The oldest church in Chisinau – the Birth of Virgin Mary or Mazarache Church – could be admired from different corners of Chisinau in special lights. The church will be artistically illuminated and opened in new 'clothes' on October 13, at 7pm, the head of the Culture Division Lucia Culev said, quoted by Info-Prim Neo. The church is situated on a hill on the bank of the Byk River. It was built instead of a fortress by cavalry commander Vasile Mazarache in 1752. It is the oldest stone construction in Chisinau. The crosses in the yard show there was a cemetery inside, as at the old churches. The church has always been open to the faithful, despite the difficult periods through which it went. Only the Soviet Communists managed to take hold of the symbol of the medieval Chisinau. In the 1960s, they handed it over to the Russian, old-style Christian community. This would have saved the oldest medieval church of Chisinau from destruction.