The most impressive sight at Orheiul Vechi is the Cave Monastery, built inside a cliff high above the gently meandering Răut river. It is marked by a small bell tower and a cross standing on the rocks. It was dug by Orthodox monks in the 13th century and remained inhabited until the 18th century. In 1996 a handful of monks returned to this secluded place of worship and restored it to its current state.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
Orheiul Vechi
0.04 MILES
The archaeological and ecclesiastical complex at Orheiul Vechi (Old Orhei), about 50km north of Chişinău, is an important historical site and a place of…
Nativity of Christ Metropolitan Cathedral
20.14 MILES
The main highlight of the Parcul Catedralei is the city's main Moldovan Orthodox church, dating from the 1830s, with rich interior frescoes. The bell…
National Museum of Ethnography & Natural History
20.55 MILES
The highlight of this massive and wonderful exhibition is a life-sized reconstruction of the skeleton of a dinothere – an 8-tonne elephant-like mammal…
Nearby Moldova attractions
1. Orheiul Vechi
0.04 MILES
The archaeological and ecclesiastical complex at Orheiul Vechi (Old Orhei), about 50km north of Chişinău, is an important historical site and a place of…
2. Orheiul Vechi Exhibition Centre
0.38 MILES
Near the bridge over the Răut River, this inconspicuous building houses a museum with objects recovered during archaeological digs around Orheiul Vechi,…
3. Pushkin Museum
19.74 MILES
This is where Russia's national poet Alexander Pushkin (1799–1837) spent three years exiled between 1820 and 1823. You can view his tiny cottage, filled…
4. Nativity of Christ Metropolitan Cathedral
20.14 MILES
The main highlight of the Parcul Catedralei is the city's main Moldovan Orthodox church, dating from the 1830s, with rich interior frescoes. The bell…
5. Parcul Catedralei
20.19 MILES
Dab in the middle of Chişinău, this park is popular with families and canoodling teenagers on benches, and makes for great strolling. The highlight is the…
6. Parliament House
20.19 MILES
Facing Grădina Publică Ştefan cel Mare şi Sfînt is Parliament House, where Parliament convenes.
7. Statue of Ştefan cel Mare
20.24 MILES
Ştefan was Moldavia's greatest medieval prince and ubiquitous symbol of Moldova's brave past. His 1928 statue lords over the entrances to Parcul…
8. Arc de Triomphe
20.25 MILES
Chişinău's own Arc de Triomphe dates from 1841 and marks the centre of the city. It was built to commemorate the victory of the Russian army over the…