Statue of Stephen the Great

History · Chișinău and Surroundings

The monument to Ștefan cel Mare, ruler of Moldavia from 1457 to 1504, stands in Chișinău. It is the work of the sculptor Alexandru Plămădeală, made in 1925–1928 and unveiled on 29 April 1928 in the Public Garden. The bronze statue was cast from six captured Ottoman cannons; it is 5.2 metres tall and 11.2 metres with its pedestal. In the 20th century it was moved several times: taken to Vaslui in 1940, reinstalled in 1942, evacuated to Craiova in 1944 and brought back in 1945. In 1972 it was shifted 18 metres deeper into the park, and in 1989 it received a new stone base and its original inscriptions. It stands in the open.