Hancu Monastery

In 1678 in a forest at the source of the Cogalnic river (about 55 km West of Chisinau) the great High steward Mihai Hincu at request of his daughter founded a convent of nuns, which she entered. The convent was named Parascheva. The wooden churches and cells were often destroyed by the Tartar invasions during the XVIIth c., and the “St. Parascheva” monastery remained uninhabited. In 1835 a stone church was built in a Russian-Byzantine style for the summer period. Later, in 1841, came a church for the winter season.

From 1956 to1990 the convent was closed by the Soviet authorities, and instead it functioned as a sanatorium and a rest-base for the Health Ministry. In 1990, at the request of the local population the Hincu convent was reopened, becoming one of the most well arranged and most visited religious communities.

A lot of water springs surround the convent, one of them is mineralized. The convent can be visited daily. There are entrance fees and local guides and lodgings are available.