Old Orhei () is a

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

n historical and archaeological complex located in Trebujeni, which is approximately north-east of

Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ; formerly known as Kishinev) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Moldova, largest city of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial centre, and is located in the middle of the coun ...

on the Răut River in the

Republic of Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised ...

History

The ancient city of Orheiul Vechi is a natural and historical complex located on a narrow bend of the Răut River. The natural landscape of

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

rock, eroded by the river, is combined with archaeological vestiges of the ancient Trypillian civilization. As a result of archaeological excavations, cultural layers were discovered from different epochs, such as the

Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehist ...

Eneolithic The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often vocalize it as st ...

, and

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

. Old Orhei contains traces of different civilizations, including the remnants of earthen and wooden fortresses of Geto– Dacian fortress (6th–1st centuries B.C.), the

Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as ''Ulug Ulus'' ( in Turkic) was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the division of ...

fort ''Shehr al-Jedid (or Yangi-Shehr)'' (14th century), a Moldavian fort dating from the 14th-16th centuries, an Orthodox monastery ( 14th century), and the Moldavian town of Orhei from the 14th–16th centuries. The Orthodox monastery is still inhabited by a handful of Orthodox monks who maintain the church at the top of the hill. The caves are still functional as chapels. The caves contain an array of historical artifacts and

Old Church Slavonic Old Church Slavonic or Old Slavonic ( ) is the first Slavic languages, Slavic literary language and the oldest extant written Slavonic language attested in literary sources. It belongs to the South Slavic languages, South Slavic subgroup of the ...

inscriptions dating from the 1690s, which testify that the

Hajduk A hajduk (, plural of ) is a type of Irregular military, irregular infantry found in Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and parts of Southeast Europe from the late 16th to mid 19th centuries, especially from Hajdú–Bihar Count ...

took shelter in the caves, hiding from the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

Gallery

Image:Remains of the tatar bath.jpg, File:Orhei Vechi, Moldova - Flickr - Dave Proffer (14).jpg File:Trebujeni.jpg, File:Orhei Vechi, Moldova - Flickr - Dave Proffer (12).jpg Image:Remains of the governor Palace.jpg, Remains of the governor palace File:Orhei Vechi, Moldova - Flickr - Dave Proffer (13).jpg Image:Monastery of Bosie.jpg File:Orheiul vechi3.jpg File:Orheiul vechi2.jpg File:The cross of Orheiul Vechi (182371878).jpg File:Stamp of Moldova md487.jpg, Archaeological research in Old Orhei.

External links

Virtual tourTourist guide "Old Orhei"
{{Coord, 47, 19, N, 28, 58, E, display=title, region:MD_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki Former populated places in Eastern Europe Tourist attractions in Moldova Archaeology of Moldova Ancient history of Romania Former populated places in Moldova Dacian towns Archaeological sites in Moldova

History

See also

Gallery

External links