Orheiul Vechi ( Butuceni) , the old Orhei and the Curchi Monastery
(excursion prices at the bottom of the page)
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This visit is led by Alfredo Ferrari
Awarded as the best Tourist Guide 2024 by the Moldovan Government
09:00 Meeting with the guide and departure by "deluxe" minibus for the archaeological-museum complex of Orheiul Vechi and its rock monasteries (Location of Butuceni and Trebujeni).
10.00 am Arrival in Butuceni and meeting with the local guide, short visit to the ethnographic museum. Visit to the rock monasteries of Pestere and Bosie. Followed by a visit to the "Gospodaria traditionala taraneasca" (ancient traditional country house).
12.00 Transfer by minibus to the village of Trebujeni. with visit to the ruins of the "Federeu", the ancient thermal bath, climb to the tuff caves of Trebujeni with a general panoramic view of the Orheiul Vechi valley and the Raut river. Caves, caves, hills, sites, necropolises and ancient hermits. The whole history of Moldova is here, in Orheiul Vechi - an open-air museum complex where the first inhabitants settled around 40,000 years ago.
1.00 pm, transfer to a traditional restaurant in the area for lunch.
2.30 pm, visit to the Curchi Monastery
4.00 pm, departure for the return to Chisinau scheduled for 5.00 pm (approximately).
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The "Complexul Muzeal Orheiul Vechi" is located between the towns of Trebujeni and Butuceni in the Orhei province, only 55 km from the capital. This is perhaps the largest and most interesting open-air museum complex in the whole of Moldova and consists of archaeological monuments, fortifications and ethnographic objects from various eras dating back to the Paleolithic.
From the top of the highest promontory inserted in these small valleys stands out the bell tower (clopotnita) of the rock monastery of Pestera which dates back to the 15th-16th century (a short distance away you can also see a massive stone cross dating back to the 28th century), it is completely dug into the bowels of the rock and in fact only the bell tower remains visible from the outside.
About one kilometer from Pestera there is another rock monastery, that of Bosie, completely dug into the rocks and particularly interesting for the votive writings engraved on the walls in ancient Slavonic language dating back to the 15th-16th century. In the central body of this monumental area there is the actual citadel of Old Orhei where in the 14th century nomadic tribes from Mongolia settled and transformed the pre-existing indigenous settlement into a real oriental-style settlement, renaming it "Sehr-al-Jedid" which meant "New City". Today only the ancient fortifications and part of a mausoleum and a mosque as well as the necropolis remain. In 1368, after a terrible flood caused by the overflowing of the Prut and Nistru rivers, the Mongols abandoned the area which was once again occupied by indigenous populations who made Old Orhei once again look like Moldavian.
The Curchi Monastery is located in the center of Moldova at a distance of about 60 kilometers north from the capital Chisinau, in the Orhei district. According to the documents found, its construction dates back to 1765. The courtyard and the monastery farm are located on two terraces surrounded by stone walls beveled at the corners. It was destroyed and rebuilt numerous times and, to date, the monastery includes the church of San Demetrio (built in classical style with some baroque elements, in 1862 under the guidance of the Italian architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli who in 1721 also built a palace for the prince Dimitrie Cantemir (originally governor of Moldavia), a turret and a church of the Virgin Mary (in neo-Byzantine style). Only towards the end of the nineteenth century were the superior's residence and the monks' rooms built.
The current restoration works, which began in 2006, are almost coming to an end. The Curchi monastery is undoubtedly one of the most significant monuments of Basarabian religious architecture.
Excursion time:
Every day with departure at 09.00 from your hotel or accommodation in Chisinau
