List of fortifications in Moldova


This is a list of fortifications in Moldova. The list includes preserved structures and the remains of historical military constructions of a fortified nature; fortresses, castles, towers, etc.
This list does not include the historical fortifications that were once part of the historical Principality of Moldavia, but are outside the territory of modern Moldova, often in Romania.
This list also does not include palaces and manor houses, which are listed in a separate article, unless they were constructed wholly on the location of a defunct fortified structure.

List

Fortifications located within the unrecognized breakaway territory of Transnistria are indicated in grey.
ImageNameSettlementDistrict / MunicipalityEstablishedStatusTypeNotes
Bender Fortress, Tighina Fortress

Bender
City of Bender
15th century


16th century
Partially restored

Museum exhibits
FortressBuilt to protect the town of Tighina/Bender and local trade routes from enemy incursions.
The original, smaller fort, was established in Tighina during the 15th century by Stephen III the Great.
The full stone fortress was built after 1538, when the Ottoman Empire captured
the town of Tighina, renaming it Bender/Bendery. After 1812, the fortress began to lose its previous military significance. The fortress is currently located within the unrecognized breakaway territory of Transnistria.
Chișinău Prison CastleChișinăuMunicipality of Chișinău1840s-1850s
Defunct,
some remains
Prison fortress

Fortified prison
Fortified prison built in Chișinău in the 19th century. Designed by Swiss architect Giorgio Toriсelli in 1834, completed by the 1850s. No longer in use since the 1940s.
Orhei Fort

Old Orhei
Trebujeni
Orhei District1460sDefunct,
Ruins
Bastion fortress

Castle
Built during the reign of Stephen the Great, the fortress was located
at the town of Old Orhei, near the present day village of Trebujeni.

Though known from historical dioramas, only the ruins of the fortresses' foundations
remain in the present day. It is Moldova's oldest surviving medieval stone fortress.
Soroca Fort

SorocaSoroca District13th century


1499


1543–1546
Partially restored

Some museum exhibits
Fortress

Castle
Built during the reign of Stephen the Great, for guarding a strategic ford on the Dniester river,
part of the local main road. The 13th-15th century wooden fortress was rebuilt into
a wooden castle in 1499, then by Stephen the Great's successor Petru Rareș into
a stone fort/castle during the first half of the 16th century, in the mid-1540s.

The Soroca Fortress is Moldova's best preserved late-medieval and Renaissance era fortress. Conservation work was carried out in the mid-2010s. The fort houses a small number of interior exhibits, including a historical altar
with Orthodox icons.
Tiraspol Fortress
TiraspolCity of Tiraspol


de iure part of the Administrative-Territorial Units of the Left Bank of the Dniester
1790sDefunct,
Ruins
18th-19th century bastion fortThe town of Tiraspol was established by the Russian Empire in 1792, the fortress for the local
military garrison was built in the 1790s and served its military role until roughly the mid-19th century.
The minor remnants of the fortress are located near the city of Tiraspol, the capital
of the unrecognized breakaway territory of Transnistria.

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