The oldest building (including ecclesiastical) that has survived to date on the territory of present-day Chisinau, and the only one that preserves medieval Moldovan architecture. The Măzărache Church is documented in 1752 (year of consecration). It is popularly named after its founder – the nobleman, merchant of Chisinau Vasile Măzărache.
The oldest necropolis of the capital, dating back to the 15th-16th centuries, it’s located around the church, and on the same hill flowed the famous springs, from which the city of Chisinau takes its name.
In 1955, in an almost fantastic gesture, the Soviet authorities gave the church to the Russians of the Old Rite (Lipovins) in exchange for their cathedral, which had been demolished during the construction of the Boulevard of the Youths (today Grigore Vieru Boulevard).
Since then, access to the church has been limited; guests of the capital may visit only the churchyard and the surrounding buildings, including some tombstones with inscriptions in Slavonic and Old Romanian.