Moldovan capital hosts international conference on Swedish king’s camp in Varnita

Chisinau, 23 May /MOLDPRES/ – The international conference "Historical Site Camp of King Carol XII in Varnita. Restoration of the memory" was held at the National History Museum of Moldova, on May 22-23.

The event is part of the program of actions under the project "Historical Site of the King of Sweden Carol XII in Varnita – valuing and promotion" and was organized by the above-mentioned museum in collaboration with the Embassy of Sweden in Moldova, the civil association "Femeie. Speranta, Viitor" (Woman. Hope, Future) (Varnita), the Stockholm Army Museum and the Moldovan Embassy in Sweden.

Attending the event, Deputy Minister of Culture Gheorghe Postica stated that, as part of the Varnita project, which started in April 2016, several actions such as exhibitions, monographs, scientific research projects, etc. have been carried out so far. "It is gratifying that the researches made last year by colleagues from the National History Museum of Moldova highlighted artifacts referring to the Camp of King Carol XII of Sweden. We hope the project will be successful and finally we will have an outdoor museum, a cultural patrimony that will contribute to the perpetuation of good relations between Sweden and the Republic of Moldova," said Gheorghe Postica.

During the manifestation, the exhibition of "The Camp of King Carol XII of Sweden in Varnita" took place. The book of the King of Sweden, Carol XII in Varnita, restored the memory", published in Chisinau this year by Eugen Sava and Elena Plosnita, as well as the volume "Karl XII Eds: Åsa Karlsson, Klas Kronberg and Per Sandin, Stockholm, 2015".

Today, the participants of the conference visited the historical site "The Camp of King Carol XII in Varnita". According to the scientific secretary of the National History Museum of Moldova, Elena Plosnita, they learnt about the results of the project as well as the identification of the sources of financial services from Moldova and abroad for its continuation.

The historical site the camp of King Carol XII in Varnita dates back to the beginning of the 19th century. Carol XII, King of Sweden, in 1709 after the defeat in the Poltava battle, together with about 1,000 Swedish soldiers withdrew and settled in Bender (Tighina) and then in Varnita. On 01 February 1713, the so-called Kalabalik took place in Varnita, in the king's camp, the king was taken prisoner and taken to Timurtash (now Erdine, on the European side of Turkey). He was killed in 1718 in Norway. In 1925, in memory of the arrival of the Swedish king in Varnita, an obelisk was built on the site of the former camp.

In order to preserve the historical memory, to capitalize on a common segment of Moldo-Swedish-Turkish history and to mark the 300th anniversary of the "calabalic" from Varnita, in 2013-2015 in Moldova, Turkey and Sweden, was realized the scientific cultural project "When Sweden was governed in Moldova".

Between 01 April 2016 and May 2017, the project "Historical Site of the Camp of the King of Sweden Carol XII in Varnita – realization and promotion" was implemented. The archaeological investigations, historical and documentary researches were carried out, the monument from Varniţa dedicated to the King of Sweden Carol XII, the patrimony conservation and landscaping works, etc. were rebuilt.

(Reporter N. Roibu, editor M. Jantovan)