Chișinău

Chișinău(/ˌkɪʃɪˈnaʊ/KISH-in-OW,USalso/ˌkiːʃiːˈnaʊ/KEE-shee-NOW,Romanian:[kiʃiˈnəw]; formerly known asKishinev)is thecapitalandlargest cityofMoldova.The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial centre, and is located in the middle of the country, on the riverBîc, a tributary of theDniester. According to the results of the2014 census, the city proper had a population of 532,513, while the population of the Municipality of Chișinău (which includes the city itself and other nearby communities) was 700,000. Chișinău is the most economically prosperous locality in Moldova and its largest transportation hub. Nearly a third of Moldova's population lives in the metro area.
Moldova has ahistory of winemakingdating back to at least 3,000 BCE, and as the capital city, Chișinău hosts the yearly national wine festival every October.Though the city's buildings were badly damaged during theSecond World Warand earthquakes, there remains a rich architectural heritage, especially in the form ofSocialist realismandBrutalist architecture. The city's central railway station boasts aRussian-Imperialarchitectural style, and maintains direct rail links to Romania. The Swiss-Italian-Russian architectAlexander Bernardazzidesigned many of the city's buildings, including theChișinău City Hall,Church of Saint Theodore, and the Church of Saint Panteleimon. The city hosts theNational Museum of Fine Arts,Moldova State University, Brancusi Gallery, theNational Museum of History of Moldovawith over 236,000 exhibits, and bustling markets in the north of the city, including the house whereAlexander Pushkinonce resided while in exile fromAlexander I of Russia, and which has now been turned into a museum. The city'sNativity Cathedral, located at the centre of the city and constructed in the 1830s, has been described as a "masterpiece" ofNeoclassical architecture.
The origin of the city's name is unclear. A theory suggests that the name may come from thearchaicRomanian wordchișla(meaning "spring", "source of water") andnouă("new"), because it was built around a small spring, at the corner of Pușkin and Albișoara streets.
The other version, formulated by (or attributed to)Ștefan Ciobanu, (occasionally toIorgu Iordan) Romanian historian and academician, holds that the name was formed the same way as the name ofChișineu(alternative spelt asChișinău) in WesternRomania, near the border with Hungary. Its Hungarian name isKisjenő, from which the Romanian name originates.Kisjenő comes fromkis"small" and the Jenő, one of the sevenHungarian tribesthat entered theCarpathian Basinin 896. At least 24 other settlements are named after the Jenő tribe.
A third theory byKiss Lajoslinguist andslavisthold (as possible origin), that the name came from thecumankešene ("grave",kurgan) and thekarachayian"cemetery", and these came from thePersiankāšāne(house) word.[1]
Chișinău is known in Russian asKishinyov(Кишинёв,pronounced[kʲɪʂɨˈnʲɵf]), while Moldova's Russian-language media call itKishineu(Кишинэу,pronounced[kʲɪʂɨˈnɛʊ]). It is writtenKişinövin the LatinGagauz alphabet. It was also written asChișineuin pre–20th-century Romanianand asКишинэуin theMoldovan Cyrillic alphabet. Historically, the English-language name for the city,Kishinev, was based on the modified Russian one because it entered the English language via Russian at the time Chișinău was part of theRussian Empire(e.g.Kishinev pogrom). Therefore, it remains a common English name in some historical contexts. Otherwise, the Romanian-basedChișinăuhas been steadily gaining wider currency, especially inwritten language. The city is also historically referred to asLithuanian:Kišiniovas,Hungarian:Kisjenő,German:Kischinau, (German:[ˌkɪʃiˈnaʊ̯]);Polish:Kiszyniów, (Polish:[kʲiˈʂɨɲuf]);Ukrainian:Кишинів,romanized:Kyshyniv, (Ukrainian:[ˈkɪʃɪnʲiv]);Bulgarian:Кишинев,romanized:Kishinev;Yiddish:קעשענעװ,romanized:Keshenev; orTurkish:Kişinev
Founded in 1436 as amonasteryvillage, the city was part of thePrincipality of Moldavia(which, starting with the 16th century became avassal state of the Ottoman Empire, but still retaining its autonomy). At the beginning of the 19th century Chișinău was a small town of 7,000 inhabitants.
In 1812, in the aftermath of theRusso-Turkish War (1806–1812), the eastern half of Moldaviawas cededby the Ottomans to theRussian Empire. The newly acquired territories became known asBessarabia.
Under Russian government, Chișinău became the capital of the newly annexedoblast(laterguberniya) ofBessarabia. By 1834, animperialtownscape with broad and long roads had emerged as a result of a generousdevelopment plan, which divided Chișinău roughly into two areas: the old part of the town, with its irregular building structures, and a newer city centre and station. Between 26 May 1830 and 13 October 1836 the architectAvraam Melnikovestablished theCatedrala Nașterea Domnuluiwith a magnificent bell tower. In 1840 the building of theTriumphal Arch, planned by the architect Luca Zaushkevich, was completed. Following this the construction of numerous buildings and landmarks began.
On 28 August 1871, Chișinău was linked byrailwithTiraspol, and in 1873 withCornești. Chișinău-Ungheni-Iașirailway was opened on 1 June 1875 in preparation for theRusso-Turkish War (1877–1878). The town played an important part in the war between Russia and theOttoman Empire, as the mainstaging areaof the Russian invasion. During theBelle Époque, the mayor of the city wasCarol Schmidt, whose contribution to the modernisation of the city is still commemorated by Moldovans.Its population had grown to 92,000 by 1862, and to 125,787 by 1900.
In the late 19th century, especially due to growing anti-Semitic sentiment in theRussian Empireand better economic conditions in Moldova, many Jews chose to settle in Chișinău. By the year 1897, 46% of the population of Chișinău was Jewish, over 50,000 people.
As part of the pogrom wave organized in the Russian Empire, a largeanti-Semiticriot was organized in the town on 19–20 April 1903, which would later be known as theKishinev pogrom. The rioting continued for three days, resulting in 47 Jews dead, 92 severely wounded, and 500 suffering minor injuries. In addition, several hundred houses and many businesses were plundered and destroyed.Some sources say 49 people were killed.The pogroms are largely believed to have been incited by anti-Jewish propaganda in the only official newspaper of the time,Bessarabetz(Бессарабецъ). Mayor Schmidt disapproved of the incident and resigned later in 1903. The reactions to this incident included a petition toTsarNicholas II of Russiaon behalf ofthe American peopleby US PresidentTheodore Rooseveltin July 1903.
On 22 August 1905, another violent event occurred: the police opened fire on an estimated 3,000 demonstrating agricultural workers. Only a few months later, on 19–20 October 1905, a further protest occurred, helping to force the hand of Nicholas II in bringing about theOctober Manifesto. However, these demonstrations suddenly turned intoanother anti-Jewish pogrom, resulting in 19 deaths.
Following the RussianOctober Revolution, Bessarabia declared independence from the crumbling empire, as theMoldavian Democratic Republic, before joining theKingdom of Romania. As of 1919, Chișinău, with an estimated population of 133,000,became the second largest city in Romania.
Between 1918 and 1940, the center of the city undertook largerenovationwork. Romania granted important subsidies to its province and initiated large scale investment programs in the infrastructure of the main cities in Bessarabia, expanded the railroad infrastructure and started an extensive program to eradicate illiteracy.
In 1927, theStephen the Great Monument, by the sculptorAlexandru Plămădeală, was erected. In 1933, the first higher education institution in Bessarabia was established, by transferring the Agricultural Sciences Section of theUniversity of Iașito Chișinău, as theFaculty of Agricultural Sciences.
On 28 June 1940, as a direct result of theMolotov–Ribbentrop Pact, Bessarabia wasannexed by the Soviet Unionfrom Romania, and Chișinău became the capital of the newly createdMoldavian Soviet Socialist Republic.
Following the Soviet occupation, mass deportations, linked with atrocities, were executed by theNKVDbetween June 1940 and June 1941. More than 400 people weresummarily executedin Chișinău in July 1940 and buried in the grounds of the Metropolitan Palace, the Chișinău Theological Institute, and the backyard of the Italian Consulate, where the NKVD had established its headquarters.As part of the policy of political repression of the potential opposition to the Communist power, tens of thousand members of native families weredeported from Bessarabiato other regions of the USSR.
A devastating earthquakeoccurred on 10 November 1940, measuring 7.4 (or 7.7, according to other sources) on theRichter scale. Theepicenterof the quake was in theVrancea Mountains, and it led to substantial destruction: 78 deaths and 2,795 damaged buildings (of which 172 were destroyed).
In June 1941, in order to recover Bessarabia, Romania enteredWorld War IIunder the command of the GermanWehrmacht, declaringwar on the Soviet Union. Chișinău was severely affected in the chaos of the Second World War. In June and July 1941, the city came under bombardment by Naziair raids. However, the Romanian and newly Moldovan sources assign most of the responsibility for the damage to Soviet NKVDdestruction battalions, which operated in Chișinău until 17 July 1941, when it was captured by Axis forces.
During the German and Romanian military administration, the city suffered from theNazi extermination policyof its Jewish inhabitants, who were transported on trucks to the outskirts of the city and then summarily shot in partially dug pits. The number of Jews murdered during the initial occupation of the city is estimated at 10,000 people.During this time, Chișinău, part ofLăpușna County, was the capital of the newly establishedBessarabia Governorateof Romania.
As the war drew to a conclusion, the city was once again the scene of heavy fighting as German and Romanian troops retreated. Chișinău was captured by the Red Army on 24 August 1944 as a result of theSecond Jassy–Kishinev offensive.
After the war,Bessarabiawas fully reintegrated into the Soviet Union, with around 65 percent of its territory as the Moldavian SSR, while the remaining 35 percent was transferred to theUkrainian SSR.
Two other waves of deportations of Moldova's native population were carried out by the Soviets, the first one immediately after the Soviet reoccupation of Bessarabia until the end of the 1940s and the second one in the mid-1950s.
In the years 1947 to 1949, the architectAlexey Shchusevdeveloped a plan with the aid of a team of architects for the gradual reconstruction of the city.
There was rapid population growth in the 1950s, to which the Soviet administration responded by constructing large-scale housing and palaces in the style ofStalinist architecture. This process continued underNikita Khrushchev, who called for construction under the slogan "good, cheaper, and built faster." The newarchitectural stylebrought about dramatic change and generated the style that dominates today, with largeblocks of flatsarranged in considerable settlements.These Khrushchev-era buildings are often informally calledKhrushchyovka.
The period of the most significantredevelopment of the citybegan in 1971, when theCouncil of Ministersof the Soviet Union adopted a decision "On the measures for further development of the city of Kishinev," which secured more than one billionrublesin investment from thestate budget,and continued until theindependence of Moldovain 1991. The share of dwellings built during the Soviet period (1951–1990) represents 74.3 percent of total households.
On 4 March 1977, the city was again jolted by a devastatingearthquake. Several people were killed, and panic broke out.TheIntourist Hotel, a flagship property constructed by theSoviet state-owned travel monopoly of the same name, was completed in 1978.
On 22 April 1993, the city inaugurated the Monument to the Victims of Jewish Ghettos, a public monument centring on a bronze statue of theBiblical prophetMoses, which serves as a symbol of remembrance to the thousands of Jews who perished during the holocaust. The monument was designed by architect Simeon Shoihet and sculptor Naum Epelbaum. It stands on Ierusalim Street, marking the site of the main entrance to the Chișinău ghetto, which was established in the lower part of the city in July 1941, shortly after the German and Romanian troops occupied the area.
SinceMoldovan independencefollowing thedissolution of the Soviet Union, many streets of Chișinău have beenrenamed after historic persons, places or events. Independence from the Soviet Union was followed by a large-scale renaming of streets and localities from a Communist theme into a national one.
On 5 September 2022, the country's first Christian university Universitatea Moldo-Americană opened its doors, supported by the Scandinavian broadcasterVisjon Norgeand several donors inNorway, and run in cooperation with theAmerican Southeastern UniversityinFlorida,United States.
FollowingRussia's invasion of Ukraine, Moldova allowed more than 600,000 Ukrainian civilians to flee Ukraine across their border. Despite being among thepoorest states in Europe, Moldova has continued to host more than 100,000Ukrainian refugees, many of them in Chișinău.
On 23 November 2022, the Chișinău Court of Appeal ruled thatChișinău International Airportwill return to state ownership, according tojustice ministerSergiu Litvinenco, more than three months after an international court allowed Moldova to terminate a 49-year concession deal with airport operator Avia Invest.In April 2023, theDutch governmentopened a new embassy in Chișinău.
On 21 May 2023, tens of thousands of Moldovans took to the streets in a massive rally, theEuropean Moldova National Assembly, to support the country'sEuropean Union membership bid.Moldovan police said more than 75,000 demonstrators were present at the rally organised by Moldovan presidentMaia Sandu.
Later that month, Chișinău hosted a major international summit of theEuropean Political Communityorganised to discuss the illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine as well as cybersecurity, migration and energy security, and regional issues inAzerbaijan,Armenia, andclashes in Kosovo.
Chișinău is located on the riverBâc, a tributary of theDniester, at47°0′N28°55′E﻿ / ﻿47.000°N 28.917°E﻿ /47.000; 28.917, with an area of 120 km(46 sq mi). The municipality comprises 635 km(245 sq mi).
The city lies in central Moldova and is surrounded by a relatively level landscape with very fertile ground.
Chișinău is roughly equidistant between the borders with Romania (58 km.) and Ukraine (54 km.), and between the northernmost (188 km.) and southernmost (179 km.) points of Moldova, thus meaning that it is very close to Moldova's geographic centre.
Chișinău has ahumid continental climate(Köppen climate classificationDfa) characterised by warm summers and cold, windy winters. Winter minimum temperatures are often below 0 °C (32 °F), although they rarely drop below −10 °C (14 °F). In summer, the average maximum temperature is approximately 25 °C (77 °F), however, temperatures occasionally reach 35 to 40 °C (95 to 104 °F) in mid-summer in downtown. Although averagehumidityduring summer is relatively low, most of the annualprecipitationoccurs during summer, causing infrequent yet heavy storms.
Spring and autumn temperatures vary between 16 and 24 °C (61 and 75 °F), and precipitation during this time tends to be lower than in summer but with more frequent yet milder periods of rain.
Moldova is administratively subdivided into 3 municipalities, 32 districts, and 2 autonomous units. With a population of 662,836 inhabitants (as of 2014), the Municipality of Chișinău (which includes the nearby communities) is the largest of these municipalities.
Besides the city itself, the municipality comprises 34 other suburban localities: 6 towns (containing further 2 villages within), and 12 communes (containing further 14 villages within). The population, as of the2014 Moldovan census,is shown in brackets:
Chișinău is governed by the City Council and theMayor(Romanian:Primar), both elected once every four years.
The municipality in its totality elects a mayor and a local council, which then name fivepretors, one for each sector. They deal more locally with administrative matters. Each sector claims a part of the city and several suburbs:
Historically, the city was home to fourteen factories in 1919.Chișinău is the financial and business capital of Moldova. Its GDP comprises about 60% of the national economyreached in 2012 the amount of 52 billion lei (US$4 billion). Thus, the GDP per capita of Chișinău stood at 227% of the Moldova's average. Chișinău has the largest and most developed mass media sector in Moldova, and is home to several related companies ranging from leading television networks and radio stations to major newspapers. All national and international banks (15) have their headquarters located in Chișinău.
Notable sites around Chișinău include Cineplex Loteanu, the new mallsMallDova, Port Mall and best-known retailers, such as N1, Linella, Kaufland, Fourchette and Metro. While many locals continue to shop at thebazaars, many upper class residents and tourists shop at the retail stores and at MallDova. Jumbo, an older mall in the Botanica district, and Sun City, in the centre, are more popular with locals.
Several amusement parks exist around the city. ASoviet-era one is located in the Botanica district, along the three lakes of a major park, which reaches the outskirts of the city centre. Another, the modern Aventura Park, is located farther from the centre. The Chișinău State Circus, which used to be in a grand building in the Râșcani sector, has been inactive for several years due to a poorly funded renovation project.
Natural statistics (2015):
Population by sector: