Discover Moldova with #MOLDPRES: Scoreni, a village of barrel makers finds place on national tourist map

New tourist destination turned to good account in Moldova

A new tourist destination is turned to good account in Moldova, due to the European Village Programme. This time, it is about the Scoreni village, central Straseni district, where a museum complex was set and the attraction object is the biggest barrel from the country.    

A giant barrel which will host the Museum of Village   

Within the European Village governmental programme, a giant barrel was constructed in Scoreni, a village famous by its barrel makers, which will host the Museum of Village. The complex has a hall for exhibitions and tasting wines for tourists and guests of the settlement.

The barrel has a height of 11 metres, a width of eight meters and a (theoretical) volume of 250,000 litres. Yet, it is not meant to be filled with wine.    

A workshop for making barrels was built on the area of the Complex, where popular craftsmen from the region will organize master-classes for local residents and tourists.

Also there, a big stage was set for the carrying out of different cultural and artistic activities. The area was endowed with a car park.  

The project is meant for turning to good account the century-old handicraft traditions and the promotion of the rural tourism, as well as for including the settlement into the route Capriana-Condrita-Ialoveni,.     

Why a barrel?

Why a barrel? As the barrel is the symbol of the Scoreni village. Namely here, in this settlement, the first wood barrels appeared and this nice handicraft was bequeathed from generation to generation, bringing fame to the barrel makers from Scoreni. The construction of the biggest barrel of the world means the promotion of the local tradition, of the traditional elements, of popular craftsmen, of native products and the Scoreni community. Moreover, in the long run, the authorities plan to organize also a Festival of Barrel, where the participants will be able to experiment by themselves what working with chisel means.       

Andrei Spinu, Infrastructure and Regional Development Ministry: Go to Scoreni, Straseni district, to see the biggest barrel of Moldova. A Museum Complex of the village, a hall for exhibitions and tasting wines, as well as local products are inside the barrel. Now, those over 3,800 local residents, tourists and those 36 handicraftsmen from the region have access to renovated and well-arranged infrastructure. By the way, the barrel is the symbol of the village. For years, householders of the settlement have been constructing wood barrels and export them to such countries as France, Portugal or Canada.          

The Scoreni village is placed on the bank of the Isnovat river, 28 km to the south-west from Chisinau and 13 km to the north-east from the district centre of Straseni. The basic occupation of the Scoreni residents is the agriculture, cultivation of varieties of table grapes, the most popular one being the Moldova variety, meant for export. Also, the residents deal with the cultivation of fruits and vegetables. One of the most spread and specific to the area is the making of wood barrels of different dimensions, in which Moldovan wines are deposited and preserved.       

Correspondent: Lilia Grubii