Vărăncău, Transnistria
Vărăncău is a commune in the Rîbnița District of Transnistria, Moldova, composed of three villages: Buschi, Gherșunovca and Vărăncău. It is located southeast of Rîbniţa.
The village Vărăncău is the site of the Church of the Blessed Virgin's Assumption, a Christian Orthodox church, construction of which was completed in 1800. Since then, the church has been open and functioning, standing much as it did when it first opened its doors.
It is the only church in Transnistria which was never closed during the Soviet times when all other churches had to close, holding therefore a special significance for the religious community in Transnistria.
Vărăncău also had a now-abandoned military airfield of the former Soviet Union. The long runway has today been turned into farmland.
