Everything about Chi In U totally explained
Chişinău (also known as
Kishinev,,
Kishinyof), is the
capital city and industrial and commercial centre of
Moldova. It is also the largest city of Moldova and is located in the centre of the country, on the river
Bîc. Economically, the city is the most prosperous in Moldova and is one of the main industrial centres and transportation hubs of the region. As the most important city in Moldova, Chişinău has a broad range of educational facilities. Additionally, the city has among the highest proportion of green spaces of any major city in
Europe.
Name
According to some historians, the name comes from the old Romanian word
chişla ("spring", "source of water"; the word isn't used anymore, but was replaced by
cişmea, which has the same meaning) and
nouă ("new"), because it was built around a small spring. Nowadays, the spring is located at the corner of Pushkin Street and Albişoara Street.
There is another city named
Chişineu (alternative spelling: Chişinău) in Western
Romania, near the border with
Hungary, but its relation to Chişinău is highly disputed. Its
Hungarian language name is Kisjenő (
kis "small" + the eponym "Jenő", the equivalent of the English "Eugene," pronounced
yenə), from which the Romanian name originates.
Chişinău is also known in
Russian as
Кишинёв (Kishinyov), and in
Polish as
Kiszyniów. It is written
Kişinöv in the Latin
Gagauz alphabet. During 1940-1941 and 1944-1989, it was also written as
Кишинэу in the
Moldovan Cyrillic alphabet. Historically, the English language name for the city was based on the modified Russian "Kishinev" since it entered the English language via Russian at the time Chişinău was part of the
Russian Empire (for example
Kishinev pogrom). Therefore, it remains a common English name in some historical contexts. Otherwise, however, Romanian-based "Chişinău" has been steadily gaining wider currency, especially in the written language.
The municipality
Moldova is administratively subdivided in 32 districts, 2 autonomous units, and 3 municipalities. Chişinău is one of the municipalities. Besides the city itself, the municipality comprises 34 other suburban localities, and is subdivided into 5 sectors, each comprising a part of the city itself and several suburbs. The municipality in its totality elects a mayor and a local council, which then name 5
pretors, one for each sector. The five sectors of Chişinău are:
As it can be noticed, only 18 of the 34 localities are incorporated (6 as cities and 12 as communes), electing a mayor and a local council, and they contain among them the remaining 16 localities.
Geography and climate
Geography
The city is located on the river
Bîc, a tributary of the
Dniester, at, with an area of 120 km². The whole
municipality claims 635 km².
The city lies in the middle of the central area of Moldova.
Geographically convenient in the largely flat Eastern European country, the city is surrounded by a relatively level landscape with very fertile ground, offering the basis for agricultural use, in the cultivation of
grapevine and fruit since medieval times.
Climate
Chişinău has a
continental climate, characterized by hot dry
summers and cold windy
winters. Winter temperatures are often below 0°C, although they rarely drop below -10°C. In summer, the average temperature is approximately 25°C, however, temperatures sometimes reach 35-40°C in mid-summer in the city center. Although average
precipitation and
humidity during summer is low, there are infrequent yet heavy storms. Spring and autumn temperatures vary between 16-24°C, and precipitation during this time tends to be higher than in summer, with more frequent yet milder periods of rain.
History
Founded in
1436 as a
monastery town, the city was part of the
Moldavian Principality, which, starting with the
16th century fell under the
suzerainty of the
Ottoman Empire. At the beginning of the
19th century it was a small town of 7,000 inhabitants. In
1812 it was came under
Russian imperial administration, which made it the capital of the newly annexed
gubernia of
Bessarabia. Its population had grown to 92,000 by
1862 and to 125,787 by
1900.
Industrial age
From
1834 an
imperial townscape, with broad and long roads, emerged as a result of a generous town development plan, which divided the city roughly into two areas. The old part of the town - with its irregular building structures - and a newer City Center and station. Between 26 May 1830 and 13 October 1836 the architect
Avraam Melnikov established the 'Catedrala Naşterea Domnului' (an Orthodox Cathedral) with a magnificent bell tower. In 1840 the building of the
Triumphal Arch, planned by the architect, Luca Zauşkevici, was completed. Following this the construction of numerous further buildings and landmarks began. The town also played an important part in the
war between Russia and Turkey (
1877–
78), as the chief center of the Russian invasion.
Pogrom and Pre-Revolution
In the late
19th century, especially due to growing anti-semitic sentiment in
Russia and better economic conditions, many Jews chose to settle in Chişinău. By the year
1900 43% of the population of Chişinău was
Jewish - one of the highest numbers in Europe.
However, during 6 - 7 April
1903 a large
anti-Semitic riot took place, which would later be known as the
Kishinev pogrom. The events spanned three days of rioting, with 47-49 Jews killed, 92 severely wounded, and 500 suffering minor injuries. In addition several hundred houses and many businesses were plundered and destroyed. The pogroms are largely believed to have been incited by anti-Jewish propaganda in the only official
newspaper of the time, 'Bessarabetz' (
Бессарабецъ). The reactions to this incident included a petition to
Tsar Nicholas II of Russia on behalf of the American people by the
US President Theodore Roosevelt in July 1905.
On 22 August 1905 another bloody event occurred, whereby the police opened fire on an estimated 3,000 demonstrating agricultural workers. Only a few months later, 19 - 20 October 1905, a further protest occurred
As the war drew to a conclusion, the city was once more pulled into heavy fighting as German troops retreated. Chişinău was taken by the Red Army on 24 August 1944 as a result of the
Jassy-Kishinev Operation. By this point the city had lost about 70% of its buildings - the earthquake of 1940 and the air raids contributing to the largest part of this.
After the war, Bessarabia was fully integrated into the Soviet Union. Most of Bessarabia became the Moldavian SSR with Chişinău as its capital; smaller parts of Bessarabia became parts of the
Ukrainian SSR.
Soviet Union
In the years 1947 to 1949 the architect
Alexey Shchusev developed a plan with the aid of a team of architects for the gradual reconstruction of the city.
The beginning of the 1950s saw a rapid population growth, to which the Soviet administration responded by constructing large-scale housing and palaces in the style of
Stalinist architecture. This process continued under
Nikita Khrushchev, who called for construction under the slogan "good, cheaper and built faster". The new architectural style brought about dramatic change and generated the style that dominates today, with large blocks of flats arranged in considerable settlements.
The period of the most significant development of the city was from 1971, when the
Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union has adopted a decision "On the measures for further development of the city of Kishinev", which secured more than one billion
rubles of investments from the state budget, until
1991, when
Moldova gained independence.
Many streets of Chişinău are
named after historic persons, places or events. The independence from the Soviet Union was followed by a large-scale renaming of streets and localities from a Communist thematic into a national one.
Politics and administration
Chişinău is governed by the City Council and the City Mayor, both elected once every four years. The current
mayor is
Dorin Chirtoacă. His predecessor was
Serafim Urechean. Under the Moldovan constitution, Urechean - elected to parliament in 2005 - was prevented from holding an additional post to that of an MP. The
Democratic Moldova Bloc leader subsequently accepted his mandate and in April resigned from his former position. During his 11 year term, Urechean committed himself to the restoration of the church tower of the
Catedrala Naşterea Domnului, as well as improvements in public transport. From 1994, Chişinău saw the construction and launch of new
trolleybus lines, as well as an increase in capacities of existing lines, in order to better connect the urban districts.
Between 23 May and 10 June 2005, the
Central Election Commission received the applications of possible candidates for the office of mayor. The elections took place on 10 July, 24 July, 27 November and 11 December 2005. On the first occasion only 26.93% of voters participated, below the one-third turnout necessary to validate the poll. Three subsequent attempts in July, November and December saw the election turnout fall further to 19.82%, 22.37% and 22.07% respectively. After several months in limbo it was announced that the momentary office holder Vasile Ursu, could continue to hold the position, until the next scheduled elections in
2007.
The last elections took place on 3 June 2007. Two candidates emerged from the first round - Viaceslav Iordan from the Moldovan Communist party and Dorin Chirtoacă from the Liberal party. The second round of the voting on 17 June 2007 saw the victory of Mr. Chirtoacă. 36,26 % of the voters took part in the voting, just over the validation threshold.
The first mayor of Chişinău was
Angel Nour in
1817. In 1941 the office was abolished. After the Soviet era and the re-establishment of the office in 1990
Nicolae Costin became the first democratically elected mayor.
Economy
Chişinău is the most economically-developed and
industrialized city in Moldova. Chişinău is a major industrial and services center; its main industries include consumer and electrical goods, building materials, machinery,
plastics,
rubber, and
textiles. The main service fields are
banking and shopping/commerce.
Chişinău's economy is mainly centred on
industry and
services, with services particularly growing in importance in the last ten years.
Transport
Airport
An international
airport (
Chişinău International Airport) exists, offering connections to a number of major cities, including
Athens,
Frankfurt,
Istanbul,
Lisbon,
London,
Milan,
Moscow,
Paris,
Riga,
Rome,
Vienna and other. The airport handled 689.000 passengers in 2007. It has a 3 km long runway (8 and 26).
Bus and minibus
The most popular form of internal
transport in Moldova is generally the
bus. Bus service in Chişinău can be very inexpensive, ranging from 1 leu to 3 lei. Although the city has just three main terminals, buses generally serve as the means of transport between different cities within and outside of Moldova. Popular destinations include
Tiraspol,
Odessa (Ukraine) and
Bucharest (Romania).
Within Chişinău and its suburbs privately-operated minibuses, known as "maxi-taxis," generally follow the major bus routes and appear more frequently. A ride in a maxi-taxi costs 3 Lei within the city.
Rail
An international railway terminal exists with possible connections to
Bucharest,
Kiev,
Minsk,
Odessa and
Moscow. Due to the conflict between Moldova and the unrecognized Transnistria republic the rail traffic towards Ukraine is occasionally stopped.
Taxi
Taxis are very widespread in the city. Most taxis are operated by a group of companies, although there are always "illegal" or owner/operators who skirt the law by operating within the city-limits without a permit. Many of the taxi companies have a 4-digit service hotline starting with 14-XX, for example 1400, 1402, 1406, 1407, 1408, ... 1422, ... 1441, 1447, 1499.
Other useful (local) short numbers: 901 - Fire Emergency Service, 902 - Police, 903 - Ambulance, 904 - Gas Emergency Service.
Education
The city is home to 12 public and 11 private
universities, to the
Academy of Sciences of Moldova, as well as to a number of institutions offering both high-school education, as well as 1-2 years of college education.
Since the collapse of the
Soviet Union, the city has become a relatively lively and well-provisioned capital, with a much higher standard of living than most rural areas.
Architecture
In the XIX-th century the plan of growth of the city was developed. Many buildings were designed and built in a beautiful architectural frame, a lot of which embellish the city till nowadays. In 1836 the construction of the Cathedral and Belfry was finished.
During soviet time, the Belfry was demolished and only after regaining the independence, following the initiative of renowned people, the Municipality of Chisinau and thousands of citizens, the Belfry was rebuilt and the Cathedral was renovated.
People and culture
Demographics
Total population: 647,513
The census held in
2004 reported the following ethnic composition:
67.6% Moldovans*
13.9% Russians
8.3% Ukrainians
4.5% Romanians*
1.2% Bulgarians
0.9% Gagauzians
1.6% others
1.9% undeclared
» *Official census data showed 67.6% Moldovans and 4.5% Romanians; however, due to the contested status of the Moldovan ethnicity and OSCE objections over procedure, organizations such as the CIA World Factbook present them together. According to the "Moldova Azi" news agency, a group of international census experts described the 2004 Moldovan census as "generally conducted in a professional manner", while remarking that that "a few topics… were potentially more problematic", in particular,
The census includes at least some Moldovans who had been living abroad over one year at the time of the census.
The precision of numbers about nationality/ethnicity and language was questioned. Some enumerators apparently encouraged respondents to declare that they were "Moldovan" rather than "Romanian", and even within a single family there may have been confusion about these terms. Also it's unclear how many respondents consider the term "Moldovan" to signify an ethnic identity other than "Romanian".
Sport
There are four professional football clubs in Chişinău, all playing in the Divizia Naţională (national league): FC Zimbru Chişinău, FC Dacia Chişinău, FC Politehnica Chişinău and CS Steaua Chişinău, ranked respectively 4th, 5th, 7th and 8th tn the 2004/5 season. Of the larger football stadiums in the city, the Stadionul Republican (Republican Stadium) has 7687 seats and the Stadionul Dinamo (Dinamo Stadium) has a capacity of 2,692. The stadium of the Zimbru Chişinău Football Club, opened on May 20, 2006 and has a capacity of 10,600. Construction took 27 months to complete at a cost of almost 11 million USD. The VIP box is reserved for 250 people. Sports journalists have 44 places at their disposal. The arena meets all the requirements for holding official international matches; however, the smaller Republican Stadium has been designated as the venue for Moldova's Euro 2008 qualifying matches.
Media
The majority of Moldova's media industry is based in Chişinău. The only national broadcaster in the country is the state-owned Moldova 1, which has its head office in the city. The broadcasts of TeleradioMoldova have been criticized by the Independent Journalism Center as showing 'bias' towards the authorities. There are some hopes that a new broadcasting code will resolve some of these issues.
The Romanian Pro TV Chişinău also broadcasts locally - was repeatedly thwarted in its attempts to obtain a national license by the government. The station broadcasts a mixture of independent local news, in addition to entertainment and documentary programs from Romania. Pro TV remains on air despite numerous threats from Communist officials to close it down.
Other TV channels are Antena C, CTC, DTV, Euro TV, MTV, MuzTV, NIT and TV 7. In addition to television, most radio and newspaper companies have their HQ's in the city. Broadcasters include the national radio, Antena C, BBC Moldova, Europa Libera, Kiss FM, Pro FM, Radio 21, Fresh FM (Romanian radio station Naţional FM), Radio Nova, Russkoe radio, Hit FM, and many of others.
Music and nightlife
Chişinău is home to Moldova's largest recording labels, and is often the residence of Moldovan, and more recently Ukrainian, musicians. The city's music scene is quite eclectic. Many Moldovan rock bands of the 1970s and 1980s continue to be popular, particularly with the middle-aged, while since the 1990s there has been growth in the boy band and hip hop genres.
A famous band, Lăutarii, was established and also operates successfully in Chişinău.
There is also a renowned dance group, Codreanca, which participates and wins prizes in international festivals.
Twin cities
Bucharest, Romania
Iaşi, Romania
Sacramento, California, USA (designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI)
)
Grenoble, France
Mannheim, Germany
Kiev, Ukraine
Akhisar, Turkey
Odessa, Ukraine
Tel Aviv, Israel
Reggio Emilia, Italy
Patras, Greece
Kraków, Poland
Greensboro, North Carolina, USA
Yerevan, Armenia
Ankara, Turkey
Gallery
Image:Chisinau Center4.jpg|Chişinău City Center
Image:Chisinau SalaCuOrga.jpg|Sala Cu Orgă
Image:Chisinau Winter.jpg|Winter in Chişinău
Image:Chisinau center 08 11 2005.jpg|City Center
Image:Stefan Chisinau.jpg|Monument to Saint Stephen the Great of Moldova
Image:Vorota kishineva.jpg|"Gates of the city", Chişinău, Moldova
Image:Chi stefan park.jpg|Ştefan cel Mare Central Park
Image:Chisinau Piata Centrala.JPG|Piaţa Centrală
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