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Property owners and investors would have to take into account general protection zones of 100, 200 or 500 meters around historical monuments, under a draft presented by the Ministry of Culture. On November 5, 2026, the institution published explanations following consultations held on November 3, noting that the boundaries could be adjusted through protection plans.
How would protection zones be established?
The draft Law on the Protection of Historical Monuments sets different general limits depending on the monument’s location. Article 9 provides for 100 meters in the built-up areas of urban localities, 200 meters in the built-up areas of rural localities and 500 meters outside built-up areas.
These distances would apply until a protection zone plan is drawn up, the Ministry of Culture explains. The plan would allow the boundaries to be adjusted based on historical and documentary research and the urban planning characteristics of each monument. Some participants in the consultations called for the distances to be eliminated, citing their impact on real estate development.
What does this mean for you?
According to the ministry’s explanations of the draft, a property’s location in a protection zone would not automatically mean that its owner could not build. Work could be carried out in compliance with the applicable rules and approval procedures.
Regarding the Historical Core of Chisinau, the ministry says exclusively interior work in buildings without individual monument status is not reviewed by the National Council of Historical Monuments if it does not change the exterior appearance, volume or architectural image. The institution has put forward proposals to clarify the Urban Planning and Construction Code, which have been included in a draft amending certain normative acts.
What other provisions are being discussed?
Participants in the consultations called for clarification of the requirement, set out in Article 28, for a direct functional connection between new construction and the historical monument. The proposals aim to allow contemporary development and uses compatible with heritage values and are to be reviewed as the draft is finalized.
The boundaries of the land associated with a monument were another topic of discussion. Participants argued that these should be determined on the basis of specialized research, without unjustifiably extending protection to large cadastral plots.
How could a property’s status be checked?
The draft provides for the establishment of the National Register of Historical Monuments and the development of an information system for cataloguing monuments. According to the ministry, information about protected properties would be linked to cadastral data, and historical monument status would also be recorded in the register of immovable property.
The Historical Core of Chisinau already has the status of a monument of national importance, the institution says. Its legal protection stems from its separate listing in the Register of Monuments of the Republic of Moldova Protected by the State, approved by Parliament Resolution No. 1531/1993, and must be distinguished from the provisions of the draft under discussion.
Sources
- Ministerul Culturii — Ministerul Culturii a organizat consultări publice repetate asupra proiectului Legii privind protejarea monumentelor istorice
Written with AI assistance from the official sources above and checked by the editors.
What we checked (7 claims and their sources)
Every figure, date and name in the article, with the official source it comes from (in Romanian). The check against sources is automatic, before editor approval.
- Ministerul Culturii a publicat explicațiile pe 5 noiembrie 2026, după consultările publice din 3 noiembrie 2026. — Ministerul Culturii
- Proiectul Legii privind protejarea monumentelor istorice conține la articolul 9 limite generale de protecție de 100 de metri în intravilanul localităților urbane, 200 de metri în intravilanul localităților rurale și 500 de metri în extravilan. — Ministerul Culturii
- Limitele generale propuse se aplică până la elaborarea planului zonei de protecție, care permite ajustarea lor. — Ministerul Culturii
- Articolul 28 al proiectului include o prevedere privind legătura funcțională directă dintre construcțiile noi și monumentul istoric, pentru care participanții au propus reconsiderarea formulării. — Ministerul Culturii
- Propunerile Ministerului Culturii pentru clarificarea Codului urbanismului și construcțiilor au fost incluse într-un proiect de lege pentru modificarea unor acte normative. — Ministerul Culturii
- Proiectul prevede instituirea Registrului național al monumentelor istorice, dezvoltarea unui sistem informațional de inventariere și reflectarea statutului de monument în registrul bunurilor imobile. — Ministerul Culturii
- Nucleul istoric al Chișinăului este monument de categorie națională, înscris distinct în Registrul monumentelor Republicii Moldova ocrotite de stat, aprobat prin Hotărârea Parlamentului nr. 1531/1993. — Ministerul Culturii
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