"Orhei Vechi" Judetul Orhei by ZiOOlek

Judetul Orhei Travel Guide: 32 reviews and 93 photos

The archeological complex Old Orhei is situated in the valley of a right tributary of Dniestr Raut River, between the villages Trebujeni and Butuceni, district of Orhei, 60 km North East from Chisinau. It is located in a well marked historic-geographical zone, famous and known among natives since ancient times as Codrii Orheiului or Tara Orheiului (Orhei land)- once forming a distinct territorial administrative body component of one of the many medieval Romanian countries in the immense Carpathian Danubian space. At Old Orhei nature and human civilization have blended organically, forming a perfect of millennial works.

The name of the archeological reservation, and respectively, of the museum complex, derives from the name of historical settlement, the medieval city Orhei, existing on these lands since the XV-XVI centuries. The name evolved to Old Orhei after the settlement was left and a new city was founded, having nowadays the same name.

The museum complex Old Orhei is a system of historical monuments and natural landscapes situated on meander promontories (headlands), formed by the sinusoidal bed of the Raut river, between the Trebujeni and Butuceni villages. Parts of the Old Orhei complex are two huge promontories (Pestere and Butuceni), joined by other three adjacent promontories (Potarca, Selitra and Scoc) placed in a range from North to South.

The central promontory or the exact place of the medieval Orhei and of other archeological sites from different historic eras with a representative architecture such as land walls, citadels, stone complexes, the gate called Pestere (name deriving from the many caves carved in the Raut’s bank). The promontory is of irregular oval shape, oriented from West to East, having a maximal length of 2000 meters and a maximal width of 700 meters, surrounded from three directions (North, East and South) by Raut River's water, gathered in a very deep canyon, carved in sarmathian limestone layer (of about 16-18 million years old 0, with rocky and steep edges, with a height up to 100-120 meters, forming a genuine natural fortress.

Nowadays the only access to the respective place, is in historic times, is in the western part where the river bed in a gradual turn to the North almost reaches a segment of the passed canyon, narrowing greatly the bottom of the promontory (till 100 meter in width), which due to the steep edges on the Northern part represents the only connection with the interior of the described territory. The Northern part of the promontory is a high hill with steep, inaccessible verge edges, which southwards and eastwards descends to a slope becoming the meadow of the Raut river, guarded by the rocky sides of the Butuceni promontory from the opposite bank of Raut. Nowadays, the Branesti - Trebujeni highway crosses the Pestere promontory (located in the northern sector) along its abrupt side, penetrating from the west through the same 'access gate' of the promontory, used by the local people for thousands of years. The highway crosses the territory of the headland from the west to the east, descending gradually to a Ferro-concrete bridge on the eastern side of the Trebujeni village. In the central part of the promontory, from the above described highway, a path goes down to Raut river, then turns westwards reaching another modern bridge from reinforced concrete, placed over the Raut on the western part of the Butuceni headland and the Butuceni village.

Last visit to Judetul Orhei: Dec 2005
Intro Updated Apr 20, 2006
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Reviews (12)

Monastery Tourist Traps (1)

The most important place, because of why people visit Orhei Vechi, is the Cave Manstery. These caves could be really... more travel advice

How to get there... Transportation (2)

It is hard to get to Orhei Vechi as there are no direct buses from Chisinau or other bigger towns... You may take a bus... more travel advice

Information Favorites (1)

There is a new buliding which is going to be an information centre of Orhei Vechi... In winter it was closed, or maybe... more travel advice

From Orhei Vechi to Trebujeni - Judetul Orhei

From Orhei Vechi to Trebujeni Off The Beaten Path (1)

You may get from the top of the hill of Orhei Vechi to the village of Trebujeni using the Pestere promontory. It takes... more travel advice

What to Pack (1)
What to take...

Things to Do (6)
See All Promontory

Travelogues (1)

Written Apr 20, 2006

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Comments (5)

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wroclawiak May 21, 2008 at 12:25 AM

Ciekawe jak mi się tam uda dotrzeć. Być może będę tam w lipcu. Fajne informacje. Dzięki.
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hunterV Feb 3, 2008 at 1:45 AM

wow, I didn't know about such attractions there...Thanks again!
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Mikebond May 8, 2006 at 11:35 PM

To bardzo ciekawa strona, Piotr.
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Mariajoy May 1, 2006 at 2:30 AM

Hi Peter! Happy birthday,hope you have a great day, best wishes from the UK, Maria :))
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mary2u99 Apr 20, 2006 at 2:49 AM

Looks good to me ..... but maybe in summer it will be nicer time to visit. Very informative.