DECEMBER 6, 2025 — A comprehensive set of new symbols has been formally registered in the Republic of Moldova‘s General Armorial, establishing distinct coats of arms and flags for three localities following approvals from their respective local councils in November 2025.
The decrees of registration, dated December 2, 2025, formalize eight unique emblems for the city of Basarabeasca, the village of Opaci in Căușeni district, and the Albota de Jos commune in Taraclia district, along with its villages.
For the city of Basarabeasca, the newly confirmed symbols assert its identity as a key transportation hub, a role rooted in its 19th-century founding as a railway settlement. The municipal coat of arms is divided horizontally into six alternating bars of gold and green, with a red chief centred by a large, golden winged railway wheel (roată de șină, înaripată). The accompanying flag mirrors the gold and green stripes of the shield, placing the central golden winged wheel within a central red stripe.
The village of Opaci has adopted a heraldry steeped in pastoral and ethnographic tradition. Its coat of arms on a blue field features a tall shepherd, or cioban, depicted in full traditional national attire, including an embroidered white shirt, white woollen trousers (ițari), and a fur coat (cojoc). The figure, holding a golden shepherd’s crook, is accompanied by a greyish-brown țușcă ewe and a stalk of golden needle grass (Stipa capillata), a feather-like steppe grass native to the region. This entire motif is transferred onto the village’s flag on a square blue field.
The registration process was most comprehensive for the Albota de Jos commune in the Taraclia district, which saw the adoption of distinct emblems for the commune itself, as well as for its constituent villages of Albota de Jos, Hagichioi, and Hârtop.
The communal flag is primarily red, displaying white willow leaves, a yellow cross and three yellow stars with rays.
The village of Albota de Jos itself has a flag of red with a white base, with the white willow leaves, alongside a yellow fruit tree, a yellow star and a cotton flower. The village of Hagichioi’s flag uses a red field bordered by white, with a white pilgrim’s staff, a seven-pointed star, and a sunflower, while the flag for Hârtop presents a red field bordered by white, with a vertical wavy willow leaves, flanked by two golden ears of corn, a seven-pointed star, and a cross.
Image: Presidency of the Republic of Moldova
