Orhei (;

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 ve ...

''Uriv'' – אוריװ), also formerly known as Orgeev (russian: Орге́ев), is a city, municipality and the administrative centre of

Orhei District Orhei () is a district ( ro, raion) in central Moldova, with its administrative center in the city of Orhei. As of 2014 Moldovan Census its population was 101,502. History The Orhei region has been inhabited since the Stone Age. Settlement ...

in the

Republic of Moldova A republic () is a " state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th ...

, with a population of 21,065. Orhei is approximately north of the capital, Chișinău.

History

Orhei takes its name from the Hungarian Őrhely, , as it was an outpost of the Hungarian army guarding the ''

gyepű In medieval Europe, a march or mark was, in broad terms, any kind of borderland, as opposed to a national "heartland". More specifically, a march was a border between realms or a neutral buffer zone under joint control of two states in which diff ...

''. It was the Ottoman-occupied military center of northern Bessarabia until it was ceded to 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 1812. The word "orhei" was used by local population, meaning "strengthened hill, fortress, deserted courtyard". The name "Orhei" is, derived from the Hungarian word Őrhely or Várhely, the earlier meaning "lookout post", dating from the 13th century, when Hungarian forces built a series of defences in the area. Orhei gets its name from

Orheiul Vechi Old Orhei ( ro, Orheiul Vechi) is a Moldovan historical and archaeological complex located in Trebujeni, which is approximately north-east of Chișinău on the Răut River in the Republic of Moldova. History The ancient city of Orheiul Vechi i ...

, an active monastery near the village of

Ivancea Ivancea is a commune in Orhei District, Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east ...

. Like the rest of Bessarabia, Orhei was taken by the

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania ( ro, Regatul României) was a constitutional monarchy that existed in Romania from 13 March ( O.S.) / 25 March 1881 with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian ...

after

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 ...

and was annexed by the USSR in 1940. It was liberated from

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 ...

forces on 6 April 1944, during the Uman–Botoșani Offensive, and was rebuilt after the war. In 1991 it became part of the

. Prior to 2003, Orhei was the capital of Orhei County, a large administrative region, but the country was divided further into Raion, or districts. The St. Dumitru Church built by

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 ...

is located in this town.

Ilan Shor Ilan Shor (or Șor; he, אילן שור; born 6 March 1987) is a Moldovan hideaway businessman, oligarch and politician. From July 2015 to April 2019, he served as mayor of the Moldovan city of Orhei. He owns several Moldovan businesses, includi ...

was elected mayor in 2015; he served until 2019. Pavel Verejanu won the 2019 mayoral election in 2019, with about 80% of the vote. Verejanu was Shor's preferred candidate.

Demographics

While Orhei was still within Bessarabia, the population in 1920 was estimated to be 25,000. At that time, two-thirds of the population were

Jewish 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 ...

. The remaining population was Russian, Romanian and

Ruthenians Ruthenian and Ruthene are exonyms of Latin language, Latin origin, formerly used in Eastern and Central Europe as common ethnonyms for East Slavs, particularly during the late medieval and early modern periods. The Latin term Rutheni was used in ...

. Most people speak

Romanian 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, tradition ...

and Russian. There is one school that is taught in Russian.

Economy

Orhei was the first place in what was then known as Bessarabia, to have a successful

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

industry. The area is also known for

wine production Winemaking or vinification is the production of wine, starting with the selection of the fruit, its fermentation into alcohol, and the bottling of the finished liquid. The history of wine-making stretches over millennia. The science of wine and w ...

Religion

Orhei was home to many Jews prior to World War II, and has a large Jewish cemetery. There is only one active synagogue left in the community. The main churches are

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 ...

and

Russian Orthodox Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most ...

. Also in the area are: Baptist, Roman Catholic, Seventh-day Adventist Church,

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

the Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestant church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. The organisation reports a worldwide membership of over 1.7million, comprising soldiers, officers and adherents col ...

and Jehovah's Witnesses.

Media

Orhei has two local radio stations: Radio Orhei ( 101.6 FM) founded in 2005, contains news from region and republic -. In 2018 its name was cloned by a broadcaster affiliated t
Șor Party
- Radio Orhei FM (97.5 FM) -, Radio Orhei FM broadcasts news from the Orhei region, Moldova national news, international news, and Russian, Moldovan, and Romanian music. There is also an Orhei City Hall site .http://www.orhei.md

Sport

FC Milsami Orhei Fotbal Club Milsami Orhei, commonly known as Milsami Orhei, or simply Milsami, is a Moldovan football club based in Orhei, Moldova, currently playing in the Moldovan Super Liga. Previously known as ''FC Viitorul Orhei'', it won its first leagu ...

is based in the city. The team won the

Moldovan National Division The Moldovan Super Liga is an association football league that is currently the top division of Moldovan football league system. The competition was established in 1992, when the country became independent from the Soviet Union. It was formed in ...

in 2015.

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Orhei is twinned with: *

Bicaz Bicaz ( hu, Békás) is a town in Neamț County, Western Moldavia, Romania situated in the eastern Carpathian Mountains near the confluence of the Bicaz and Bistrița Rivers and near Lake Bicaz, an artificial lake formed by the Bicaz Dam on th ...

, Romania * Piatra Neamț, Romania

Natives

* Ilie Cătărău *

Jacobo Fijman Jacobo Fijman (25 January 1898 – 1 December 1970) was an Argentine poet born in Orhei, Bessarabia, now in Moldova. He moved to Argentina with his parents in 1902. Raised in humble circumstances, Fijman was a highly intelligent child interested ...

Dovid Knut Dovid Knut or Knout (russian: До́вид Кнут) (–15 February 1955), real name Duvid Meerovich (later David Mironovich) Fiksman (russian: Ду́вид Ме́ерович �ави́д Миро́новичФи́ксман), was a Russian Je ...

* Mihail Maculețchi * Alex Magala *

Rodica Mahu Rodica Mahu (born 18 July 1959, Orhei) is a journalist from the Republic of Moldova A republic () is a " state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, ...

*Pasha Parfeny

Gallery

File:Stamp of Moldova 166.gif, Orhei Fort File:Stamp of Moldova md487.jpg, Old Orhei File:Stamp of Moldova md418.jpg, St. Dumitru Church File:Interbelic Orhei CoA.png, Interwar Coat of Arms of Orhei

References

External links

* {{coord, 47, 23, N, 28, 49, E, region:MD_type:city, display=title Orhei, Cities and towns in Moldova Municipalities of Moldova Orgeyevsky Uyezd Orhei County (Romania) Capitals of the counties of Bessarabia Ținutul Nistru Orhei District