x-default

Nativity of Christ Metropolitan Cathedral

Chişinău

LoginSave

The main highlight of the Parcul Catedralei is the city's main Moldovan Orthodox church, dating from the 1830s, with rich interior frescoes. The bell tower was originally built in 1836, but was destroyed after WWII and rebuilt in 1997.

Legend has it that the bell originally commissioned for this tower ended up in Bolhrad (in present-day Ukraine) thanks to a mix-up by a boozy bureaucrat in St Petersburg. Chişinău ended up with the much bigger bell earmarked for Bolhrad. It wouldn't fit in the church belfry, hence this bell tower was built to accommodate the bigger bell.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Cave monastery in the historical temple complex of old Orhei (Orheiul Vechi), Moldova, Europe

    Orheiul Vechi

    20.14 MILES

    The archaeological and ecclesiastical complex at Orheiul Vechi (Old Orhei), about 50km north of Chişinău, is an important historical site and a place of…

  • Army Museum

    Army Museum

    0.79 MILES

    Occupying one end of the Centre of Culture and Military History, this once-musty museum now hosts a moving exhibit on Soviet-era repression. Stories of…

  • Pushkin Museum

    Pushkin Museum

    0.4 MILES

    This is where Russia's national poet Alexander Pushkin (1799–1837) spent three years exiled between 1820 and 1823. You can view his tiny cottage, filled…

  • National Archaeology & History Museum

    National Archaeology & History Museum

    0.35 MILES

    This impressive museum contains artefacts from the region of Orheiul Vechi, including Golden Horde coins and 14th-century ceramics; a rare, 2000-year-old…

  • Parcul Catedralei

    Parcul Catedralei

    0.05 MILES

    Dab in the middle of Chişinău, this park is popular with families and canoodling teenagers on benches, and makes for great strolling. The highlight is the…

  • Cave Monastery

    Cave Monastery

    20.14 MILES

    The most impressive sight at Orheiul Vechi is the Cave Monastery, built inside a cliff high above the gently meandering Răut river. It is marked by a…

  • Orheiul Vechi Exhibition Centre

    Orheiul Vechi Exhibition Centre

    20.41 MILES

    Near the bridge over the Răut River, this inconspicuous building houses a museum with objects recovered during archaeological digs around Orheiul Vechi,…

View more attractions

Nearby Chişinău attractions

1. Parcul Catedralei

0.05 MILES

Dab in the middle of Chişinău, this park is popular with families and canoodling teenagers on benches, and makes for great strolling. The highlight is the…

2. Arc de Triomphe

0.13 MILES

Chişinău's own Arc de Triomphe dates from 1841 and marks the centre of the city. It was built to commemorate the victory of the Russian army over the…

3. Statue of Ştefan cel Mare

0.2 MILES

Ştefan was Moldavia's greatest medieval prince and ubiquitous symbol of Moldova's brave past. His 1928 statue lords over the entrances to Parcul…

4. Government House

0.21 MILES

Government House, where cabinet meets, is the gargantuan building opposite the Arc de Triomphe. It's notable mainly for its heft and Soviet-style…

6. National Library

0.32 MILES

A landmark, the neoclassical National Library is worth popping into both to check out the beautiful interior with its spiral staircases, and for the free…

7. National Art Museum

0.35 MILES

A massive facelift was half-finished at the end of 2018, with the gorgeously restored main wing open to visitors. The focus is on contemporary Moldovan…

8. National Archaeology & History Museum

0.35 MILES

This impressive museum contains artefacts from the region of Orheiul Vechi, including Golden Horde coins and 14th-century ceramics; a rare, 2000-year-old…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting: 
    {
  "url": "moldova/chisinau/attractions/nativity-of-christ-metropolitan-cathedral/a/poi-sig/1271589/360144",
  "destination": "Chişinău",
  "continent": "Europe",
  "country": "Moldova",
  "city": "Chişinău",
  "position": "superzone"
}