PHOTO // Old Chisinau: lesser-known stories, traditions of Moldova's capital

The capital of Moldova, Chisinau, which was once a market town, preserves lesser-known stories and traditions passed down from generation to generation. Among them, there is the legend of cutting mamaliga with a thread, told by Liubovi Cosman, a museum curator at the Museum of the History of the City of Chisinau, housed in the Water Tower.

“Our ancestors feared God and, so that God would not deprive you of bread, they never cut mamaliga with a knife, but with a thread. The knife was the weapon of the pagan, while the mamaliga was covered with a towel. In this way, they showed respect for this food, which people considered a second bread, holy bread,” Liubovi Cosman told MOLDPRES.

    



The museum’s curator says that the story is connected to times when people faced shortages and mamaliga was one of the main sources of food for the family. Passed down from one generation to another, the legend speaks of the fear of famine and of the respect people had for the food on their tables.

“It was not like today, when you could go to the barn and take wheat. If the barn was empty, how would you feed your children? Back then, you did not have all the things we have today. That is why, mamaliga was so highly valued and people took care of it. They did not treat it as an ordinary dish, but as something on which the family’s life depended,” the museum curator explains.

Liubovi Cosman points out that this story should be understood as a legend passed down by the elders. She says that she has also shared it with visitors interested in the city’s past and the story has aroused the curiosity of those who heard it.

Another lesser-known fact about old Chisinau concerns the mills that operated in the Valea Morilor (Mills’ Valley) area. There, people ground corn to obtain the flour from which they prepared mamaliga.

“One fact that people do not know is that there were windmills and watermills in the Valea Morilor area. Corn flour was ground there. Today, we may pass through those places without thinking about what people’s lives looked like back then, where they got their flour from or how important these mills were for their households,” says Liubovi Cosman.

    



The museum curator, who has worked in the field since 1987, also tells visitors about the beginnings of Chisinau. The first documentary record of the settlement dates back to July 17, 1436, when Chisinau was a small settlement.

“The charter was signed by two brothers, Ilie and Stefan. If we imagine what Chisinau looked like at that time, we should think of a very small settlement, with clay houses covered with straw and reeds. It was not the city we know today. Chisinau developed over time and its beginnings must be sought in the area of the Bic River and the Mazarache Church,” the museum curator explains.

    



According to the National Archives Agency, the charter dated July 17, 1436, mentions the settlement under the name “Chesenăul lui Acbaș,” in the Bîc Valley. The original document is preserved at the Central Archive of Historical Documents in Warsaw.

Another important moment was March 2, 1666, when Chisinau was recorded as a market town. Liubovi Cosman explains that the term described the settlement’s status at the time, and this stage is also mentioned in Dimitrie Cantemir’s work on Moldova.

“On March 2, 1666, Chisinau was recorded as a market town, meaning that it received this status in the documents of the time. We also learn about the settlement from Dimitrie Cantemir’s description of Moldova, as he was a member of the Berlin Academy. He was entrusted with describing Moldova’s cities, customs and traditions. Chisinau is mentioned as a small market town in the Lapusna region and its inhabitants were called market townspeople. This helps us understand how different the city of today was from the settlement of that time,” the museum curator says.

Liubovi Cosman also draws attention to another important distinction for the capital’s residents: City Day and the patron saint’s feast are not the same celebration. Chisinau City Day is marked on July 17, the date of the first documentary record, while the patron saint’s feast is celebrated on October 14, the Feast of the Holy Protection of Mother of God.

“People come to the museum and say that it is City Day, but we explain to them that today is the patron saint’s feast. City Day is on July 17. The feast was initiated in 2005, when Serafim Urechean was mayor. He came up with the idea that Chisinau should also have a patron saint’s feast, as towns and villages across Moldova do. Since then, we have celebrated the feast on October 14, while July 17 remains linked to the city’s first documentary record,” the museum curator said.

Over the centuries, Chisinau transformed from a small agricultural settlement into an important commercial center, then into an administrative and cultural capital. In the 19th century, the city was designated the administrative center of the region, a period during which landmark monuments, such as the Metropolitan Cathedral, the Triumphal Arch and the Railway Station, were built.

In the second half of the 19th century, under the guidance of architect Alexandru Bernardazzi, Chisinau changed its appearance: monumental buildings were constructed, streets were laid out and the city park was developed—today known as Stefan the Great and Holy Park. The city became a center of culture, education, and commerce.    



The interwar period brought intense economic and social development: schools, theaters, printing houses, factories and banks were opened, and Chisinau became integrated into the cultural life of the Greater Romania. After World War II, the city underwent radical transformations, becoming the capital of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic, and after 1991—the capital of the independent Republic of Moldova.      



Today, Chisinau is a modern city that preserves its identity and traditions. During the patron saint’s feast, residents gather for religious services and pray for peace and prosperity, while festive meals are prepared in homes, preserving the tradition of welcoming guests with open hearts.