Hîncești () is a city and municipality in

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...

. Hîncești is situated on the

Cogâlnic River The Cogâlnic (also Cogîlnic, Kogylnik, Kogîlnic, Kohylnyk, or Kunduk) is a 243 km river in Moldova and south-western Ukraine. The Cogâlnic rises in the hills of Nisporeni District in the Codri region west of the Moldovan capital, Chișinău ...

, southwest of the Moldovan capital,

Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ), also known as Kishinev (russian: Кишинёв, r=Kishinjóv ), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Republic of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial center, and is located in the ...

. Since 2003 it has been the seat of

Hîncești District Hîncești () is a district ( ro, raion) of Moldova, with the city of Hîncești as its administrative center. As of 1 January 2011, its population was 122,000. History The district has been inhabited since the Stone Age (40,000–30,000 BC). ...

History

Hîncești was established in 1500 AD as Dobreni. Within the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

it was known under the

Russified Russification (russian: русификация, rusifikatsiya), or Russianization, is a form of cultural assimilation in which non-Russians, whether involuntarily or voluntarily, give up their culture and language in favor of the Russian cultur ...

name Gincheshty (Гинчешты), but in Romanian Hîncești. In 1940 the name was changed to Kotovskoe after

Grigore Kotovski Grigory Ivanovich Kotovsky (russian: Григо́рий Ива́нович Кото́вский, ro, Grigore Kotovski; – August 6, 1925) was a Soviet military and political activist, and participant in the Russian Civil War. He made a career ...

, who was born there. But from 1941 to 1944 it was again known as Hîncești. Before WWII, the Jewish community was rather large, in 1930, there were 1,523 Jews living there. In July 1941, Romanian gendarmes murdered more than 100 Jews in a mass execution perpetrated in a trench outside the town. From 1945 to 1965 it was called Kotovskoe, which in 1965 was changed to Kotovsk. Since 1990 it is again called Hîncești.

Demographics

In 1890, Hîncești had a stable population of 3,098 citizens. By 1970, the population had increased to 14.3 thousand, and by 1991, 19.3 thousand. At the 2006 census, it had 19.5 thousand permanent residents.

Education

There are four

Lyceum The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies among countries; usually it is a type of secondary school. Generally in that type of school the th ...

(junior colleges) in Hîncești: * Mihai Viteazul Lyceum * M. Lomonosov Lyceum * Mihai Sadoveanu Lyceum * M. Eminescu Lyceum * Timotei Batrinu Scoala de Arte

Notable citizens

* Grigory Ivanovich Kotowski (1881–1925), Soviet military leader and Communist activist. *

Manuc Bei Manuc Bey (the common Romanian rendering of ''Manuk Bey'', the Armenian name of Emanuel Mârzayan; 1769–1817) was an Armenian merchant, diplomat and inn-keeper. Life He was born in Rousse (modern Ruse, Bulgaria) as a subject of the Ottoman ...

, Very wealthy Armenian merchant

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Hîncești is twinned with: *

Ploiești Ploiești ( , , ), formerly spelled Ploești, is a city and county seat in Prahova County, Romania. Part of the historical region of Muntenia, it is located north of Bucharest. The area of Ploiești is around , and it borders the Blejoi commu ...

, Romania *

Or Akiva Or Akiva ( he, אוֹר עֲקִיבָא) (''light of Akiva''–in memory of Rabbi Akiva who was tortured and killed at this locale) is a city located in the Haifa District of Israel, on the country's Israeli coastal plain, coastal plain. It is lo ...

, Israel

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hincesti Cities and towns in Moldova Municipalities of Moldova Populated places established in 1500 1500 establishments in Europe 16th-century establishments in Moldavia Kishinyovsky Uyezd Lăpușna County (Romania) Ținutul Nistru Hîncești District