Manuc Bey Mansion

Manuc Bey was an Armenian merchant and diplomat who brokered the treaty of Bucharest in 1812 and bought the Hîncești estate afterwards, and the mansion his descendants built there in the nineteenth century mixes Gothic revival and Swiss chalet elements in a way that has no parallel in Moldova. It was a school and then a museum before falling into ruin, and it was restored through the 2010s with Romanian funding.

History

Manuc Bey, an Armenian diplomat and trader, settled in Chișinău after 1815 and bought the Hîncești estate for 300,000 gold lei; he died on 20 June 1817 after a fall from his horse. The manor was begun for his son Murat and completed by his nephew Grigore between 1858 and 1861, and in 1881 the architect Alexander Bernardazzi built the hunting lodge (Wikipedia, Mansion of Manuc Bey).

Highlights

• The mansion - the Gothic and chalet mix that has no parallel in the country.
• The hunting lodge - the second building in the same complex.
• The Manuc Bey story - the merchant and diplomat behind the 1812 treaty.
• The restoration - the work carried out through the 2010s.

When to go

April to October is the pleasant season with the grounds open. The museum keeps daytime hours and closes some days. Winter opening is reduced.

Good to know

The restoration was extensive and much of the fabric is new. Interpretation is thin for a house with this history. It closes one day a week.

Nearby

Chișinău is northeast, and Hâncu Monastery is north.

Key facts