Triumphal Arch, Chișinău

The Triumphal Arch in Chișinău, the capital of Moldova, is a stone monument in the middle of the city, next to the Nativity Cathedral. It faces the Government House across the Great National Assembly Square. It was built in 1840 to celebrate the victory of the Russian Empire over the Ottoman Empire in the Russo-Turkish War of 1828 to 1829.

The arch is square, has two levels and is about 13 metres high. Four pillars with Corinthian capitals carry it, and the upper level is decorated in a classical style. It stands on the axis of symmetry of a group of buildings that includes the cathedral, its bell tower, the square and the Government House. For many years a huge bell hung inside it, and a mechanical clock on the front is lit up at night.

Who built it and why

The arch was designed by the architect Luka Zauschevic and built in 1840 on the initiative of the governor of Bessarabia, the region around Chișinău at that time. Its purpose was to remember the Russian victory over the Ottomans. Its ornaments and capitals were made of ceramic, and the monument was fully restored in 1973.

The giant bell

The bell is the arch's best-known story. It was cast from the copper of cannons that Russian forces had captured from the Ottomans. It was first made for the cathedral's bell tower, but turned out to be too big, so the arch was designed on purpose to hold it on the second level. The bell weighed nearly 6,400 kilograms. From the arch's construction until 2011 it stayed in the monument.

The clock and the plaques

The first clock appeared in 1842, brought from Odesa. Seven years later a strong wind tore off its dial, and the mechanism worked until 1881, when a new one was bought in Austria. That clock ran without repair until the bombings of 1941 hit it. In 1945 plaques were put on the walls with the names of Heroes of the Soviet Union from the war, and they were removed in 1991 after independence. Today the lit clock shows the time but does not chime.

On the globe

The model shows the stone arch with its upper level, where the bell and clock sit.