Tighina Fortress — Attraction in Bender City Council

Bendery fortress was first established in 1408 by certain Slavic nations. It stands in a strategic fording place on the river Dniester, (which eventually flows into the Black Sea) & it fell under attack from several different national armies throughout the centuries . The name Bendery is (originally) of Turkic origin, used to describe a river port. The fortress was laid siege to on numerous occasions, covering several centuries. It was captured by the Ottoman empire in the 17th century & it remained in Ottoman control until being captured by Russian forces in the mid 18th century. It's final large military defence was against the Napoleonic forces in 1812,in which the famed Russian 555th infantry regiment held off forces loyal to Napoleon in his 1812 advance on Moscow. There is a small museum within the fortress grounds,which exhibits some of the uniforms,medals & weapons of both Ottoman and Russian forces,who took part in confrontations there. There is a small entrance fee to enter the fort,which must be paid in Transnistria roubles. Foreign currencies are not accepted in Transnistria,which prints it's own currency-the Transnistria roubles,which can be exchanged from foreign currency at exchanges throughout that territory. The fortress lies in the disputed breakaway territory of TRANSNISTRIA, which has a Russian speaking population and demands independence from Moldova. Transnistria is separated from Moldova, by the river Dniester, a large river flowing into the Black Sea. There was intense fighting there in 1992,resulting in it's breakaway from Moldova. It is now currently very peaceful, with Russian peace keeping forces present on it's border with Moldova and the Ukraine. Entry is permitted to travellers, and passports are not stamped by the Transnistria border guards - instead a piece of paper is issued with the passport holders name & passport number & it needs to be retained until departure from the territory, when it is collected at outgoing passport control, at either the Moldovan or Ukrainian borders. There are beaches, not far from Bendery fortress, for those wishing to cool off in the river Dniester. I would recommend a visit to this historic site There are restaurants & a...

Fascinating history in this building that a good guide can explain to you as the fortress has had several metamorphosis over the centuries. There's not much information outside of the armaments museum, which is worth popping into to enjoy the A/C and see the ever more efficient ways armies have come up with to kill each other. There's a great map at the entrance showing the various fortresses in the wider area and also the historical names for the regions which have altered significantly. Enjoying walking around the balustrades, popping into different rooms and exploring. There's one room devoted to torture, so if you're squeamish, you might want to skip that one. Finally, you can climb to the top of the high tower for a great panoramic view. I would recommend hiring a good guide who can bring the place and the history to...

A very well maintained fortress, definitely the highlight of this region. We bought our tickets using Moldovian currency and requested the reception to give us the change too in Moldovian currency because we were returning that day from Pridnestrovie. They kindly agreed after some persistence. Coming to the fortress itself, it has some nice view points and two small museums - a torture museum and a history museum. Overall loved visiting this fortress. The church in this complex is beautiful as well - completely golden inside. We learnt about the white lady's ghost in this fortress too which was a cool thing. We had taken bus number 19 from Tiraspol to go to this place. It's a (not very long) walk from the bus stop in Bender. We had taken a mashrutka to Chisinau from Bender bus station after visiting...