Unassuming castle town on the Dniester
Trip Start
Apr 08, 2007
1
106
144
Trip End
Oct 01, 2007
Soroca,
Moldova
Friday, August 10, 2007
Soroca's pretty non-descript, I have to say. It's famous for having a particularly large Roma population that also happens to be pretty wealthy. Their grandly extravagent (and often unfinished) houses claim some of the best real estate in town, most perched on a forested hillside looking out towards Ukraine across the Dniester river. But other than this curiosity, there's very little in the city that stands out. Most of it is low-rise, with street after tree-lined street of small, unspectacular houses. Of course there are the usual few blocks of high rise apartment blocks dating from the 60s and 70s, but nothing otherwise distinguishes what is essentially a bland, provincial town.
Except for one thing, that is. Soroca hosts what is probably Moldova's best and most intact medieval castle, occupying a prime position on the edge of the Dniester, facing the rolling terrain of neighboring Ukraine. The fortress dates from the 15th century, when Moldavian king Stefan cel Mare established a line of several castles along the northeastern frontier of the kingdom: Hotin, Soroca, Tighina and Cetatea Alba. Of these, only Soroca's remains under Moldovan control, as Hotin and Cetatea Alba were handed to the USSR in 1940 (and now lie in Ukraine) and Tighina - while still officially a part of Moldova - is controlled by Transdniester and referred to as Bendery (the name given to the city by the Turks). As a result, it's likely the easiest of the four to visit for most people.
The castle is in remarkable shape and has retained almost all of its original appearance. While not an enormous fortress by any means, it is rather picturesque and an enjoyable structure to walk through. No tricks, trap doors or secret catacombs here though - this is a purely defensive structure that's quite purpose-built. Strangely enough, it sits in a park on the edge of the Soviet-built town center, with very little to no signage directing visitors to its location. I can't imagine it sees a lot of Western tourists, and the stares that I got from the teenagers and old men walking through the park seemed to confirm that.
For some odd reason, they decided to close up the castle only about 20 minutes after I entered it, despite the fact that it was only 1pm! So it was rather fortuitous that I didn't catch a later bus out of Chisinau, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to go in. The only other attraction of note in town is a museum close by the castle, focusing primarily on ethnography and local history. I didn't bother visiting because I was more interested in tracking down some lunch. How disappointing then it was to find that there are pretty much no restaurants in town (at least as far as I could find)! Instead I had to settle on snack food from a local mini-market, hoping that would tide me over for the ride home.
A pleasant daytrip away, but not exactly an exciting or long-lasting one. Within two hours I had basically seen and done Soroca, with little else to do but return to Chisinau. It was nice to see the rolling countryside of Moldova en route though, with its fields of agriculture on the rich, black soil and the odd flock of geese waddling about on the side of the road. The villages aren't particularly picturesque here, dominated as they are by squat houses with tacky corrugated roofs and drab grey stone. They're a far cry from the beautifully rustic, colorful houses of the Romanian countryside, which is odd considering Moldova is historically just another Romanian region. The one city we passed through - boring, featureless Orhei - wasn't any improvement either. Settled civilization here just doesn't seem all that stimulating.
Well, I've got one more day left in Moldova before I move on to Ukraine. I just bought my bus ticket and booked a night at a hostel in Odessa, so tomorrow I'll do one last trip out of Chisinau on a final quest for someplace special here.
