Chișinău — Capital of Moldova

Chișinău, the capital of Moldova, is one of the least-visited capitals in Europe — yet the country it heads is full of stories that surprise even seasoned European travellers. Moldova is a small landlocked nation wedged between Romania and Ukraine, and is currently the poorest country in Europe by GDP per capita, heavily reliant on remittances from citizens working abroad.

Moldova's history is a layered story of competing empires. The territory was part of the Romanian principality of Moldavia before being annexed by Russia in 1812. It was part of Romania from 1918 to 1940 and again briefly from 1941 to 1944, before becoming the Soviet Moldavian SSR until independence was declared on August 27, 1991. Even the country's official language was contested: officially called 'Moldovan' under Soviet influence for decades, the constitution was changed in 2023 to formally recognise the language as Romanian.

One of Moldova's most unusual features is Transnistria — a narrow strip of land along the eastern bank of the Dniester River that declared itself independent after a brief war in 1992. Transnistria is not recognised by any UN member state, but is backed by Russia, which maintains around 1,500 troops there. It has its own currency, army, government, and even its own postage stamps — a state frozen in post-Soviet limbo.

Moldova's greatest passion may be wine. The country has one of the highest wine consumption rates per capita in the world, and the Cricova winery near Chișinău is home to 120 kilometres of underground wine tunnels carved into limestone. Vines have been cultivated here since ancient Dacian times. Moldova applied for EU membership on June 23, 2022 — on the same day as Ukraine — and was granted candidate status. Stephen the Great (Ștefan cel Mare), the 15th-century Moldavian prince who ruled for 47 years and repelled Ottoman, Polish, and Hungarian armies, remains the supreme national hero, his statue found in virtually every Moldovan town.