Cotnari () is a village and the center of the eponymous

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

Iași County Iași County () is a county (județ) of Romania, in Western Moldavia, with the administrative seat at Iași. It is the most populous county in Romania, after the Municipality of Bucharest (which has the same administrative level as that of a c ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

, in the historical region of

Western Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova), also called Western Moldavia or Romanian Moldavia, is the historic and geographical part of the former Principality of Moldavia situated in eastern and north-eastern Romania. Until its union with Wallachia in 1859, the P ...

. It is located north-west of Iași and south of

Hârlău Hârlău (also spelled ''Hîrlău'', ; he, חרלאו; hu, Harló) is a town in Iași County, Western Moldavia, Romania. It was one of the princely court cities of Moldavia, in the 15th century. One village, Pârcovaci, is administered by the to ...

, in a major wine-producing region of Romania, and is famous for the wine variety known as ''

Grasă de Cotnari ''Grasă de Cotnari'' () is a Romanian wine variety associated with the Cotnari wine region, in Iași County (historical region of Moldavia), where it has been grown ever since the rule of Prince Stephen the Great (1457–1504). It is also g ...

''. Cârjoaia, the forest of Dumbrava Roșie, and other sites in Cotnari are regional tourist spots. The commune is composed of eleven villages: Bahluiu, Cârjoaia, Cireșeni, Cotnari, Făgăt, Hodora, Horodiștea, Iosupeni, Lupăria, Valea Racului and Zbereni.

History

Proof of habitation in the area goes back to the Cucuteni culture; a fortress dating from the 6th or 5th century BC was discovered on the nearby Cătălina Hill (nowadays a nature reserve). First attested in 1448, Cotnari was the site of a strong

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

community composed mainly of

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

and Magyars. The establishment of vineyards is attributed by local tradition to an initiative of

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and for ...

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...

Stephen the Great, under whose rule the village rose to the status of alternate residence, while stone structures and roads to serve the wine trade were built in the area. Its Catholic tradition made the village a target for

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

in the 1560s, under the rule of the

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

Prince

Ioan Iacob Heraclid Iacob Heraclid (or Eraclid; el, Ἰάκωβος Ἡρακλείδης; 1527 – November 5, 1563), born Basilicò and also known as Iacobus Heraclides, Heraclid Despotul, or Despot Vodă ("Despot the Voivode"), was a Greek Maltese soldier, adv ...

: Heraclid built a

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

academy (''Schola Latina''), placed under the leadership of

Ioannes Sommerus Johann Sommer ( la, Ioannes Sommerus; 1542–1574) was a Transylvanian Saxon Protestant theologian, poet and Despot Vodă's biographer. Sommer was born in Pirna. In 1562 he enrolled at University of Frankfurt, but did not graduate. Born in P ...

; the church he built on the site was re-established as a Catholic place of worship after Heraclid's death, and served the community until 1873, when it burned down. In 1641, Cotnari became the regional center of Catholic education, until it was replaced 60 years later by the Jesuit school in Iași.

Natives

* Victor Iamandi *

Cătălin Moroșanu Cătălin Moroșanu (30 June 1984) is a retired Romanian kickboxer, chanbara practitioner and professional rugby player. He is best known for his time in the Superkombat Fighting Championship (SUPERKOMBAT), where he competed in the heavyweight d ...

Cezar Petrescu Cezar Petrescu (; December 1, 1892–March 9, 1961) was a Romanian journalist, novelist, and children's writer. He was born in Hodora, Iași County, the son of Dimitrie Petrescu, an engineer and a teacher. After attending elementary school ...

External links

*
Official site
Wine regions of Romania Communes in Iași County Localities in Western Moldavia {{Romania-hist-stub