Exhibition dedicated to construction of Bender-Galati railroad inaugurated at National history museum of Moldova

Chisinau, 27 July /MOLDPRES/ – A photo exhibition dedicated to the construction of the Bender-Galati railroad line was opened at the National History Museum of Moldova, today. The event occasioned the 140th anniversary of that section launching.

The exhibition comprises 32 images from the museum collection, which presents the construction of that Bessarabian railroad of 304 kilometers long, connecting Bender to the Danube port Galati. The exhibition has aimed to restore, through the epic documentary photography, the epic of a railroad yard, the works being finalized within a record time of just three months.

"We have succeeded in a project that elucidates a strategic event for Bessarabia since then. And the terms of execution should be an example for today's authorities," said director of the National History Museum of Moldova, Eugen Sava, at exhibition’s opening ceremony.

Also, the anniversary moment was marked by a philatelic issue – a fixed mark envelope, 140 years since the construction of the Bender (Tighina) – Galati railroad line, realized by the State Company Posta Moldovei. The envelope was put into circulation with the exhibition inauguration.

The construction of the Bender-Galati railway line was approved during the Russian-Romanian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. The construction works were commissioned by the entrepreneur Samuel Poleakov, a representative figure in the railroad field in Russia. The construction of the Bender-Galati railroad line completed the railroad map at that time with new stations, such as Bender, Cainari, Zloti, Schinoasa, Valul lui Traian, Reni and others. At Bender and Reni, there were built workshops and locomotive depots.

Building a railroad at such a rapid pace woke up interest all over the world. In 1878, the International Jury of the World Exhibition in Paris, where the project and the report on the construction of the Bender-Galati railroad was presented, gave it the following appreciation: "It is one of the most remarkable modern constructions according to the pace of execution".

(Reporter L. Grubii, editor M. Jantovan)