The building of the former girls’ gymnasium, founded by Baroness Iulia von Heyking (Gheiking), is a monument of architecture of national significance, located at 85 Alexei Mateevici Street in Chisinau, which is currently in an advanced state of deterioration.

The building was constructed in 1886 as the residence of the prosecutor and politician Victor Schmidt. In 1914, seven years after the death of its first owner, it became the new seat of the girls’ gymnasium, the building having been rented by Baroness Iulia von Heyking from the widow of its former owner. In 1919, a year after the Union of Bessarabia with Romania, the gymnasium lost its right to a state subsidy. Since then, the main source of income for the institution has been the pension of the Baroness’s husband, Alexander von Heyking, a participant in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878. The couple invested almost all their assets in the development of the school. Due to the dwindling number of students willing to study in Russian, the Baroness opened Romanian classes in the gymnasium in 1927, which, from 1929, received a state subsidy.

The school functioned until 1931, then it was closed, and the Romanian public high school “Alecu Donici” was opened in the building. At the end of the 1930s, it was part of the industrial high school. During the Soviet period, the Soviet People’s Commissars of the SSMR were headquartered here, then the Secondary School No. 5. In the early 1990s, the building became increasingly deserted and was abandoned after a fire towards the end of the decade.

In December 2009, the historic building, already in ruins, was sold to the German Embassy in Moldova for €1.5 million by a special decision of the Moldovan Parliament for the purpose of building the new Embassy headquarters. However, to date, no work has been carried out, resulting in the building falling into a disastrous state, and its reconstruction and adaptation have remained plans, although the German side has expressed intentions to recreate the building according to the historical appearance of the former gymnasium.

The building was constructed in two stories, built on an angular plan with an elongated wing in the depth of the plot. The main facade has a symmetrical composition, designed in the spirit of buildings for the education of young students. The building has a monumental appearance, and the façade is dominated by a four-column portico of the Doric order, the upper part of which has a balcony, serving also as a gallery for school festivities. The building was constructed with quality materials; the doors had bronze handles, and the stoves were made of earthenware.

Yulia von Gheiking was born in 1858 in St. Petersburg into the family of Lieutenant General Pyotr Osipovich Shumleansky. General Shumleansky’s family settled with the whole family in Bessarabia shortly after Yulia Shumleanskyi graduated from the Smolinyi Institute for Noble Girls. The Smolnyi Institute is the first educational institution for girls in Russia, established during the time of Catherine II, and was one of the most prestigious places for study in Russia. In Chisinau, Yulia Smolnyy met the German Baron Alexander von Gheiking. Information in the newspaper “Бессарабская жизнь” edition of 25.01.1912 presented Baron von Gheiking as a participant in the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878 and a laureate of the orders: St. Stanislav and St. Anne 3rd class. This baron, as a result of his participation in the Russo-Japanese war of 1904-1905, returned to Chisinau in the rank of sublieutenant, awarded with the order of St. Stanislav 2nd class, wearing gold arms on which were inlaid the words “For bravery.”

Baron Alexander von Gheiking married Yulia Shumleansky, and they had four children. His love for children extended beyond the family. In 1892, Baroness von Gheiking built a kindergarten for children. Within 10 years, the Baroness transformed this kindergarten into a primary school, and in 1909 the institution became a gymnasium for girls and was transferred in 1914 to the premises at 85 A. Mateevici. Alexander died in 1930, and Iulia passed away over 6 years later.

The von Gheiking family lived in a very modest building, not far from the gymnasium, located on Gavriil Banulescu-Bodoni 3 street in Chisinau.