NATIONAL MUSEUM OF ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY

The museum opened in 1983 and is housed in a building of remarkable classical architecture. The first building was built by a wealthy merchant named Bogaciov around 1830. In 1842 the building became a boys' gymnasium and was rebuilt in 1888. Following an earthquake in 1977, the building was restored. In a dozen exhibition rooms, the museum's collections (348,619 pieces) present various archaeological finds (Paleolithic, Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age, Roman, Medieval period), ancient coins (Greek, Geto-Dacian, Roman, Medieval), 16,044 photographs from 1860 to 2010, 15,140 books printed between the 17th and 21st centuries in Moldova and elsewhere in Europe, 25,002 newspapers and periodicals, weapons from the 16th to 20th centuries, 4,400 textile items, religious costumes from the 19th and 20th centuries, uniforms, 6,273 technical and everyday objects.

The museum has organized more than 189 temporary exhibitions (on-site, elsewhere in Moldova and abroad). The objects are restored every year thanks to the conservation-restoration department created in 1994. In 2009-2010, the paper, metal and wood conservation laboratories were equipped with modern equipment thanks to The Headley Trust and the Government of Japan. In the courtyard, a replica of the Capitoline She-wolf, feeding Romulus and Remus, the legendary founders of Rome, was installed in 1990 as a tribute to the Latin origins of the Moldavians and Romanians.