A number of historical monuments that form part of the cultural heritage of the Republic of Moldova were or will be reconstructed in the framework of the project “Saving Past Testimonies for Building a Future in Moldova”. Among these are the Museum Complex in Hânceşti, the Church of the Assumption of Mary in Căuşeni and the building of the former Synagogue with Asylum in Chisinau.
In a news conference at IPN, Ion Ștefăniță, director general of the Agency for Monument Inspection and Restoration, said the project was launched in 2013, when there were printed brochures entitled “Saving Past Testimonies for Building a Future”. The same year, there was made a video about the ruins at the three architectural jewels.
Ion Ștefăniță noted that things at the mentioned sites developed positively. After a film with the runs at the Museum Complex in Hânceşti was disseminated in 2013, a project was launched soon and, owing to this, the complex is now a tourist attraction. In Căuşeni, the development partners in 2016 signed a contract to the value of US$680,000 with the Archeology Center. A project to consolidate mural paintings and perform drainage works is not implemented at the Church of the Assumption of Mary in Căuşeni. In Chisinau, the Jewish community drafted the project documentation with the involvement of a team of architects and the works at the building site will start soon.
The mechanism for protecting, conserving and developing the heritage of the Republic of Moldova must work even if there are yet problems. The number of projects that are coordinated with the National Council of Historical Monuments of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research has increased. “We must continue at the same pace, even if we are in a pandemic, when health and education seem to be the state priorities. We must not stop and must have the same responsible attitude to what historical cultural heritage means,” stated Ion Ștefăniță.
Between January 2010 and March 2010, the Agency for Monument Inspection and Restoration assessed the historical nucleus of Chisinau and then presented a first report on the real situation downtown. More details on these assessments can be found in the Black Charter of the Cultural Heritage of the Municipality of Chisinau. Later, the Agency set the goal of determining the real situation in the country and started to assess all the protected facilities in the Republic of Moldova. The process started in April 2010 with northern Moldova and ended in 2014 with the southern part of the country, said Ion Ștefăniță.
Leonid Smolnitski, senior specialist at the Agency, said the pandemic will pass and the people will return to their ordinary life. The monuments should not be forgotten because the wasted time can so seriously affect the cultural heritage that there will be nothing to be restored.
