When I got home from visiting Moldova, I told everyone that my highlight of the trip was visiting Transnistria – a country that doesn’t exist. Maybe I like the shock value.
Wikipedia defines this anomaly as a breakaway state internationally recognized as part of Moldova. Whatever it is – and I certainly don’t understand the politics behind it – a visit there does make for a great story.
We took a day trip from Chisinau to visit Bender Fortress, which included crossing the so-called border into Transnistria.
Bender Fortress was fun and interesting and is definitely worth a visit. We could easily have spent much longer there than we did.
But the highlight of the day, at least for me, was the novelty of entering such an unusual piece of political geography.
What To Expect at the Transnistria Border
The strange thing about entering Transnistria is that you have to cross a border, even though, according to Moldova and the rest of the world, you are still inside the Republic of Moldova.
Since we were headed to visit the Bender Fortress, we entered Transnistria at the Bender border crossing. Bender is the closest city to the declared capital of Transnistria, Tiraspol.
So, as you might expect, there’s heavy traffic on this main road between Chisinau and Tiraspol. That meant there was quite a bit of wait time at the border crossing (about 20-30 minutes of crossing time total), although that varies depending on the time of day.
First of all, there is no customs check for exiting Moldova since, technically, you’re not leaving Moldova. You’ll see a few Moldovan military police keeping an eye on things as you near the border checkpoint, but that’s it.
Second of all, there is no orderly queue as you get to the Transnistrian checkpoint. Trucks, cars, vans, and motorcycles all pull off to the side wherever there’s an opening; then, the driver hops out to take the relevant papers to the customs officer inside the booth.
Tip: Make sure you have your passport, vehicle registration, and vehicle insurance documentation with you.
We went through with American passports without a hitch. The agents checked the passports, but did not check inside the vehicle to verify passengers’ identities.
The two adult passengers in our car each got a Migration Card to grant permission for transit in Transnistria. These had to be returned upon exit from the territory.
We also had to stop at another booth to pay a road tax, presumably because we entered with American passports rather than Moldovan. Our Moldovan friends that took the trip with us did not have to pay this road tax.
Exiting Transnistria
When we were headed home for the day, exiting the territory was a much shorter wait. They did not check passports, you just had to turn over the Migration Cards you picked up on the way in.
Once again, there was no Moldovan border control, just those same military police keeping an eye on things.
We were, however, waved by police to pull over along the roadside shortly after leaving Transnistria for a quick check of the contents of our van. We’re guessing the large van we were traveling in (to fit all the kids) was a target to check for smuggled goods.
Bender (City)
We didn’t take the time to see much of the city of Bender, just a quick stop as we rolled into town to buy a few items for a picnic lunch later on, and change some money into the Transnistrian currency to use at the Bendery fortress entrance.
We also happened to park right next to the town’s war memorial, so we took a few minutes to take a look around.
It’s very imposing and impressive, but our tour guide friend assured us that the history represented by the memorial is anachronistic and propaganda-driven. Hardly surprising.
Visiting Bendery Fortress with kids
Bendery Fortress is the site of some complicated history involving both the Ottomans and a Swedish king. You can read about the history of Bendery Fortress elsewhere, but I’m going to focus on the visitor’s experience and especially what it’s like for kids.
Amusement Park
As you enter the grounds through the main gate, you can see shopping area and restaurant complex to the right and an amusement park on the left side.
The amusement park offers rides of various kinds. You know the type – miniature roller coasters, carousel, spinning swing rides, etc. It promises hours of entertainment for the younger set.
We were there for the history, so we didn’t stop for any of the rides, but went straight on to the gate where you pay for entrance to the historic fortress complex.
Ticket Entrance
After passing the carousel grounds, a long promenade will lead you along toward the ticket gate to the Bendery Fortress and the museums within.
Ticket prices are in Transnistrian Rubles, and if you’re paying cash, you do need to have currency converted.
It’s 25 Rubles per adult, or 12 Rubles per student or pensioner. Kids under the age of 7 enter free of charge.
Inside Bendery Fortress
Once inside the fortress, you are free to explore the outer and inner courtyards, and several museums. You can walk most of the circumference of the walls themselves and climb into the towers to see the views below.
The inner courtyard is where most of the points of interest are.
Here you can see seating set up for summer-time outdoor concerts, theater productions and movie viewings.
In the far left corner from the entrance is the historical museum where you can learn about the Ottoman past of the fortress, and also what in the world a Swedish King was doing way over in this part of the world.
On display are also a few artifacts and soldier’s uniforms and equipment that my non-historically oriented kids found mildly interesting.
In the right corner (opposite the entrance) is the museum of torture implements. We decided to forego that museum on this trip, given the young ages and impressionable minds of our kids. We have enough trouble with nightmares already, without those images in their minds.
Instead we opted to climb up the steep and slightly crumbling stairs to walk along the top of the wall. That’s enough to give the parents nightmares!
The top of the walls themselves have fairly adequate railings to prevent little people from slipping over the edge, but I still felt fairly nervous, especially about my clumsy and over-eager 4 year old and 2-and-a-half year old.
Everyone held a hand firmly, and stayed toward the wall side (not the railing side) and we had no mishaps.
By American safety standards, this seemed like a climb-at-your-own-risk type of deal, not something we’re used to seeing at museums and historical sites. As a mom, I’m undecided whether that comes as a relief from unnecessary restrictions or a cause for concern.
Directly over top of the entrance gate is a tower just a bit taller than the rest. From on top of the wall you can climb up steep, slightly crumbling stone steps to the next level where there’s a large open room with a wooden floor (with one or two gaping holes in the corners).
From this level there’s yet another climb up a metal spiral stairway to the cupola on top for the best views. Vali and a few of the kids braved the spiral stairs to get the views, but I stayed below firmly holding onto the youngest.
Getting back down the steep stone stairway to the wall level was even more nerve wracking than going up. But no incidents to report, thankfully.
We spent close to 2 hours all told in walking the grounds and climbing the walls and towers. By then it felt like we had seen as much as we wanted to, and tummies were rumbling for some lunch.
Picnic by the Dniester River
Our friends who planned the day’s outing for us also had in mind a wonderful picnic spot just outside the walls of the Bender Fortress along the banks of the Dniester River.
A simple picnic of sandwich meat, bread and cut veggies and fruit under the shade of tall trees near the river was peaceful and picturesque.
Other picnickers, fishermen, and a few brave souls swimming in the river (at the beach!) were interesting but not disruptive, and rather added to the ambiance of the summer scene.
It was a perfect way to close our visit to the Bendery Fortress.