In the heart of Chisinau, at the intersection of Columna and Mihai Viteazul streets, stands a place where time seems to pause to preserve the story of the city’s public transportation: the Museum of the Electric Transport Company of Chisinau. Its history is as distinctive as its exhibits. The museum opened in 1974 inside a retired trolleybus transformed into a small mobile gallery — a concept unique in Eastern Europe at the time. Ten years later, in 1984, the museum moved all its exhibits to a historic building in the former Belgian “Tram” Joint Stock Company complex, built between 1913 and 1916, where it still operates today.
The museum showcases a valuable collection that captures the evolution of urban mobility in the capital. Electric transport in Chisinau began in 1889, when the first horse-drawn tram line, known as “konka,” started operating on what is now Stefan cel Mare Boulevard. This network emerged from a partnership signed in 1888 between the city’s Duma, led by Mayor Karol Schmidt, and the Belgian Society. The first trams arrived from Warsaw and Odessa, running along a route only 6,400 meters long. Wealthier residents continued to use carriages, but the “konka” quickly became an affordable option for students and citizens with modest incomes.
In 1896, the Brussels-based “Chisinau Anonymous Society” took over the tram fleet, becoming the sole operator. The company expanded the transport network, and by 1910 the total length of the lines reached nearly 13 km. Gradually, electric traction replaced animal traction, and the trams became increasingly modern. By 1939, Chisinau operated 50 electric trams, and that same year the city reported an annual passenger volume of 175,000.
World War II drastically altered the trajectory of tram transport in Chisinau. German troops confiscated part of the fleet, and more than 60% of the trams suffered severe damage. Because the Soviet Union did not manufacture narrow-gauge trams, repairs advanced slowly. By 1952, only 17 trams were back in operation. In 1956, the city received 7 motor trams and 5 trailers from Germany, but the authorities never replaced the narrow gauge with a standard one, which accelerated the complete withdrawal of trams from service.
A decisive shift occurred on October 12, 1949, when Chisinau launched its first MTB trolleybus on the route from Hospital Street (now Toma Ciorbă Street) to Svecinaia Street (now Yuri Gagarin Boulevard). Ivan Grecu drove the first trolleybus. For a decade, trams and trolleybuses operated simultaneously, but in 1959 the city definitively phased out trams and replaced them with a fleet of 50 trolleybuses. The new routes connected key points such as the Railway Station, the Medical University, Valea Morilor, and Pushkin Street.
Inside the museum, visitors can explore an impressive collection of photographs illustrating the evolution of electric public transport in Chișinău — from the Polish “konka” to the electric trams and trolleybuses that followed. The exhibits include historical maps, such as a 1912 tram network map, and a modern interactive trolleybus route map with each line highlighted individually. The museum also displays the first ticket-punching device used in early trolleybuses, vintage fare collectors, awards, portraits of distinguished employees, and gifts from professional partners in Moldova and abroad.
Outside, visitors can admire the restored first horse-drawn tram of Chisinau, along with a small open-air exhibition of historic trolleybuses preserved in excellent condition, adding authentic atmosphere to the entire museum complex.
The RTEC Museum is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Admission is free, and visitors are welcomed with genuine stories about the transport system that shaped both the past and present of Chisinau. This museum is not merely an exhibition space — it is a journey through the history of urban mobility and a tribute to the generations who built and developed electric transport in the capital.