Iași City Hall
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Iași ( , , ; also known by other
alternative names Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...
), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
and the seat 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 coun ...
. Located in the historical region of
Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...
, it has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Romanian social, cultural, academic and artistic life. The city was the capital of the
Principality of Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Central ...
from 1564 to 1859, then of the
United Principalities The United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia ( ro, Principatele Unite ale Moldovei și Țării Românești), commonly called United Principalities, was the personal union of the Principality of Moldavia and the Principality of Wallachia, f ...
from 1859 to 1862, and the capital of
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
from 1916 to 1918. Known as the Cultural Capital of Romania, Iași is a symbol of Romanian history. Historian
Nicolae Iorga Nicolae Iorga (; sometimes Neculai Iorga, Nicolas Jorga, Nicolai Jorga or Nicola Jorga, born Nicu N. Iorga;Iova, p. xxvii. 17 January 1871 – 27 November 1940) was a Romanian historian, politician, literary critic, memoirist, Albanologist, poet ...
stated that "there should be no Romanian who does not know of it". Still referred to as "The Moldavian Capital", Iași is the main economic and business centre of Romania's Moldavian region. In December 2018, Iași was officially declared the Historical Capital of Romania. At the 2011 census, the city-proper had a population of 290,422 (making it the fourth most populous in Romania at the time). Counting 500,668 residents as of 2018, the Iași
urban area An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, t ...
is the second most populous in Romania after
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
, whereas more than 500,000 people live within its peri-urban area. Home to the oldest Romanian university and to the first engineering school, Iași is one of the most important education and research centres of the country, accommodating over 60,000 students in five public universities.Metropolitan Area Iași
The social and cultural life revolves around the Vasile Alecsandri National Theatre (the oldest in Romania), the Moldova State Philharmonic, the
Opera House An opera house is a theatre building used for performances of opera. It usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and building sets. While some venues are constructed specifically for o ...
, the
Iași Athenaeum Iași National Athenaeum ( ro, Ateneul Național din Iași), also known as ''Tătărași Athenaeum'', is a public cultural institution in Iași, Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Easte ...
, the
Botanical Garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...
(the oldest and largest in Romania), the
Central University Library Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
(the oldest in Romania), the cultural centres and festivals, an array of museums, memorial houses, religious and historical monuments. The city is also known as the site of the largest Romanian pilgrimage which takes place every year, in October.


Etymology and names

Scholars have different theories on the origin of the name "Iași". Some argue that the name originates with the
Sarmatian The Sarmatians (; grc, Σαρμαται, Sarmatai; Latin: ) were a large confederation of Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Eastern Iranian languages, Eastern Iranian peoples, Iranian Eurasian nomads, equestrian nomadic peoples of classical ant ...
tribe
Iazyges The Iazyges (), singular Ἰάζυξ. were an ancient Sarmatian tribe that traveled westward in BC from Central Asia to the steppes of modern Ukraine. In BC, they moved into modern-day Hungary and Serbia near the Dacian steppe between th ...
(of Iranian origin), one mentioned by
Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...
as la, "Ipse vides onerata ferox ut ducata Iasyx/ Per media Histri plaustra bubulcus aquas" and "Iazyges et Colchi Metereaque turba Getaque/ Danubii mediis vix prohibentur aquis". A now lost inscription on a
Roman 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 letter ...
milestone found near
Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...
, Croatia by
Matija Petar Katančić Matija Petar Katančić ( la, Mathias Petrus Katancsich; 1750–1825) was a Croatian writer, professor of aesthetics and archaeology, lexicographer, and numismatist. Biography As a bootmaker's son from Valpovo, he received his initial education ...
in the 18th century, mentions the existence of a Jassiorum municipium, or ''Municipium Dacorum-Iassiorum'' from other sources.Orașul Iași: monografie istorică și socială
Other explanations show that the name originated from the Iranian
Alanic Alanic is a sports and fitness clothing brand headquartered in North Hollywood, California, USA. Alanic corporate offices are located at 1/49 Lemana lane, Sydney, Australia. It has been the official supplier of the Miami Marathon USA, Vancouve ...
tribe of Jassi, having the same origin with the Yazyges tribes
Jassic people The Jász (''Latin'': Jazones) are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group who have lived in Hungary since the 13th century. They live mostly in a region known as ''Jászság'', which comprises the north-western part of Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county. ...
. In medieval times the Prut river was known as ''Alanus fluvius'' and the city as ''Forum Philistinorum''. From this population derived the plural of the town name, "Iașii". Another historian wrote that the Iasians lived among the
Cumans The Cumans (or Kumans), also known as Polovtsians or Polovtsy (plural only, from the Russian language, Russian Exonym and endonym, exonym ), were a Turkic people, Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confede ...
and that they left the Caucasus after the first Mongolian campaign in the West, settling temporarily near the Prut. He asserts that the ethnic name of Jasz which is given to the Iasians by the Hungarians has been erroneously identified with the Jazyges; also he shows that the word ''jasz'' is a Slavic loan word. The Hungarian name of the city (''Jászvásár'') literally means "Jassic Market"; the antiquated Romanian name, ''Târgul Ieșilor'' (and the once-favoured ''Iașii''), and the German ''Jassenmarkt'', may indicate the same meaning.


History


Ancient times

Archaeological investigations attest to the presence of human communities on the present territory of the city and around it as far back as the prehistoric age. Later settlements included those of the
Cucuteni–Trypillia culture The Cucuteni–Trypillia culture, also known as the Tripolye culture, is a Neolithic–Chalcolithic archaeological culture ( 5500 to 2750 BCE) of Eastern Europe. It extended from the Carpathian Mountains to the Dniester and Dnieper regions, cent ...
, a late
Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
archaeological culture An archaeological culture is a recurring assemblage of types of artifacts, buildings and monuments from a specific period and region that may constitute the material culture remains of a particular past human society. The connection between thes ...
. There is archaeological evidence of human settlements in the area of Iași dating from the 6th to 7th centuries (Curtea Domnească) and 7th to 10th centuries; these settlements contained rectangular houses with semicircular ovens. Also, many of the vessels (9th–11th centuries) found in Iași had a cross, potentially indicating that the inhabitants were Christians.


Early development

In 1396, Iași is mentioned by the German crusader
Johann Schiltberger Johann (Hans) Schiltberger (1380) was a German traveller and writer. He was born of a noble family, probably at Hollern near Lohhof halfway between Munich and Freising. Travels Schiltberger joined the suite of Lienhart Richartinger in 1394, a ...
(a participant in the
Battle of Nicopolis The Battle of Nicopolis took place on 25 September 1396 and resulted in the rout of an allied crusader army of Hungarian, Croatian, Bulgarian, Wallachian, French, Burgundian, German, and assorted troops (assisted by the Venetian navy) at ...
). The name of the city is first found in an official document in 1408. This is a grant of certain commercial privileges by the Moldavian
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. Th ...
Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...
to the Polish merchants of
Lvov Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in Western Ukraine, western Ukraine, and the List of cities in Ukraine, seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is o ...
. However, as buildings older than 1408 still exist, e.g. the Armenian Church believed to be originally built in 1395, it is certain that the city existed before its first surviving written mention.


Capital of Moldavia

Around 1564, Prince
Alexandru Lăpușneanu Alexandru IV Lăpușneanu (1499 – 5 May 1568) was Ruler of Moldavia between September 1552 and 18 November 1561 and then between October 1564 and 5 May 1568. His wife and consort was Doamna Ruxanda Lăpușneanu, the daughter of Peter IV Rare ...
moved the Moldavian capital from
Suceava Suceava () is the largest urban settlement and the seat town ( ro, oraș reședință de județ) of Suceava County, situated in the historical region of Bukovina, northeastern Romania, and at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central and Eastern E ...
to Iași. Between 1561 and 1563, a school and a
Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
church were founded by the
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
adventurer 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 ...
. In 1640,
Vasile Lupu Lupu Coci, known as Vasile Lupu (; 1595–1661), was a Voivode of Moldavia of Albanian origin between 1634 and 1653. Lupu had secured the Moldavian throne in 1634 after a series of complicated intrigues and managed to hold it for twenty years. Va ...
established the first school in which the Romanian language replaced Greek, and set up a printing press in the
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
Trei Ierarhi Monastery Mănăstirea Trei Ierarhi (Monastery of the Three Hierarchs) is a seventeenth-century monastery located in Iași, Romania. The monastery is listed in the National Register of Historic Monuments and included on the tentative list of UNESCO World H ...
(''Monastery of the
Three Hierarchs The Three Hierarchs ( grc, Οἱ Τρεῖς Ἱεράρχαι; ell, Οι Τρεις Ιεράρχες) of Eastern Christianity refers to Basil the Great (also known as Basil of Caesarea), Gregory the Theologian (also known as Gregory of Nazianz ...
''; built 1635–39). Between 15 September – 27 October 1642, the city hosted the
Synod of Iași The Synod of Jassy or Synod of Iași (also referred to as the Council of Jassy or the Council of Iași), was convened in Iași in Moldavia (present-day Romania) between 15 September and 27 October 1642 by the List of Ecumenical Patriarchs of Const ...
(also referred to as the Synod of Jassy). In 1643, the first volume ever printed in
Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...
was published in Iași. The city was often burned down and looted by the
Tatars The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary
is an umbrella term for different
(in 1513, 1574, 1577, 1593), by the
Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...
in 1538, the
Cossacks The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...
and Tartars (1650), or the
Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Ce ...
(1620, 1686). In 1734, it was hit by the
plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...
. The city was also affected by famine (1575, 1724, 1739–1740), or large local fires (1725, 1735, 1753, 1766, 1785), propagated by many buildings that were built on wooden structures. It was through the
Treaty of Jassy The Treaty of Jassy, signed at Jassy (''Iași'') in Moldavia (presently in Romania), was a pact between the Russian and Ottoman Empires ending the Russo-Turkish War of 1787–92 and confirming Russia's increasing dominance in the Black Sea. T ...
that the sixth
Russo-Turkish War The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histo ...
was brought to a close in 1792. A Greek revolutionary manoeuvre and occupation under
Alexander Ypsilanti Alexandros Ypsilantis ( el, Αλέξανδρος Υψηλάντης, Aléxandros Ypsilántis, ; ro, Alexandru Ipsilanti; russian: Александр Константинович Ипсиланти, Aleksandr Konstantinovich Ipsilanti; 12 Dece ...
(Αλέξανδρος Υψηλάντης) and the
Filiki Eteria Filiki Eteria or Society of Friends ( el, Φιλικὴ Ἑταιρεία ''or'' ) was a secret organization founded in 1814 in Odessa, whose purpose was to overthrow the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman rule of Greece and establish an independent Greek ...
(Φιλική Εταιρία) (1821, at the beginning of the
Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by ...
) led to the storming of the city by the Turks in 1822. In 1844 a severe fire affected much of the city.


Mid–19th century to 20th century

Between 1564 and 1859, the city was the capital of Moldavia; then, between 1859 and 1862, both Iași and
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
were de facto capitals of the
United Principalities The United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia ( ro, Principatele Unite ale Moldovei și Țării Românești), commonly called United Principalities, was the personal union of the Principality of Moldavia and the Principality of Wallachia, f ...
of Moldavia and Wallachia. In 1862, when the union of the two principalities was recognised under the name of ''Romania'', the national capital was established in Bucharest. For the loss caused to the city in 1861 by the removal of the seat of government to Bucharest the
constituent assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...
voted 148,150 lei to be paid in ten annual instalments, but no payment was ever made. During
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, Iași was the capital of a much reduced Romania for two years, following the
Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in ...
' occupation of Bucharest on 6 December 1916. The capital was returned to Bucharest after the defeat of
Imperial Germany The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
and its allies in November 1918. In November–December 1918 Iași hosted the
Iași Conference The Iași Conference, historically known as the Jassy Conference, was a gathering of anti-Bolshevik political figures that met in Iași, the temporary capital of Romania at the time from November 16 through December 6, 1918. The conference was orga ...
.


Jewish community

Iași also figures prominently in
Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...
ish history, with the first documented presence of
Sephardi Jews Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefar ...
from the late 16th century. The oldest tomb inscription in the local cemetery probably dates to 1610. By the mid-19th century, owing to widespread
Russian Jewish The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest pop ...
and Galician Jewish
immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
into Moldavia, the city was at least one-third Jewish, growing to 50% Jewish by 1899 according to the ''Great Geographic Dictionary of Romania'' cited by
JewishGen JewishGen is a non-profit organization founded in 1987 as an international electronic resource for Jewish genealogy. In 2003, JewishGen became an affiliate of the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in New York Ci ...
. The Podu Roș Synagogue was built in Iași, circa 1810, by Avraham Yehoshua Heshel of Apta, but the synagogue became mostly
Misnagdic ''Misnagdim'' (, "Opponents"; Sephardi pronunciation: ''Mitnagdim''; singular ''misnaged''/''mitnaged'') was a religious movement among the Jews of Eastern Europe which resisted the rise of Hasidism in the 18th and 19th centuries. The ''Mis ...
not long thereafter. In 1855, Iași was the home of the first-ever
Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...
-language newspaper, ''Korot Haitim'', and, in 1876, the site of what was arguably the first-ever professional
Yiddish theatre Yiddish theatre consists of plays written and performed primarily by Jews in Yiddish, the language of the Central European Ashkenazi Jewish community. The range of Yiddish theatre is broad: operetta, musical comedy, and satiric or nostalgic revues ...
performance, established by Avraham Goldfaden. The words of
HaTikvah Hatikvah ( he, הַתִּקְוָה, haTīqvā, ; ) is the national anthem of the State of Israel. Part of 19th-century Jewish poetry, the theme of the Romantic composition reflects the 2,000-year-old desire of the Jewish people to return t ...
, the national anthem of Israel, were written in Iași by
Naftali Herz Imber Naftali Herz Imber ( he, , yi, ; December 27, 1856 – October 8, 1909) was a Jewish Hebrew-language poet, most notable for writing "Hatikvah", the poem that became the basis for the Israeli national anthem. Biography Naftali Herz Imber ...
. Jewish musicians in Iași played an important role as preservers of Yiddish folklore, as performers and composers. The first Zionist
Hebrew language Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
newspaper in Romania, ''Emek Israel'', was published in Iași in 1882. Zionist sports clubs, student associations and discussion groups were established in the city, most of which later merged into the Organizația Sionistă. The Hachshara Farms in Iași were a type of training farms to prepare young people for resettlement in the Palestine region. According to the 1930 census, with a population of 34,662 (some 34% of the city's population), Jews were the second largest ethnic group in Iași. There were over 127
synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
s. After
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, in 1947, there were about 38,000 Jews living in Iași. Because of massive emigration to Israel, in 1975 there were about 3,000 Jews living in Iași and four synagogues were active. Currently, Iași has a dwindling Jewish population of ca. 300 to 600 members and two working synagogues, one of which, the 1671 Great Synagogue, is the oldest surviving synagogue in Romania and among the oldest synagogues still active in Europe. A 10-year restoration project funded by UNESCO, the Romanian Ministry of Culture and the local authorities of Iași restored it to its former glory, opening in time for
Hanukkah or English translation: 'Establishing' or 'Dedication' (of the Temple in Jerusalem) , nickname = , observedby = Jews , begins = 25 Kislev , ends = 2 Tevet or 3 Tevet , celebrations = Lighting candles each night. ...
on 4 December 2018.


World War II

During the war, while the full scale of
the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...
remained generally unknown to the Allied Powers, the
Iași pogrom The Iași pogrom (, sometimes anglicized as Jassy) was a series of pogroms launched by governmental forces under Marshal Ion Antonescu in the Romanian city of Iași against its Jewish community, which lasted from 29 June to 6 July 1941. Accord ...
stood as one of the known examples of
Axis An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to: Mathematics * Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis * Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinat ...
brutality toward the Jews. The pogrom lasted from 29 June to 6 July 1941, and over 13,266 people,Jewishgen
br
The Iași Pogrom
at Radio Romania International

quotes 13,266 or 14,850 Jews killed.
or one third of the Jewish population, were massacred in the pogrom itself or in its aftermath, and many were deported. Particularly brutal was the massacre of Jews who were forced on sealed trains in the brutal summer heat. Over half of the occupants perished in these trains, which were aimlessly driven throughout the countryside with no particular destination. In May 1944, the Iași area became the scene of ferocious fighting between Romanian-
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
forces and the advancing
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...
and the city was partially destroyed. The German Panzergrenadier Division ''Großdeutschland'' won a defensive victory at the
Battle of Târgu Frumos The Battle of Târgu Frumos, also known as the Târgu Frumos Operation, occurred during 1944 in World War II in and around the town of Târgu Frumos in Iași County, Moldavia, Romania. It was fought between Soviet forces (the Red Army) and Axis ...
, near Iași, which was the object of several
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
studies during the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
. By 20 August, Iași had been taken by Soviet forces. Iași suffered heavy damage due to Soviet (June–July 1941, June 1944) and American (June 1944) airstrikes, respectively. The bombing of Soviet aviation and artillery on 20 August 1944, resulted in more than 5,000 civilian deaths and the destruction of two-thirds of the city.


Post-World War II era

Iași experienced a major wave of industrialisation, in 1955–1989.General View-The historical and architectural Iași
During this period of time, it received numerous migrants from rural regions, and the urban area expanded. In the
communist era A Communist Era is a sustained period of national government by a single party following the philosophy of Marxism–Leninism. Many countries have experienced such a period of Communist rule. Current communist states China The Chinese Communist P ...
, Iași saw a growth of 235% in population and 69% in area. The local systematization plans of the old city started in 1960 and continued in the 1970s and 1980s as part of the larger national
systematization Systematization ( ro, Sistematizarea) in Romania was a program of urban planning carried out by the Romanian Communist Party under the leadership of Nicolae Ceaușescu. Ceaușescu was impressed by the ideological mobilization and mass adulation ...
program; however, the urban planning was sometimes arbitrary and followed by dysfunctions."The Spatial Evolution of Iași City: Tradition and Trends" by O. Stoleriu and C. Stoleriu By 1989, Iași had become highly industrialised, with 108,000 employees (representing 47% of the total workforce) active in 46 large
state-owned enterprise A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a Government, government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn Profit (econom ...
s, in various industries: machine building and heavy equipment, chemical, textile, pharmaceutical, metallurgical, electronics, food, energy, building materials, furniture.Studiu comparativ de caz despre industria ieșeană
After the end of communist rule and the transition to a free market economy, the private sector has grown steadily, while much of the old industry gradually decayed.


Geography


Topography

Located in the North-East of Romania, at the contact between the
Jijia Plain Jijia Plain ( ro, Câmpia Jijiei) is a geographic area in northeast Romania, occupying most of Botoșani County and parts of Iași County. Despite the name, it is not a flatland, but a region dotted with hills, part of the Moldavian Plateau. In Rom ...
and the
Bârlad Plateau Bârlad Plateau ( ro, Podișului Bârladului) is a geographic area in eastern Romania. It is the south central part of the Moldavian Plateau. Although occasionally has heights over , it is generally sloped from north at to the south at . The riv ...
, Iași used to be the crossroads place of the historic trade routes that passed through Moldavia coming from the
Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to: Historical political entities *Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031 *Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exist ...
,
Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...
,
Tsardom of Russia The Tsardom of Russia or Tsardom of Rus' also externally referenced as the Tsardom of Muscovy, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of Tsar by Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter I i ...
, and
Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
. The city lies on the Bahlui River valley, a tributary of the Jijia River (tributary of the
Prut River The Prut (also spelled in English as Pruth; , uk, Прут) is a long river in Eastern Europe. It is a left tributary of the Danube. In part of its course it forms Romania's border with Moldova and Ukraine. Characteristics The Prut originates ...
). The surrounding country is one of uplands and woods, featuring monasteries and parks. Iași itself stands amid vineyards and gardens, partly on hills, partly in the in-between valley. The central part of the city is located on the fluvial terrace of the Bahlui River (the so-called Palat Terrace). From this nucleus, the city evolved after the medieval times toward south and north on the Bahlui River floodplain and on the adjacent hills. The southern part of the city lies on the Iași Ridge ( ro, Coasta Iașilor) (the northernmost hill of the Bârlad Plateau). Considering the present day extension of the administrative boundaries, the city territory has an altitudinal extension of , between the 34.5 m a.s.l. (113.19 ft) in the Bahlui River floodplain, at the Holboca bridge, and 354.77 m a.s.l. (1,163.94 ft), at the edge of the Repedea Hill. It is a common belief that Iași is built on seven hills ( ro, coline): Breazu, Bucium, Cetățuia, Copou, Galata, Repedea and Șorogari, thus triggering comparisons with
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
.


Climate

Under the
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
, Iaşi falls within either a
warm-summer humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...
(''Dfb'') if the isotherm is used or an
oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...
(''Cfb'') if the isotherm is used. Iași experiences four distinct seasons. Summers are warm with temperatures sometimes exceeding while winters are cold and windy with moderate snowfall and temperatures at night sometimes dropping below . Average monthly precipitation ranges from about in October to in June.


Cityscape


Architecture

Iași features historical monuments, 500-year-old churches and monasteries, contemporary architecture, many of them listed on the National Register of Historic Monuments. Notable architecture includes the
Trei Ierarhi Monastery Mănăstirea Trei Ierarhi (Monastery of the Three Hierarchs) is a seventeenth-century monastery located in Iași, Romania. The monastery is listed in the National Register of Historic Monuments and included on the tentative list of UNESCO World H ...
, part of the tentative list of
UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
, or the neo-Gothic
Palace of Culture Palace of Culture (russian: Дворец культуры, dvorets kultury, , ''wénhuà gōng'', german: Kulturpalast) or House of Culture (Polish: ''dom kultury'') is a common name (generic term) for major Club (organization), club-houses (comm ...
, built on the old ruins of the mediaeval Princely Court of Moldavia. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and the
Communist era A Communist Era is a sustained period of national government by a single party following the philosophy of Marxism–Leninism. Many countries have experienced such a period of Communist rule. Current communist states China The Chinese Communist P ...
many historical buildings in the old city centre (around Union Square area) were destroyed or demolished, and replaced by International style buildings and also a new mainly Mid-Century modern style
Civic Centre A civic center or civic centre is a prominent land area within a community that is constructed to be its focal point or center. It usually contains one or more dominant public buildings, which may also include a government building. Recently, the ...
was built around the Old Market Square (The Central Hall). The mid-1990s to early-2000s brought the first non-industrial glass curtain walled buildings (Romtelecom, Hotel Europa), while in 2012, in close proximity to the Palace of Culture, the
Palas A ''palas'' () is a German term for the imposing or prestigious building of a medieval ''Pfalz'' or castle that contained the great hall. Such buildings appeared during the Romanesque period (11th to 13th century) and, according to Thompson, ...
shopping mall and office complex was inaugurated. Other significant buildings include: *
Alexandru Ioan Cuza University The Alexandru Ioan Cuza University (Romanian: ''Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza"''; acronym: UAIC) is a public university located in Iași, Romania. Founded by an 1860 decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza, under whom the former Academia Mih ...
main building (1897), a mixture of the Neoclassical and
Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
styles, houses the famous ''Hall of the Lost Footsteps'' where one can admire the works of the painter Sabin Bălașa; * "Vasile Alecsandri" National Theatre, built between 1894 and 1896 in Neoclassic style with Baroque and
Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...
inspired painted and sculpted ornaments; * , a building from the second half of the 17th century in which in 1679, the metropolitan bishop Dosoftei settled the second typography in Moldavia. With three façades, arched and right-angled windows, the edifice was restored between 1966 and 1969. It houses the department of old literature of the Romanian Literature Museum; *
Roznovanu Palace The Roznovanu Palace or Roset-Roznovanu Palace ( ro, Palatul Roznovanu or ) is an edifice located in Iași, Romania. It was built in the second half of the 18th century, and rebuilt between 1830 and 1833, by Iordache Ruset-Roznovanu, a member of ...
(The City Hall), second half of the 18th century, rebuilt between 1830 and 1833, it hosted the Romanian government during
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
; * , 1806,
Empire style The Empire style (, ''style Empire'') is an early-nineteenth-century design movement in architecture, furniture, other decorative arts, and the visual arts, representing the second phase of Neoclassicism. It flourished between 1800 and 1815 durin ...
, the palace served as the royal residence of
Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza Alexandru Ioan Cuza (, or Alexandru Ioan I, also anglicised as Alexander John Cuza; 20 March 1820 – 15 May 1873) was the first ''domnitor'' (Ruler) of the Romanian Principalities through his double election as prince of Moldavia on 5 Januar ...
between 1859 and 1862 and in 1917–1918, during World War I, as the royal residence of king
Ferdinand Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...
; * , 1850, a meeting place for the city intellectuals, the headquarters of Literary Society
Junimea ''Junimea'' was a Romanian literary society founded in Iași in 1863, through the initiative of several foreign-educated personalities led by Titu Maiorescu, Petre P. Carp, Vasile Pogor, Theodor Rosetti and Iacob Negruzzi. The foremost personali ...
(1863) and of the
Convorbiri Literare ''Convorbiri Literare'' ( Romanian: ''Literary Talks'') is a Romanian literary magazine published in Romania. It is among the most important journals of the nineteenth-century Romania. History and profile ''Convorbiri Literare'' was founded by ...
(Literary Interlocutions) magazine (1867), houses the Romanian Literature Museum; * Luceafărul Theatre, 1987, a unique modern building in Romania; *
Central University Library Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
, 1934, incorporates
Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...
elements; * Great Railway Station, 1870, inspired by the Venetian
Doge's Palace The Doge's Palace ( it, Palazzo Ducale; vec, Pałaso Dogal) is a palace built in Venetian Gothic style, and one of the main landmarks of the city of Venice in northern Italy. The palace was the residence of the Doge of Venice, the supreme auth ...
.


Religious buildings

Iași is the seat of the
Romanian Orthodox The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; ro, Biserica Ortodoxă Română, ), or Patriarchate of Romania, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates i ...
Metropolitan of Moldavia and Bukovina The Metropolis of Moldavia and Bucovina, in Iași, Romania, is a metropolis of the Romanian Orthodox Church. History The Metropolis of Moldavia was set up in 1386, and recognized in 1401, by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. It ...
, and of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Iași. The city and the surrounding area house more than 10 monasteries and 100 historical churches. Among the oldest is Princely Saint Nicholas (1491), dating from the reign of
Stephen the Great Stephen III of Moldavia, most commonly known as Stephen the Great ( ro, Ștefan cel Mare; ; died on 2 July 1504), was Voivode (or Prince) of Moldavia from 1457 to 1504. He was the son of and co-ruler with Bogdan II, who was murdered in 1451 ...
, and the Metropolitan Cathedral is the largest of its kind in Romania. The
Trei Ierarhi Monastery Mănăstirea Trei Ierarhi (Monastery of the Three Hierarchs) is a seventeenth-century monastery located in Iași, Romania. The monastery is listed in the National Register of Historic Monuments and included on the tentative list of UNESCO World H ...
, a unique monument, considered to be an architectural masterpiece, was erected in 1635–1639 by Vasile Lupu, and adorned with gilded carvings on its outer walls and twin towers. * Metropolitan Cathedral (1839/1886), the largest
Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...
church in Romania, a late
Renaissance style Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of Ancient Greece, ancient Greek and ...
, with Baroque elements and
Gheorghe Tattarescu Gheorghe Tattarescu (; October 1818 – October 24, 1894) was a Moldavian, later Romanian painter and a pioneer of neoclassicism in his country's modern painting. Biography Early life and studies Tattarescu was born in Focşani in 1818. H ...
paintings, it contains the relics of Saint Paracheva (sometimes known colloquially in English as Saint Friday);St. Paraskeve Pilgrimage Centre
*
Golia Monastery The Golia Monastery ( ro, Mănăstirea Golia) is a Romanian Orthodox monastery located in Iaşi, Romania. The monastery is listed in the National Register of Historic Monuments. In 2012, the conservation of the Monastery was awarded the European ...
, 1564, rebuilt in 1650 in late-Renaissance style with Byzantine frescoes and intricately carved doorways, is a monumental construction, a monastery in the middle of the city, surrounded by tall walls, with corner turrets, and a height bell tower; * Old Catholic Cathedral, 1782, in Baroque style, and New Catholic Cathedral, 2005; *
Armenian Church Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
, built in 1395, testifies the existence of an important Armenian community in these parts of Romania; * Great Synagogue, in late Baroque style, built in 1657–1671, is the oldest surviving synagogue in Romania and one of the oldest in Europe. Other examples of historic churches and monasteries (some of them surrounded by defence walls and towers) include: Socola (1562),
Galata Galata is the former name of the Karaköy neighbourhood in Istanbul, which is located at the northern shore of the Golden Horn. The district is connected to the historic Fatih district by several bridges that cross the Golden Horn, most notabl ...
(1582),
Saint Sava Saint Sava ( sr, Свети Сава, Sveti Sava, ; Old Church Slavonic: ; gr, Άγιος Σάββας; 1169 or 1174 – 14 January 1236), known as the Enlightener, was a Serbian prince and Orthodox monk, the first Archbishop of the autocephalou ...
(1583), Hlincea (1587), (1594),
Bârnova Bârnova is a commune in Iași County, Western Moldavia, Romania, part of the Iași Metropolitan Area The Iași Metropolitan Area is a metropolitan association in Iași County, Romania, that includes the municipality of Iași and 19 nearby comm ...
(1603), Barnovschi (1627), Golia (1650), Cetățuia (1668), Frumoasa (1726),
Saint Spiridon Saint Spyridon, Bishop of Trimythous also sometimes written Saint Spiridon (Greek: ; c. 270 – 348) is a saint honoured in both the Eastern and Western Christian traditions. Life Spyridon was born in Askeia, in Cyprus. He worked as a sheph ...
(1747), (1761), Bărboi (1843 with 18th-century bell tower),
Bucium The ''bucium'' (, also called ''trâmbiţă'' or ''tulnic'') is a type of alphorn used by mountain dwellers and by shepherds in Romania and Moldova. The word is derived from Latin '' bucinum'', originally meaning "curved horn", an instrument ...
(1853). File:Biserica Armeana Iasi 03.JPG,
Armenian Church Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
File:Biserica Barnovschi02.JPG, Barnovschi Church File:Golia25.JPG, Golia Church architectural elements File:Mănăstirea Cetăţuia25.jpg, Moldavian princely palace at
Cetățuia Monastery The Cetățuia Monastery ( ro, Mănăstirea Cetățuia) is a Romanian Orthodox monastery located in Iași, Romania. The monastery is listed in the National Register of Historic Monuments. History Located on the top of Cetățuia Hill of the ...
File:Manastirea Frumoasa 01.JPG, Frumoasa Monastery File:Catedrala veche din Iasi41.jpg, St. George Church (Old Metropolitan Cathedral)


Pilgrimage

The city has become a major Christian pilgrimage site since the early modern period. In 1641, the relics of Saint Parascheva were brought to Iași. Each year, around 14 October, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims gather to commemorate Saint Parascheva, while the city itself established its Celebration Days at the same time. The October pilgrimage is one of the largest in Europe, drawing people all over Romania as well as from neighboring Orthodox countries. During the entire year, pilgrimages to Iași can also involve visits to a large number of religious sites, both within and around the city.


Gardens, parks and natural landmarks

Iași has a diverse array of public spaces, from city squares to public parks. Begun in 1833, at the time when Iași was the capital of
Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...
, by Prince
Mihail Sturdza Mihail Sturdza (24 April 1794, Iași – 8 May 1884, Paris), sometimes anglicized as Michael Stourdza, was prince of Moldavia from 1834 to 1849. He was cousin of Roxandra Sturdza and Alexandru Sturdza. Biography He was son of Grigore Sturdza, se ...
and under the plans of Gheorghe Asachi and Mihail Singurov,
Copou Park The Copou Park or Copou Gardens is the oldest public park in Iaşi, Romania. Its development started in 1834 under the reign of Mihail Sturdza, making the park one of the first public gardens in Romania and a Iaşi landmark. In its centre lies ...
was integrated into the city and marks one of the first Romanian coordinated public parks. The oldest monument in Romania stands in the middle of the park, the (1834), a tall
obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...
, dedicated to the ''
Regulamentul Organic ''Regulamentul Organic'' (, Organic Regulation; french: Règlement Organique; russian: Органический регламент, Organichesky reglament)The name also has plural versions in all languages concerned, referring to the dual na ...
'', the first law on political, administrative and juridical organisation in Romanian Principalities. Founded in 1856, the Botanical Garden of Iași, the first botanical garden in Romania, has an area of over 100 hectares, and more than 10,000 species of plants. Iași Exhibition Park was opened in 1923 and built under the co-ordination of the architect N. Ghica Budești. The Ciric Park, located in the north-eastern part of Iași, consists of parkland and four lakes.
Eminescu's Linden Tree Eminescu's Linden Tree ( ro, Teiul lui Eminescu) is a 500-year-old silver lime (''Tilia tomentosa Moench'') in Copou Park, Iași, Romania. Mihai Eminescu reportedly wrote some of his best works underneath this lime, rendering the tree one of Ro ...
( ro, Teiul lui Eminescu) is a 500-year-old silver linden (''
Tilia tomentosa ''Tilia tomentosa'', known as silver linden in the US and silver lime in the UK, is a species of flowering plant in the family (biology), family Malvaceae, native plant, native to southeastern Europe and southwestern Asia, from Romania and the Ba ...
Moench'') situated in
Copou Park The Copou Park or Copou Gardens is the oldest public park in Iaşi, Romania. Its development started in 1834 under the reign of Mihail Sturdza, making the park one of the first public gardens in Romania and a Iaşi landmark. In its centre lies ...
.
Mihai Eminescu Mihai Eminescu (; born Mihail Eminovici; 15 January 1850 – 15 June 1889) was a Romanian Romantic poet from Moldavia, novelist, and journalist, generally regarded as the most famous and influential Romanian poet. Eminescu was an active membe ...
reportedly wrote some of his best works underneath this linden tree, rendering it one of Romania's most important
natural monument A natural monument is a natural or natural/cultural feature of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic qualities or cultural significance. Under World Commission on Protected Areas guidelines, nat ...
s and a notable Iași landmark. The , in Bucium neighbourhood, is another spot where Mihai Eminescu sought inspiration (the poem "Down Where the Lonely Poplars Grow"). In 1973, the 15 white poplars still left (with the age ranges between 233 and 371 years) were declared natural monuments. Iași County has 387 centuries-old trees, of which 224 were declared monument trees and 160 got the
Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ro, Academia Română ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life. According to its byl ...
's approval and are proposed for such a classification. Most of them are oak or linden trees. The oldest tree in the county is the 675-year-old hybrid linden (''
Tilia ''Tilia'' is a genus of about 30 species of trees or bushes, native throughout most of the temperateness, temperate Northern Hemisphere. The tree is known as linden for the European species, and basswood for North American species. In Britain a ...
'') tree located in the courtyard of
Bârnova Monastery The Bârnova Monastery ( ro, Mănăstirea Bârnova) is a Romanian Orthodox monastery located in Bârnova, Iași metropolitan area, Moldavia, Romania. Built in 1628 by Moldavian Voivode Miron Barnovschi-Movilă, the monastery is listed in the N ...
, in the vicinity of Iași. When the linden was about 57 years old and about in diameter, Iași was mentioned as an urban settlement, during the reign of Prince
Alexander the Good Alexander the Good ( ro, Alexandru cel Bun or ''Alexandru I Mușat''; c. 1375 – 1 January 1432) was a Voivode (Lord) of Moldavia, reigning between 1400 and 1432, son of Roman I Mușat. He succeeded Iuga to the throne, and, as a ruler, init ...
(1408).


Demographics

, Iași is the country's second most populous city after
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
with 378,954 residents registered within the city limits, and with a population of 500,668 residents, the Iași
urban area An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, t ...
is also the second largest in Romania. At the 2011 census, Iași was the fourth most populous Romanian city with a population of 290,422. The metropolitan area association (which includes Iași and 19 other nearby communities) had a population of 403,572, while
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 coun ...
, with its 772,348 inhabitants, was the most populous county in Romania (after the Municipality of Bucharest). Additionally there were 60,000 more residents (mostly students) and thousands of daily commuters. According to the 2002 census, in Iași there were 109,357 housing units and 320,888 people living within the city proper. Of this population, 98.5% were ethnic
Romanians The Romanians ( ro, români, ; dated exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group. Sharing a common Culture of Romania, Romanian culture and Cultural heritage, ancestry, and speaking the Romanian language, they l ...
, while 0.59% were ethnic
Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...
, 0.13%
Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
, 0.13%
Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...
, 0.13%
Lipovans , flag = Flag of the Lipovans.png , flag_caption = Flag of the Lipovans , image = Evstafiev-lipovane-slava-cherkeza.jpg , caption = Lipovans during a ceremony in front of the Lipovan church in the Romanian village of Slava Cercheză in 2004 ...
, 0.08%
Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and  ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Urali ...
, 0.05%
Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...
and 0.39% others. In terms of religion, 92.5% of the population were Christian Orthodox, 4.9%
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 lette ...
, other religious groups 2.6%. There are currently almost 10,000 Roman Catholics living in Iași. There is a debate between historians as to whether the Catholics are originally of Romanian or Hungarian descent.


Economy

Iași is an important economic centre in Romania. The local and regional economy relies on
industry Industry may refer to: Economics * Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity * Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery * The wider industrial sector ...
and
service sector The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the second ...
institutions and establishments. The most important service sectors are related to education, health care, banking, research, culture, government and tourism. The city is an important
information technology Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information technology system (I ...
sector centre, with the presence of several large multinational companies (
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...
,
Oracle An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination. Description The word '' ...
,
Continental Continental may refer to: Places * Continent, the major landmasses of Earth * Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US * Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US Arts and entertainment * ''Continental'' ( ...
,
Conduent Conduent Inc. is an American business services provider company headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey. It was formed in 2017 as a divestiture from Xerox. The company offers digital platforms for businesses and governments. , it had over 31 ...
,
Xerox Xerox Holdings Corporation (; also known simply as Xerox) is an American corporation that sells print and electronic document, digital document products and services in more than 160 countries. Xerox is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut (ha ...
,
Accenture Accenture plc is an Irish-American professional services company based in Dublin, specializing in information technology (IT) services and consulting. A ''Fortune'' Global 500 company, it reported revenues of $61.6 billion in 2022. Accentur ...
,
Capgemini Capgemini SE is a multinational information technology (IT) services and consulting company, headquartered in Paris, France. History Capgemini was founded by Serge Kampf in 1967 as an enterprise management and data processing company. The comp ...
, SCC) and many other local and foreign companies such as
Bentley Systems Bentley Systems, Incorporated is an American-based software development company that develops, manufactures, licenses, sells and supports computer software and services for the design, construction, and operation of infrastructure. The company' ...
,
Bitdefender Bitdefender is a Romanian cybersecurity technology company headquartered in Bucharest, Romania, with offices in the United States, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. The company was founded in 2001 by the current CEO and main shareholder, ...
, Comodo,
Endava Endava PLC () is a British public-listed software development company, founded in 2000 in London, United Kingdom. It provides digital transformation consulting, agile software development services and various automation solutions. The company' ...
, Ness, Pentalog, or
TiVo TiVo ( ) is a digital video recorder (DVR) developed and marketed by Xperi (previously by TiVo Corporation and TiVo Inc.) and introduced in 1999. TiVo provides an on-screen guide of scheduled broadcast programming television programs, whose fea ...
(to name a few), as well as two universities which offer specific degree programs. Industry forecasts expect the Iași ITC workforce to grow from the current 16,000 (end of 2016) employees to more than 33,000, by 2030.Numărul de angajaţi ai industriei IT&Outsourcing din Iaşi
An estimated workforce of more than 35,000 employees is active in Iași's industrial manufacturing sector, particularly in automotive (
Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), in ancient times was a sacred precinct that served as the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. The oracle ...
,
Lear Lear or Leir may refer to: Acronyms * Liga de Escritores y Artistas Revolucionarios, a Mexican association of revolutionary artists and writers * Low Energy Ion Ring, an ion pre-accelerator of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN ** Low Energy Antipr ...
, Conex Distribution), pharmaceutical industry ( Antibiotice Iași, Fiterman Pharma, Ircon SRL), metallurgical production (
ArcelorMittal ArcelorMittal S.A. is a Luxembourgian multinational steel manufacturing corporation headquartered in Luxembourg City. It was formed in 2006 from the takeover and merger of Arcelor by Indian-owned Mittal Steel. ArcelorMittal is the second larg ...
, Technosteel LBR), aerospace ( BMT Aerospace), industrial equipment (Agmus, ASAM, Fortus), energy ( E.ON Moldova Distribuție, Veolia Energie), textiles and clothing ( Benetton, Iași Conf, Iașitex), home appliances ( Tehnoton), building materials (Brikston, Build Corp), food (Compan, Panifcom, Zeelandia). Located in an area recognised for its vineyards and wines, Iași is part of a traditional
wine region This list of wine-producing regions catalogues significant growing regions where vineyards are planted. Wine grapes mostly grow between the 30th and the 50th degree of latitude, in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Grapes will sometimes ...
with viticultural centres surrounding the city: Copou, Bucium, Uricani, Comarna, Plugari, and Probota. Iași County is also home to renowned
Cotnari Cotnari () is a village and the center of the eponymous commune in Iași County, Romania, in the historical region of Western Moldavia. It is located north-west of Iași and south of Hârlău, in a major wine-producing region of Romania, and is fa ...
and
Bohotin The Bohotin is a right tributary of the river Prut in Romania. It flows into the Prut in Gura Bohotin, near Gorban Gorban is a commune in Iași County, Western Moldavia, Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the ...
vineyards. With large shopping malls and commercial centres located in the area, Iași also has a well-developed
retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...
business.


Largest employers

Sources:


Politics and administration

The city's current local council has the following multi-party political composition, based on the results of the ballots cast at the 2020 Romanian local elections:


Culture

Major events in the political and cultural history of Moldavia are connected with the name of the city of Iași. The great scholars of the 17th century,
Grigore Ureche Grigore Ureche (; 1590–1647) was a Moldavian chronicler who wrote on Moldavian history in his ''Letopisețul Țării Moldovei'' ('' Chronicles of the Land of Moldavia''), covering the period from 1359 to 1594. Biography Grigore Ureche was th ...
, Miron Costin and later
Ion Neculce Ion Neculce (1672–1745) was a Moldavian chronicler. His main work, ''Letopisețul Țărâi Moldovei e la Dabija Vodă până la a doua domnie a lui Constantin Mavrocordat' (''The Chronicles of the land of Moldavia Constantin Mavrocordat'') w ...
, wrote most of their works in the city or not far from it and the famous scholar
Dimitrie Cantemir Dimitrie or Demetrius Cantemir (, russian: Дмитрий Кантемир; 26 October 1673 – 21 August 1723), also known by other spellings, was a Romanian prince, statesman, and man of letters, regarded as one of the most significant e ...
known throughout all Europe also linked his name to the capital of Moldavia. The first newspaper in Romanian language was published in 1829 in Iași and it is in Iași where, in 1867, appeared under literary society
Junimea ''Junimea'' was a Romanian literary society founded in Iași in 1863, through the initiative of several foreign-educated personalities led by Titu Maiorescu, Petre P. Carp, Vasile Pogor, Theodor Rosetti and Iacob Negruzzi. The foremost personali ...
, the
Convorbiri Literare ''Convorbiri Literare'' ( Romanian: ''Literary Talks'') is a Romanian literary magazine published in Romania. It is among the most important journals of the nineteenth-century Romania. History and profile ''Convorbiri Literare'' was founded by ...
review in which
Ion Creangă Ion Creangă (; also known as Nică al lui Ștefan a Petrei, Ion Torcălău and Ioan Ștefănescu; March 1, 1837 – December 31, 1889) was a Moldavian, later Romanian writer, raconteur and schoolteacher. A main figure in 19th-century Romania ...
’s Childhood Memories and the best poems by
Mihai Eminescu Mihai Eminescu (; born Mihail Eminovici; 15 January 1850 – 15 June 1889) was a Romanian Romantic poet from Moldavia, novelist, and journalist, generally regarded as the most famous and influential Romanian poet. Eminescu was an active membe ...
were published. The reviews
Contemporanul ''Contemporanul'' (The Contemporary) is a Romanian literary magazine published in Iaşi, Romania from 1881 to 1891. It was sponsored by the socialist circle of the city. A new magazine ''Contimporanul ''Contimporanul'' (antiquated spelling of ...
and
Viața Românească ''Viața Românească'' (, "The Romanian Life") is a monthly literary magazine published in Romania. Formerly the platform of the left-wing traditionalist trend known as poporanism, it is now one of the Writers' Union of Romania's main venues. Th ...
appeared in 1871, respectively in 1906 with great contributions to promoting Romanian national cultural values. Many great personalities of Romanian culture are connected to Iași: the chronicler
Nicolae Milescu Nikolai Spathari (russian: Николай Гаврилович Спафарий, Nikolai Gavrilovich Spathari; 1636–1708), also known as Nicolae Milescu and Nicolae Milescu Spătaru (, first name also ''Neculai'', signing in Latin as Nicolaus ...
, the historians and politicians
Mihail Kogălniceanu Mihail Kogălniceanu (; also known as Mihail Cogâlniceanu, Michel de Kogalnitchan; September 6, 1817 – July 1, 1891) was a Romanian liberal statesman, lawyer, historian and publicist; he became Prime Minister of Romania on October 11, 1863, ...
and
Simion Bărnuțiu Simion Bărnuțiu (; 21 July 1808 – 28 May 1864) was a Transylvanian, later Romanian historian, academic, philosopher, jurist, and liberal politician. A leader of the 1848 revolutionary movement of Transylvanian Romanians, he represented its ...
, the poets
Vasile Alecsandri Vasile Alecsandri (; 21 July 182122 August 1890) was a Romanian patriot, poet, dramatist, politician and diplomat. He was one of the key figures during the 1848 revolutions in Moldavia and Wallachia. He fought for the unification of the Romani ...
and George Topârceanu, the writers
Mihail Sadoveanu Mihail Sadoveanu (; occasionally referred to as Mihai Sadoveanu; November 5, 1880 – October 19, 1961) was a Romanian novelist, short story writer, journalist and political figure, who twice served as acting head of state for the communis ...
, Alecu Russo, and
Ionel Teodoreanu Ionel Teodoreanu (; 6 January 1897 – 3 February 1954) was a Romanian novelist and lawyer. He is mostly remembered for his books on the themes of childhood and adolescence. Biography Born in January 1897 in Iași into a family of intellectuals, ...
, the literary critic
Titu Maiorescu Titu Liviu Maiorescu (; 15 February 1840 – 18 June 1917) was a Romanian literary critic and politician, founder of the ''Junimea'' Society. As a literary critic, he was instrumental in the development of Romanian culture in the second half of ...
, the historian A.D. Xenopol, the philosophers
Vasile Conta Vasile Conta (; hy, Վասիլե Գրիգորեիի Կոնտա (Գոնտա); November 15, 1845 – April 21, 1882) was a Romanian philosopher, poet, and politician. He was born in Ghindăoani, a village in Bălțătești commune, Neamț County ...
and
Petre Andrei Petre Andrei (June 29, 1891 – October 4, 1940) was a Romanian sociologist, philosopher and politician. Biography Origins and work Born in Brăila into a family of low-ranking civil servants, Andrei attended Nicolae Bălcescu High School from ...
, the sociologist
Dimitrie Gusti Dimitrie Gusti (; 13 February 1880 – 30 October 1955) was a Romanian sociologist, ethnologist, historian, and voluntarist philosopher; a professor at the University of Iaşi and the University of Bucharest, he served as Romania's Minister of ...
, the geographer
Emil Racoviță Emil Gheorghe Racoviță (; 15 November 1868 – 19 November 1947) was a Romanian biologist, zoologist, speleologist, and Antarctic explorer. Together with Grigore Antipa, he was one of the most noted promoters of natural sciences in Rom ...
and the painter
Octav Băncilă Octav Băncilă (; 4 February 1872 – 3 April 1944) was a Romanian realist painter and left-wing activist. He was the brother of Sofia Nădejde, a feminist journalist, and the brother-in-law of Ioan Nădejde (an atheist and socialist think ...
, only to name a few.


Theatres and orchestras

The Vasile Alecsandri National Theatre, opened in 1840, is the first National Theatre in Romania. The building, designed according to the plans of the Viennese architects
Hermann Helmer Hermann Gottlieb Helmer (13 July 1849 – 2 April 1919) was a German architect who mainly worked in Austria. Biography After completing an apprenticeship as a bricklayer, and some further education he joined the architecture firm of Ferdinand ...
and
Ferdinand Fellner Ferdinand Fellner (19 April 1847 – 22 March 1916) was an Austrian architect. Biography Fellner joined his ailing father's architecture firm at the age of nineteen. After his death he founded the architecture studio Fellner & Helmer together w ...
, was raised between 1894 and 1896, and also hosts, starting 1956, the
Iași Romanian National Opera Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...
. Iași is also home to: * Moldova State Philharmonic Orchestra * Luceafărul Theatre *
Iași Athenaeum Iași National Athenaeum ( ro, Ateneul Național din Iași), also known as ''Tătărași Athenaeum'', is a public cultural institution in Iași, Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Easte ...
(also known as Tătărași Athenaeum) * Ludic Student Theatre *Teatru Fi


Museums

Iași is home to many museums, memorial houses, art galleries.
First memorial museum from Romania opened in Iași in 1918, as the
Ion Creangă Ion Creangă (; also known as Nică al lui Ștefan a Petrei, Ion Torcălău and Ioan Ștefănescu; March 1, 1837 – December 31, 1889) was a Moldavian, later Romanian writer, raconteur and schoolteacher. A main figure in 19th-century Romania ...
Memorial House, and today th
Iași National Museum of Romanian Literature
owns several memorial houses and museums. The
Mihai Eminescu Mihai Eminescu (; born Mihail Eminovici; 15 January 1850 – 15 June 1889) was a Romanian Romantic poet from Moldavia, novelist, and journalist, generally regarded as the most famous and influential Romanian poet. Eminescu was an active membe ...
Museum, situated in
Copou Park The Copou Park or Copou Gardens is the oldest public park in Iaşi, Romania. Its development started in 1834 under the reign of Mihail Sturdza, making the park one of the first public gardens in Romania and a Iaşi landmark. In its centre lies ...
, is dedicated to the great poet's life and creation; other museums are dedicated to:
Dosoftei Dimitrie Barilă (), better known under his monastical name Dosoftei (; October 26, 1624—December 13, 1693), was a Moldavian Metropolitan, scholar, poet and translator. Born in Suceava, he attended the school of the "Trei Ierarhi" Monaste ...
,
Mihail Kogălniceanu Mihail Kogălniceanu (; also known as Mihail Cogâlniceanu, Michel de Kogalnitchan; September 6, 1817 – July 1, 1891) was a Romanian liberal statesman, lawyer, historian and publicist; he became Prime Minister of Romania on October 11, 1863, ...
,
Vasile Alecsandri Vasile Alecsandri (; 21 July 182122 August 1890) was a Romanian patriot, poet, dramatist, politician and diplomat. He was one of the key figures during the 1848 revolutions in Moldavia and Wallachia. He fought for the unification of the Romani ...
,
Mihai Codreanu Mihai Codreanu (; July 25, 1876 – October 23, 1957) was a Romanian poet, particularly noted for his sonnets. A native and lifelong resident of Iași, he published his first volume of verse in 1901, followed by another two years later that solidif ...
,
Vasile Pogor Vasile V. Pogor ( Francized ''Basile Pogor''; August 20, 1833 – March 20, 1906) was a Moldavian, later Romanian poet, philosopher, translator and liberal conservative politician, one of the founders of ''Junimea'' literary society. Raised in t ...
,
Otilia Cazimir Otilia Cazimir (pen name of Alexandra Gavrilescu; February 12, 1894 – June 8, 1967) was a Romanian poet, prose writer, translator and publicist, nicknamed the "poetess of gentle souls", known as a children's poems author. Biography Origins ...
,
Mihail Sadoveanu Mihail Sadoveanu (; occasionally referred to as Mihai Sadoveanu; November 5, 1880 – October 19, 1961) was a Romanian novelist, short story writer, journalist and political figure, who twice served as acting head of state for the communis ...
,
George Topîrceanu George Topîrceanu (; March 20, 1886 – May 7, 1937) was a Romanian poet, short story writer, and humourist. Biography He was born in Bucharest, the son of Ion Topîrceanu, a furrier and his wife, Paraschiva (née Cosma), a carpet weaver. Th ...
,
Nicolae Gane Nicolae Gane (February 1, 1838 – April 16, 1916) was a Moldavian, later Romanian prose writer, poet and politician. Born in Fălticeni, his family were '' boyars'' of small and medium importance; his parents were ''postelnic'' Matei Gane and his ...
,
Constantin Negruzzi Constantin Negruzzi (; first name often Costache ; 1808–24 August 1868) was a Romanian poet, novelist, translator, playwright, and politician. Born in Trifești, Iași, Trifeștii Vechi, Moldavia, he studied at home with a Greek teacher. He ad ...
,
Garabet Ibrăileanu Garabet Ibrăileanu (; May 23, 1871 – March 11, 1936) was a Romanian-Armenians in Romania, Armenian Literary criticism, literary critic and theorist, writer, translator, sociologist, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, University of Iași professor ...
,
Ionel Teodoreanu Ionel Teodoreanu (; 6 January 1897 – 3 February 1954) was a Romanian novelist and lawyer. He is mostly remembered for his books on the themes of childhood and adolescence. Biography Born in January 1897 in Iași into a family of intellectuals, ...
,
Petru Poni Petru Poni (4 January 1841 – 2 April 1925) was a Moldavian (later Romanian) chemist and mineralogist. Born into a family of ''răzeși'' (free peasants) in Săcărești, Iași County, he attended primary school in Târgu Frumos. In 1852, he enro ...
, ,
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 ...
,
Dimitrie Anghel Dimitrie Anghel (; July 16, 1872 – November 13, 1914) was a Romanian poet. Anghel was of Aromanian descent from his father. His first poem was published in ''Contemporanul'' (1890). His debut editorial ''Traduceri din Paul Verlaine'' was publi ...
. The , opened in 1976 at the celebration of 160 years since the first theatrical performance in Romanian, illustrates the development of the theatrical phenomenon since the beginning, important moments of the history of Iași National Theatre, the foundation, in 1840, of the Philharmonic-dramatic Conservatoire, prestigious figures that have contributed to the development of the Romanian theatre. The , includes original pieces and documents which belonged to prince Al. I. Cuza and his family. The , founded on 4 February 1834, is the first museum of this kind in Romania with over 300,000 items, the most valuable being the collections of insects, mollusc, amphibians, reptiles, birds, plants and minerals. Four other museums are located in the
Palace of Culture Palace of Culture (russian: Дворец культуры, dvorets kultury, , ''wénhuà gōng'', german: Kulturpalast) or House of Culture (Polish: ''dom kultury'') is a common name (generic term) for major Club (organization), club-houses (comm ...
: with its roots dating back to 1860, the ''Iași Art Museum'' is the oldest of its kind in Romania, and, with more than 8,700 works (many of them belonging to the universal patrimony), has the largest art collection in the country; the ''Moldavia's History Museum'', offers more than 48,000 objects from various fields, archaeology, numismatics, decorative art, ancient books, documents; the ''Ethnographic Museum of Moldavia'' owns more than 13,000 objects depicting the Romanian advance through the ages; the ''Science and Technology Museum's'' collection has more than 11,200 objects in five distinct sections and one memorial house.Complexul Muzeal National Moldova Iași-Raport de activitate (pg.810)
In May 2016, the was re-established, while in July 2021 four new museums, located in the House of Museums, were opened to the public: the Museum of Iași Pogrom, the Museum of the Jewish Theatre in Romania, the Museum of Poetry, and the Museum of Childhood under Communism.


Foreign culture centres

Iași hosts six cultural centres: French,
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
,
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
,
Latin American Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-eth ...
&
Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
, Hellenic, and
Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
.


Cultural events and festivals


FILIT
(''International Festival of Literature and Translation'') is a yearly literature and translation festival organised through the Iași Museum of Romanian Literature, begun in 2013;
FIE
(''International Education Festival''), launched in 2013, is a mix of cultural and educative events; * ''International Theatre Festival for Young Audience'' was launched in 2008 and it is hosted each October by Luceafărul Theatre; * Since 2010 a
SFR
Romanian Film Nights) are presented films from different periods of Romanian cinema, as well as new films, debut films or short films, with the invitation of actors, directors, scriptwriters and film critics in the projection; * Started in 2017
Afterhills
is the biggest music festival in Moldavia. Other music festivals
Rock'n'Iași
since 2007 an
Rocanotherworld
since 2016.
Hangariada
is an aeronautics and art festival organised each year in May; Live music and different other artistic events (poetry nights, readings) are a habitual occurrence in the various bars and coffee shops the city has to offer.


Education

The first institute of higher learning that functioned on the territory of Romania was Academia Vasiliană (1640) founded by Prince
Vasile Lupu Lupu Coci, known as Vasile Lupu (; 1595–1661), was a Voivode of Moldavia of Albanian origin between 1634 and 1653. Lupu had secured the Moldavian throne in 1634 after a series of complicated intrigues and managed to hold it for twenty years. Va ...
as a "higher school for Latin and Slavonic languages", followed by the Princely Academy in 1707. The first high education structure in
Romanian language Romanian (obsolete spellings: Rumanian or Roumanian; autonym: ''limba română'' , or ''românește'', ) is the official and main language of Romania and the Moldova, Republic of Moldova. As a minority language it is spoken by stable communi ...
was established in the autumn of 1813, when engineer
Gheorghe Asachi Gheorghe Asachi (, surname also spelled Asaki; 1 March 1788 – 12 November 1869) was a Moldavian, later Romanian prose writer, poet, painter, historian, dramatist, engineer- border maker and translator. An Enlightenment-educated polymath and ...
laid the foundations of a class of engineers, its activities taking place within the
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
Princely Academy. After 1813, other moments marked the development of higher education in Romanian language, regarding both
humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the t ...
and the technical science. In 1835,
Academia Mihăileană Academia Mihăileană was an institution of higher learning based in Iași, Moldavia, and active in the first part of the 19th century. Like other Eastern European institutions of its kind, it was both a high school and a higher learning institut ...
founded by
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. Th ...
Mihail Sturdza Mihail Sturdza (24 April 1794, Iași – 8 May 1884, Paris), sometimes anglicized as Michael Stourdza, was prince of Moldavia from 1834 to 1849. He was cousin of Roxandra Sturdza and Alexandru Sturdza. Biography He was son of Grigore Sturdza, se ...
is considered first Romanian superior institute in the country. In 1860, three faculties part of the Academia Mihăileană formed the nucleus for the newly established
University of Iași The Alexandru Ioan Cuza University (Romanian: ''Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza"''; acronym: UAIC) is a public university located in Iași, Romania. Founded by an 1860 decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza, under whom the former Academia Mih ...
, the first Romanian university. The , founded in Iași, has existed since the early part of the 19th century, and a number of periodicals are published. One of the oldest medical universities in Romania, founded in 1879, is located in Iași. It is now known as the Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy. In 1937, the two
applied science Applied science is the use of the scientific method and knowledge obtained via conclusions from the method to attain practical goals. It includes a broad range of disciplines such as engineering and medicine. Applied science is often contrasted ...
sections of the University of Iași became departments of the newly created
Gheorghe Asachi Polytechnic School Gheorghe is a Romanian given name and surname. It is a variant of George, also a name in Romanian but with soft Gs. It may refer to: Given name * Gheorghe Adamescu * Gheorghe Albu * Gheorghe Alexandrescu * Gheorghe Andriev * Gheorghe Apostol ...
. In the period before and after
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the later (renamed ''Polytechnic Institute'' in 1948) extended its domain of activity, especially in the field of engineering, and became known as Gheorghe Asachi Technical University in 1993. Public universities include: *
Alexandru Ioan Cuza University The Alexandru Ioan Cuza University (Romanian: ''Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza"''; acronym: UAIC) is a public university located in Iași, Romania. Founded by an 1860 decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza, under whom the former Academia Mih ...
- situated in Copou, is the oldest higher education institution in Romania; * Gheorghe Asachi Technical University – the school with the oldest engineering tradition in Romania; * Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy – one of the oldest medicine schools in Romania; *
George Enescu National University of Arts The George Enescu National University of Arts ( ro, Universitatea Națională de Arte „George Enescu”) is a public university in Iași, Romania, founded in 1860. It was named in honor of the composer George Enescu. History The institution w ...
– the oldest tradition in music and arts education in Romania; * Ion Ionescu de la Brad University of Life Sciences – one of the oldest schools of its kind. There are also some private higher education institutions including Petre Andrei University, the largest private university in the historical region of Moldavia. The Central University Library of Iași, where the chief records of Romanian history are preserved, is the oldest and the second largest in Romania. , Iași has 74 public schools, coordinated by the Iași County School Inspectorate. The city is also home to 19 private schools. Notable high schools: * Iași National College (1828) * Costache Negruzzi National College (1895) * Emil Racoviță National College (1964) * Mihai Eminescu National College (1865) * (1855)
Iași Science Festival
is a week long festival organised every year in April (starting 2013) for high school and grade school students to get be able to observe and take part in scientific experiments and be given detailed tours of the scientific and technical universities and research labs in Iași. Over 200 experiments were performed and over 10,000 students took part in the 2014 edition, from throughout the Moldavia region.


Media


Sports

In 2012, Iași was selected as one of the European Cities of Sport.


Current teams


Former teams

* FC Politehnica Iași of the
Romanian football league system The Romanian football league system, also known as the football pyramid, refers to the system in Romanian club football that consists of several football leagues bound together hierarchically by promotion and relegation. The first three leagues ar ...
from 1945 to 2010; * FC Constructorul Iași of the Romanian football league system from 1952 to 1995; * Clubul Sportiv Armata Iași of the Republican Basketball Championship (from 1950); * ACS Penicilina Iași of the
Divizia A1 (women's volleyball) The Divizia A1 is the women's top Romanian professional volleyball league. Past winners See also * Romanian Men's Volleyball League External links Romanian Volleyball FederationPrimul portal din voleiul românescFirst portal of Romanian vol ...
(from 1962); * Terom Iași of the
Liga Națională (women's handball) The Liga Națională is a league of professional women's handball league teams in Romania. Run by the Romanian Handball Federation, the competition is also known as the Liga Florilor MOL and is contested by sixteen teams. The National Handball ...
(from 1983 to 2012); * Politehnica Național Iași of the
Liga Națională (women's basketball) The Liga Națională, formerly known as Divizia A, is the women's top-tier professional basketball league of Romania. Established in 1950, it is currently contested by eleven teams. CS Universitatea Cluj-Napoca (women's basketball), Universitatea ...
(until 2017).


Transport


Public transport

Iași's public transportation system is served by the
CTP Iași The Compania de Transport Public (CTP) Iași (English: ''Iași Public Transport Company'') is the major transit operator responsible for public transportation in Iași, Romania. Until September 2016, CTP was known as the ''Autonomous Public Tra ...
(former RATP), which operates an extensive network using 126
tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
s (electric trams began operating in Iași in 1900) and 150 buses. In 2014, CTP carried 50,358,000 passengers, an average of 140,000 passengers per day.


Air

Iași is served by the
Iași International Airport Iași International Airport is an international airport located in Iași, Romania, east of the city centre. One of the oldest accredited airports in Romania and the most important airport in the historical region of Moldavia, Iași Airport was i ...
(IAS) located east of the city centre. The airport is the 4th busiest in Romania and offers direct domestic,
European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...
, and
Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
ern scheduled or charter connections. After extensive modernisation works, the number of connections and traffic volumes have seen a significant increase, in 2015.


Rail

Iași-
Pașcani Pașcani () is a city in Iași County in the Western Moldavia region of Romania, on the Siret river. , it has a population of 33,745. Five villages are administered by the city: Blăgești, Boșteni, Gâstești, Lunca, and Sodomeni. The city der ...
railway was opened on , Iași-
Ungheni Ungheni () is a municipality in Moldova. With a population of 35,157, it is the seventh largest town in Moldova and the seat of Ungheni District. There is a bridge across the Prut and a border checkpoint to Romania. There is another border t ...
on 1 August 1874 and Iași-
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 ...
railway was opened on 1 June 1875 by 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. ...
in preparation for the
Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 ( tr, 93 Harbi, lit=War of ’93, named for the year 1293 in the Islamic calendar; russian: Русско-турецкая война, Russko-turetskaya voyna, "Russian–Turkish war") was a conflict between th ...
. Nowadays, three railway stations, Grand Railway Station, and serve the city and are operated by
Romanian Railways Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...
(CFR). Moldovan railway also serves these stations for travel into
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 ...
. The Grand Railway Station, located about from the city centre, provides direct rail connections to all the major Romanian cities and to
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 ...
, Moldova. The rail stations are very well connected to all the parts of the city by the
tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
s and buses of the local public transport companies.


Road

Iași is connected by European routes E583/
E85 E85 is an abbreviation typically referring to an ethanol fuel blend of 85% ethanol fuel and 15% gasoline or other hydrocarbon by volume. In the United States, the exact ratio of fuel ethanol to hydrocarbon may vary according to ASTM 5798 that ...
with
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
through a four lane road, by
European route E58 European route E 58 is a road part of the International E-road network. It begins in Vienna, Austria and ends in Rostov-na-Donu, Russia. It is approximately long. Route * **: Vienna - Fischamend - Bruck an der Leitha **: Bruck an der ...
with Central Europe and
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 ...
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 ...
, and by DN National Roads with all major cities of Romania. A planned East–West freeway would connect the city to the A3 Transylvania Motorway and A7 Moldavia Motorway. The Iași Coach Station is used by several private transport companies to provide
coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...
connections from Iași to a large number of locations from all over the country.


Health care

Iași is home to 14 public hospitals, including the , the second largest and one of the oldest in Romania (1755), St. Maria Clinic Children's Hospital (one of the largest children's hospitals in the country), Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Regional Oncology Institute, and (1905 – first psychiatric hospital in Romania). The public system is complemented by numerous private clinics. In December 2021, the Ministry of Health signed the contract for the design of a new hospital that will serve the entire North-East region. The total investment in the construction of the Iași Regional Emergency Hospital ( ro, Spitalul Regional de Urgență (SRU) Iași), with a completion date of 2027, is estimated at over 500 million euros.


Air pollution concerns

In 2014, the
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
started environmental law
infringement procedure The European Court of Justice (ECJ, french: Cour de Justice européenne), formally just the Court of Justice, is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Un ...
s against Romania, citing
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
, Iași, and
Brașov Brașov (, , ; german: Kronstadt; hu, Brassó; la, Corona; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the administrative centre of Brașov County. According to the latest Romanian census (2011), Brașov has a popu ...
cases as examples. In 2015, while the
atmospheric particulate matter Particulates – also known as atmospheric aerosol particles, atmospheric particulate matter, particulate matter (PM) or suspended particulate matter (SPM) – are microscopic particles of solid or liquid matter suspended in the air. The ter ...
has repeatedly reached and exceeded legal thresholds for PM10, Iași came to be regarded as the city with the second worst air quality in Romania, after Bucharest. Pollution from vehicular traffic, construction works, and a lack of green spaces (the city only has about of public green spaces per capita) make up some of the reasons behind these problems.


Monuments and history

File:RO IS Stefan cel Mare statue 2.jpeg,
Stephen the Great Stephen III of Moldavia, most commonly known as Stephen the Great ( ro, Ștefan cel Mare; ; died on 2 July 1504), was Voivode (or Prince) of Moldavia from 1457 to 1504. He was the son of and co-ruler with Bogdan II, who was murdered in 1451 ...
File:Statuia lui Dosoftei din Iaşi.jpg,
Dosoftei Dimitrie Barilă (), better known under his monastical name Dosoftei (; October 26, 1624—December 13, 1693), was a Moldavian Metropolitan, scholar, poet and translator. Born in Suceava, he attended the school of the "Trei Ierarhi" Monaste ...
File:Statuia lui Miron Costin din Iaşi.jpg, Miron Costin File:Monumentul lui Grigore Ghica III din Iaşi7.jpg,
Grigore III Ghica Grigore III Ghica (1724 – 12 October 1777) was twice the Prince of Moldavia between 29 March 1764 – 3 February 1767 and September 1774 – 10 October 1777 and of Wallachia: 28 October 1768 – November 1769. Biography He was the son of Alex ...
Monument File:Statuia lui Gheorghe Asachi din Iaşi2.jpg,
Gheorghe Asachi Gheorghe Asachi (, surname also spelled Asaki; 1 March 1788 – 12 November 1869) was a Moldavian, later Romanian prose writer, poet, painter, historian, dramatist, engineer- border maker and translator. An Enlightenment-educated polymath and ...
File:Obeliscul Leilor din Iaşi.jpg, The Obelisk of Lions File:Statuia lui Vasile Alecsandri din Iaşi10.jpg,
Vasile Alecsandri Vasile Alecsandri (; 21 July 182122 August 1890) was a Romanian patriot, poet, dramatist, politician and diplomat. He was one of the key figures during the 1848 revolutions in Moldavia and Wallachia. He fought for the unification of the Romani ...
File:Statuia lui Alexandru Ioan Cuza din Iaşi5.jpg,
Alexandru Ioan Cuza Alexandru Ioan Cuza (, or Alexandru Ioan I, also anglicised as Alexander John Cuza; 20 March 1820 – 15 May 1873) was the first ''domnitor'' (Ruler) of the Romanian Principalities through his double election as prince of Moldavia on 5 Januar ...
File:Statuia lui Mihai Eminescu din Iasi.jpg, Mihai Eminescu Monument File:Statuia lui Mihail Kogălniceanu din Iași2.jpg,
Mihail Kogălniceanu Mihail Kogălniceanu (; also known as Mihail Cogâlniceanu, Michel de Kogalnitchan; September 6, 1817 – July 1, 1891) was a Romanian liberal statesman, lawyer, historian and publicist; he became Prime Minister of Romania on October 11, 1863, ...
File:RO IS independence monument 1.jpeg,
Independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
Monument File:Monumentul Unirii din Iaşi4.jpg, Union Monument File:Iași Pogrom Monument 1.jpg, Victims of Iași Pogrom Monument File:The Victims of Communism Memorial 1.jpg, Victims of Communism Memorial


Twin towns/sister cities

Iași is twinned with:


Consulates in Iași

*Moldova –
Consulate-General A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...
Honorary Consulates: *France *Hungary *Italy *Pakistan *Turkey


People


References and sources

;References ;Sources * * National Institute of Statistics: http://www.insse.ro


Bibliography


External links


Iași City Hall website


at romaniatourism.com
Iași

Street Map of Iași, as commissioned by the City Hall

Cultural events in Iași

Iași city Tourism

Iași City Portal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iasi Populated places in Iași County Localities in Western Moldavia Cities in Romania Capitals of Romanian counties Former capitals of Romania Jewish communities in Romania Holocaust locations in Romania Eastern Orthodox pilgrimage sites