ARMENIAN CHURCH (BISERICA ARMENEASCĂ)

The Armenian community, present at the beginning of the century, built this church in 1803-1804. It is located in an old part of Chișinău. The street design is more anarchic in this district which bordered the Bâc, a former waterway. The church was built at the expense of Baron Oganes and his children, in memory of their parents. It has inherited the style of Moldavian religious architecture, with an elongated nave, but many features characteristic of Armenian rites have been integrated into its architecture, such as the non-separation of the nave and the narthex, as well as the side compartments, known as horan, designed for altars. In 1885, Manuc Bey's son undertook restoration work, introducing a loggia over the Manuc Bey family graves. This construction is attributed to the architect Bernardazzi. In the course of this reconstruction, characteristic forms of historic Armenia were introduced, including the bell tower, which was given a pyramidal roof. In the 1970s, the church was restored again by the architect Ambarţumian Agas. Over the centuries, this building is known to have valiantly resisted the many aggressions of history, repeatedly burned, destroyed and rebuilt each time. During the Soviet era, the church was confiscated and turned into a depot and then into a tourist centre. It was returned to the Armenian community in 1992.