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Rose Valley Chişinău (Romanian: Valea Trandafirilor) is an urban park including the remains of an ancient Slavonic sanctuary. It is located in the city of Chişinău, Moldova.
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History
From the 6th to the 13th centuries, the territory of Moldova was populated by Slavic tribes, the Ulichs and the Tivertsi, along with the Dacians. Not far from the city of Peresechen, in a picturesque valley with three lakes, there was a sanctuary dedicated to Slavonic tribal gods and dead ancestors. It was called Ross Valley in honor of the mythical ancestor of the Russian people, Rus. There stood the idols and altars of many Slavonic gods and ancestral patrons. In the days of pagan holidays, folk festivals were arranged in the valley and on the lakes.
The role of Ross Valley in the religious life of Slavic people fell as the Pechenegs and Cumans invaded these lands in the 9th century. After the dissemination of Christianity among the Slav tribes in the 10th-11th centuries, the sanctuary evidently was destroyed. But its name was preserved among local inhabitants, and in the course of time it was transformed into Rose Valley.
Modern times
In the 1950s, rose plantations were planted in the Rose Valley.
At the end of the 1960s, the park saw some improvement. New lanes were laid, concrete dams were built, and lakes were purified of silt.
Now the central section of the park is decorated with a cascade of lakes covering nine hectares. About 50 varieties of trees and bushes grow there. There is a stage with a capacity of 1000 spectators, a small amusement park with a Ferris wheel, and the restaurants Doina, Cetatea Veche ("The Old Fortress"), and Curtea Vînătorească ("The Wine Court"). The remains of several stone idols were preserved and restored in the 1970s in the form of decorative statues. Also preserved were the stairs that led to the altars and the foundation of an ancient construction on the shore of one of the lakes — now part of the restaurant Cetatea Veche.