Codru, Moldova

Once upon a time, not far from Costiujeni Hospital, there stood a rich manorial mansion. The name of the owner of the legend has not been preserved, but we know that this landowner had two sons – Constantine and Eugene. They studied at the Lyceum Nr.1 in Chisinau and spent their holidays at home. Christmas was approaching, and the Boyar sent a sled with a coachman after the children to Chisinau. The sleigh was light, colorfully painted with swirls caught on the edges. Children were in a hurry, eager for home and gifts. But out of nowhere, a blizzard started. The coachman got out of the way, and their sleigh went deep into the woods. A pack of wolves came after them and attacked them; the frightened horses went crazy and overturned the sled. The deep snow did not give them the opportunity to escape from the wolves. Nobody survived – neither people nor horses. After a few days of searching, the parents found the scene of the tragedy. How great was their pain – the children's mother lost her mind and died soon after. His father became a monk and built a small monastic hermitage on her relic. In a few years, that place received a name, formed by the names of the children – Costea and Jenea… (From the memories of Mrs. Irina Cantacuzino (1915-2007) – one of the representatives of the old family of the Cantacuzino Princes. Almost all her life she spent in Chisinau: she was born in Kiev, but at the age of 12, after the early death of her parents, she moved to Bessarabia. He studied at the gymnasium of Princess Dadiani, then at the agricultural faculty of the branch of the University of Iasi (later – the Agricultural Institute of Chisinau). Note: The clinical psychiatric hospital “Costiujeni” in Chisinau was founded in 1895 in addition to the homonymous monastery, given the fact that before the emergence of specialized hospitals, the mentally ill people found shelter only in monasteries, due to the widespread belief that these people were “possessed.” Therefore, some psychiatric hospitals were opened at the monasteries, as in the case of the Costiujeni hospital. Construction was carried out between 1895 and 1904. The first buildings of the hospital were designed by architects Alexandru Bernardazzi and Țalel Ginger. Initially, the hospital had 12 buildings. The hospital also had an agricultural colony with an area of 400 hectares, where patients themselves worked and provided food.[3]