry up to semisweet and sweet, from "tulburel" ("a bit cloudy") up to absolutely transparent. The old wines, stored in the wine cellars, for a long time became the visiting card of Moldova.

Moldavian cuisine belongs to the most interesting cuisines in the world.

Public Holidays January 1 - New Year's Day January 7 - Christmas Day March 8 - Women's Day May 1 - Labor Day May 9 - Victory & Commemoration Day August 27 - Independence Day August 31 - Language Day April-May - Easter

Apart from the Public Holidays the Moldovians have a lot of holidays. Even if they are not considered officially to be days off, they are celebrated by the entire country. Such holidays are the Wine Festival, that it is celebrated at the beginning of October and all the wine makes from Moldova expose there products on the main square of the capital city - Chisinau, as well as at the main Exhibition Center; Bear Festival is celebrated at the beginning of August, the 1st of June is International Children's Day, the 17th of November is Students' Day. Teacher's Day is on the first Sunday of October.

A major holiday in Chisinau that is celebrated on the 14th of October is the City Day.

There are two methods of entry visa processing:

(I) In the Republic of Moldova - the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as at Consular Sections at the points of state border crossing (Chisinau airport, Sculeni, Leuseni, Cahul, and others) for people, who live in the countries where the Republic of Moldova does not have diplomatic or consular missions.
(II) In the country of residence - by the diplomatic and consular missions for people who live in the countries, where the Republic of Moldova has diplomatic or consular missions.

The citizens of the European Union, USA, Canada, Norway and Israel can receive visas on their arrival in Chisinau, in the airport consular department, or in Moldova Consulates of their countries of residence.

In order to obtain the visas the citizens of other countries should apply only to the Moldova Consular Departments in their countries of residence.

Visa can be opened on arrival to the international airport in Chisinau and its validity is up to 1 month (single, double entry).

Visa Requirements

In order to obtain a visa to Moldova, applicants should provide the following:

MPORTANT: All foreign citizens staying in Moldova for three days or longer are required to register with local authorities at the Office of Visas and Registration. The place of registration (usually a local police station) depends on where a visitor is staying in Moldova.

Plane

The only international airport of Moldova is the International Airport of Chisinau. It is situated very close to the downtown, approximately 14km. The airport uses the services of Air Moldova, Moldavian Airlines, Air Moldova International, TAROM (Romanian airlines), Transaero, Tyrolean etc. There are daily flights to and from Moscow, Budapest, Prague and Bucharest and also there are flights which are weekly, 2, 3, 4 times a week to and from European cities (i.e., Amsterdam, Athens, Frankfurt, Istanbul, London, Milan, Paris, Rome and Vienna).

Train

Trains leave daily from and to Bucharest, Moscow, Kiev and other destinations. Chisinau train station is on Gagarin street. Tickets are purchased at the station.

If you have the desire to know better the capital city - Chisinau, its history and different museums that are situated in the city, then we can offer you a tour of the city.

The excursion includes a drive around the central streets and the areas of city, ancient buildings, monuments that are architectural monuments. You will be able to visit the basic museums of city telling about the history of our land and its traditions. You can take a walk along the paths of the parks, of the botanical gardens and the lakes evidently showing the true beauty and riches of our land.

Chisinau is full of monuments, parks, beautiful buildings and churches. There a lot of very old ones and during the city tour you will be able to learn more about it.

Besides, there are a lot of museums and they can show you a lot of things from different epochs and spheres of interest.

A great number of churches and monasteries is typical for Moldova, the country with deep Orthodox traditions.

Tipova (about 100 km to the north of Chisinau). The rocky orthodox monastery, the largest not only in Moldova, but also in this part of Europe is situated on a rocky coast of Dnestr (Nistru).

Hincu Monastery. About 55km to the west of Chisinau. The court man Mikhail H?ncu, having followed the wish of his daughter, based the female monastery, where she became a nun by the name of Paraskeva. In the period of 1956 - 1990 the monastery was closed by the Soviet authorities, and on its territory the rest home and sanatorium of the Ministry of public health Services functioned. In 1990 on the request of the inhabitants of the nearby villages the monastery started to work again.

Hirjeuca Monastery is situated about 70 km north-west of Chisinau. The widely popular "Spring of Youth" is situated here. It has unusual salutary properties. Visitors of this territory can have a wonderful excursion in the local forest that is frequently called a real botanical monument.

Capriana Monastery. Being founded in 1429, for a long period it was the place of residence of the Head of the Moldavian Church.

Women's Monastery in Japca (about 160 km to the north of Chisinau). The only monastery that worked during the Soviet period.

Monastery "Sacred Trinity" in a village Saharna. It is considered to be one of the greatest pilgrims center in Moldova. The only in Moldova relics of St. Martyr Makariy are stored there. And on one of the rocks, according to the legend there is a trace that was left by God's Mother.

Our Lady's Assumption. Quite interesting is the fact that the church in Causeni is halfway in the ground, and it is explained by a legend that it has been preserved since the times of the tatar administration on this territory. The legend says that Tatars agreed with the construction of the Orthodox church only if it would not be higher than the soldier sitting on a horse.

Men's Monastery in Rudi. One of the oldest monasteries in Moldova. Men's monastery in Rudi has stood here for many centuries, the traditional monks' style of life, and church "Sacred Trinity" that was erected in 1777, is considered to be a bright sample of cult architecture in the old Moldavian style. The church is situated on a beautiful valley Bulboana river, right tributary of the Dnestr.

Beside monasteries there are a lot of wonderful places to be seen as Moldova has various landscapes and even if it is small in its area but it varies a lot and you can find steppe, plateau, hills covered with century woods or rocks that are run through by many small rivers and small cascades.

Landscape Park. It's the biggest landscape park in Moldova. It's situated near the village Ţauli. It's a monument of the park architecture. The dendrological collection consists of approximately 150 types of trees, bushes and lianas, and about 100 forms of these plants are exotic.

Caves

Emil Racovitsa Cave ("Cinderella"). One of the biggest caves in the world is situated in gypseous scurf, near the village Criva, Edinet district (about 265 km north of Chisinau). The length of the underground caves' galleries is more than 89,000 m, and consists of several levels. It takes the third place in the world among the gypseous caves and 8th place among the biggest caves in the world. The cave was discovered in 1959 after the blasting operations in gypseous quarry near the village Criva. After the underground emits became free from the underground water, they were studied by speleologists. The big halls were found there: "The Cinderella Hall", "The Hall with the columns", "Dacia Hall", "100 meters Hall" and a great number of galleries, that made the real underground labyrinths, and it is very easy to get lost there. There are 2 wells in the caves and some of the galleries are always full of underground waters that join the different levels. About 20 underground lakes were discovered here: "Blue Lake", "Dinosaurs Lake", Nautilus Lake" and others. According to the hydro chemical analysis the water in the lakes are curative. One more inexplicable feature of the "Emil Racovita" cave is the fact that the cave is covered with the thin layer of the colored soft clay. The speleologists-amateurs created unusual clay statues that work as a special way indicators to the most interesting halls and galleries for tourists.

Paranormal natural zone. Near the villages Tsipova and Rudi there is an effect of the "time loop". The sense of it is in the following: the period of time between the real time and the time that passed may differ in several hours. Another effect is on the part of the road Chisinau - Orhei: a car with a switched off engine and with a neutral gear goes up itself. The raising is proved scientifically and noted by the geodesic scientists. The wheels of the car don't move.

This is not all that this country is famous for. Moldova is a country rich in soil and it has one of the best wines in the world. Moldova's wines have always won prizes for their quality.

You can have interesting winery visiting excursions and get to know the unique "know-how" in Moldavian wine production. The special interest is represented with the cellars in villages Cricova, Cojusna, Milestii Mici and Ialoveni.

Cricova Cellars. The largest cellars in the world are undoubtedly situated in Moldova, in several kilometers north from Chisinau - in small town Cricova. There, under ground on the depth of 80 meters there is a real town of wine-makers with streets, tasting halls, warehouses etc. The total length of underground galleries in Cricova is more than 60 km in limestone, with the constant temperature of about +12º С and humidity 97-98% all year round. These are the ideal conditions for storage of more than 30,000,000 liters of branded wines. In Moldova only in Cricova all sparkling wines (Champaign) are produced with the strict observation of classical French technology. Today Cricova, is a true visiting card of Moldova. The tasting of wines in Cricova will introduce to you culture, traditions and skills of Moldavian winemakers. The oldest bottle is dated 1902. The greatest part of the wine collection belonged to Herman Goering is also stored here.

Cojusna Winery. At present at the factory several lines on wine, vodka and sparkling wines ladling function. The factory makes a wide range of wines (sweet, dry, semidry). The tasting hall deserves special attention. You will be offered cold and hot hors d'oevres made in national rural style.

Milestii Mici. Our wines which mature in the silence of endless limestone caves, age in special oak casks - from rough-dry to full-bodied and soft ones, with grape aromas, are able to decorate any table and satisfy any exquisite taste. This confidence is based on the fact that our products are created in a strict accordance with the centuries-long traditions of Moldavian wine-making art.
Only grapes that grow under the Moldavian sun that absorb the strength of local soils, only the natural breath of the underground limestone world, where the wines age at a constant temperature and reside in streets bearing their own names have the right to preserve their traditional names: Aligote, Feteasca, Pinot, Sauvignon, Dnestrovscoye, Cabernet.
Wine-makers of Milestii Mici are ready to welcome guests who are real connoisseurs of the sun drink.

«Vinuri - Ialoveni» It's a unique wine enterprise of Republic of Moldova that makes wines pursuant to a classic Spanish technology and similar in taste to those wines produced in Spain (Jerez).
Due to modern technologies of conditioning and bottling, wines "IALOVENI" correspond to the highest standards of the market, and their quality successfully compete to the ancestor - the Spanish Sherry. The quality of our wine has been honored with more then 30 gold and silver medals on the international wine-tasting and competitions.