Chişinău (Russian Кишинёв, Kishinyov, also Kishinev; Moldovan Cyrillic Кишинэу), estimated population 920,000 (2002), is the capital of Moldova.

Geography

The city is located on the right bank of the river Bâc , a tributary of the Nistru (Dniestr), and is divided into five administrative districts. Its total area is approximately 565 sq. kilometers (338 sq. miles). Chişinău is a major industrial and services centre; its main industries include consumer and electrical goods, building materials, machinery, plastics, rubber, and textiles. The main service fields are banking and shopping/commerce. Transport: there are two bus terminals, with another one under construction, an international airport (Kishinev International Airport), and an international railway terminal.

History

Founded in 1436 as a monastery town, the city was captured in the 16th century by Turkey. At the beginning of the 19th century it was a small village of 7,000 inhabitants. In 1812 it was occupied by Russia, who made it the centre of Bessarabia. Its population had grown to 92,000 by 1862, and to 125,787 (of whom forty-three percent were Jews) by 1900.

The town played an important part in the war between Russia and Turkey (1877–78), as the chief centre of the Russian invasion.

Chişinău was the site of two major pogrom April 6–7, 1903, and October 19–20, 1905 which were among the reasons for the large emigration of Eastern European Jews to Western Europe and the United States in the years immediately following. (See Kishinev pogrom)

Romania held the city from 1918 to 1940, when it was seized by the USSR.

Education

The city is home to thirty-six universities, and to the Academy of Sciences of Moldova.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the city has become a relatively lively and well-appointed capital, with a much higher standard of living than most rural areas.

References

• Rosenthal, Herman & Rosenthal, Max, "Kishinef (Kishinev)", in the Jewish Encyclopedia (1901-1906)

External links

• Chisinau.md Primaria municipiului Chisinau