City of Bender
Duration: 8:00
Distance from Chisinau: 80 km
Visiting: Bender fortress, Bender History Museum, "Turkish Garden" in Talmaza, Harbovet and Novonyametsky monasteries, museum of Karl XII.
History of Bender roots in deep antiquity. The first information about the settlement, which was on the place of Bender, is referred to III century BC.. Beginning from the Stone Age the territory of the region was in the midst of the historic events of Eastern Europe. Several hundred thousand years ago the primitive people, hunter-gatherers came to this area. They were replaced by the prospering civilizations of the copper-stone age. Archaeological researches suggest that the first settlers in the territory of the city were Getae tribes, whose traces are found in the area of the Bender fortress and the villages Chitcani and Varnita adjoining to the town. Getae-Dacian tribes were engaged in agriculture, cattle breeding, trade with the Greek and Roman world. In the III-IV centuries the Dniester and Prut interfluves was inhabited by the tribes of Chernyakhov culture - Thracians, late Scythians, Wends, Bastarnae, Sarmatians, and others. Traces of this culture are also found in the city and surrounding villages. Chernyakhov culture was formed by the late Roman ancient culture.
The Moldavian state reached its highest prosperity during the reign by Stefan The Great III , when the diplomatic, economic and cultural relations start being established with the neighboring states. At the turn of the XIV-XV centuries the power of Sultan of Turkey strengthens. Since then the steady process to subordinate Moldavia to the Ottoman Porte started. In 1538 after a series of the fierce battles in the steppes Bugeac the Turks captured Tighina. The city and surrounding 18 villages have been transformed into the Turkish raya. Strategic location on the high bank of the Dniester River near its confluence to the Black Sea made the city one of the Turkish footholds in their fight against Russia. At the place of the former customs at the crossing they start construction of the fortress according to the plan of the famous Turkish architect Sinan Ibn Abdul Minan. The city and the fortress were renamed to Bender (taken from Persian - harbor, pier, port city). The fortress was built from the model of Western European castles of bastion type. It was surrounded with the high earthen rampart and deep ditch, which was never filled with water, and consisted of three parts: the citadel, the upper and lower parts. From the south-western side of the fortress there was trading quarter. In 1812 the fortress pass to the possession of the Russian troops.
Today the 14th Russian Army is dislocated here. In the historical center of Bender with the buildings typical for XIX century you can visit two old churches: "Transfiguration" and "Assumption". There is also History Museum. In the suburb of Bender, in Varnita, there is the museum of "Karl XII", which reminds of the Swedish king in exile after the defeat suffered by the Russian army in Poltava. Here in Varnita there is located the source of mineral water which has curative properties, it is famous far outside of Moldova. You can visit also the other tourist sites located near the city: Dendrological park in Harbovet, Novo Nyametsky monastery, "Turkish Garden" in Talmaza, the church with the wall frescoes in Causeni etc.
Services of the guide: Russian, Romanian, English, German languages
Transport services: Minivan, Minibus, Bus
Recommendations for the tourist: Convenient footwear and clothes, The camera