About 200 Bessarabian muniments restored with help of U.S. Embassy in Moldova

Chisinau, 11 October /MOLDPRES/ - An exhibition titled, „Acte basarabene în limba română din perioada țaristă (1812 – 1917)” (Bessarabian acts in Romanian Language in the Tsarist Period (1812-1917), restored within a Moldovan-American project, was inaugurated at the National Library (BNRM) today.  

Contacted by MOLDPRES, the BNRM director, Elena Pintilei, said that the National Library, in cooperation with the Education, Culture and Research Ministry and the Embassy of the United States in Moldova, on 1 October 2017 started the project, The Bessarabian Muniments and other Historical Documents from the 19th Century, which ended on 30 September 2019.       

”This project is a considerable achievement, as two years ago these documents were in a lamentable situation. They were restored, conserved and are today exhibited for the wide public,” the BNRM director noted.  

According to Potrivit Elena Pintilei, about 200 heritage documents of the collection, Bessarabian Muniments of BNRM, were restored. Also, the processes of conservation, restoration and displaying of heritage documents at the library were modernized; special equipment for cleaning, disinfection, creating micro-climate, special furniture was provided for exhibiting heritage documents; international trainings were organized, with the involvement of American specialists in the field of preservation and restoration of documents.     

For his part, the cultural attaché of the Embassy of the United States in Moldova, Joe Geradhty, said that he was quite impressed by what the employees of the library had managed to achieve within this project. “These muniments represent a unique collection of documents, which show the economic, political and cultural life of the country in the 19th and 20th centuries. For me, the concerned project is another example telling us about the partnership existing between the United States and Moldova,” Joe Geradhty stressed.   

According to the American official, in the last two decades, the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation provided to Moldova grants worth over one million dollars for projects on safeguarding the national heritage. “We backed projects which include the documentation of traditional forms of Moldovan music and dance, construction of the centre for visitors and preservation of the Medieval Bathroom from Orheiul Vechi (Old Orhei), preservation of objects made of precious metals and the reopening of the Treasure Hall of the National History Museum, documentation of the Gagauz folklore, traditions and customs. Now, we support the project on the safeguarding of the Assumption of the Virgin Church from Causeni,” the U.S. cultural attaché added.      

The exhibition will be opened for visitors will 30 December 2019.