Bârlad () is a city in

Vaslui County Vaslui County () is a county (județ) of Romania, in the historical region Western Moldavia, with the seat at Vaslui. Demographics In 2011, it had a population of 395,499 and the population density was 74/km2. * Romanians - over 98% * Romani ...

, Romania. It lies on the banks of the river

Bârlad Bârlad () is a city in Vaslui County, Romania. It lies on the banks of the river Bârlad (river), Bârlad, which waters the high plains of Western Moldavia. At Bârlad the railway from Iași diverges, one branch skirting the river Siret (river ...

, which waters the high plains of

Western Moldavia Western Moldavia (, ''Moldova de Apus'', or , also known as Moldavia, is the core historic and geographical part of the former Principality of Moldavia situated in eastern and north-eastern Romania. Until its union with Wallachia in 1878, the P ...

. At Bârlad the railway from

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

diverges, one branch skirting the river

Siret Siret (; ; ; ; ) is a town, municipality and former Latin bishopric in Suceava County, northeastern Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Bukovina. Siret is the 11th largest urban settlement in the county, with a population of 6,708 ...

, the other skirting the

Prut The Prut (also spelled in English as Pruth; , ) is a river in Eastern Europe. It is a left tributary of the Danube, and is long. Part of its course forms Romania's border with Moldova and Ukraine. Characteristics The Prut originates on the eas ...

; both reunite at

Galați Galați ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names) is the capital city of Galați County in the historical region of Western Moldavia, in eastern Romania. Galați is a port town on the river Danube. and the sixth-larges ...

. Along with a maze of narrow and winding streets, Bârlad features several notable modern buildings, including the hospital administered by the Saint Spiridion Foundation of Iași. In the vicinity of the city are the ruins of a

Roman camp ''Castra'' () is a Latin language, Latin term used during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire for a military 'camp', and ''castrum'' () for a 'Fortification, fort'. Either could refer to a building or plot of land, used as a fortified milita ...

. The city is the birthplace of Romanian ''

Domnitor ''Prince Domnitor'', in full ''Principe Domnitor'' (Romanian pl. ''Principi Domnitori'') was the official title of the ruler of Romania between 1862 and 1881. It was usually translated as "prince regnant" in English and most other languages, ...

'' (Ruler) and diplomat

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'' (prince) of the Romanian Principalities through his double election as List of monarchs of Moldavia ...

Etymology

Scholars continue to debate the origin of the city's name. The

Hypatian Codex The ''Hypatian Codex'', also known as Hypatian Letopis or Ipatiev Letopis, is a compendium of three Rus' chronicle, Rus' chronicles: the ''Primary Chronicle'', ''Kievan Chronicle'' and ''Galician-Volhynian Chronicle''. It is the most important sou ...

mentions a market town called ''Berlad'', and some historians, influenced by a document

Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu (; 26 February 1838 – ) was a Romanian writer and philologist who pioneered many branches of Romanian philology and history. Life He was born Tadeu Hâjdeu in Cristineștii Hotinului (now Kerstentsi in Chernivtsi ...

published in the 19th century, have tried to link this town and its inhabitants (variously considered Romanians, East Slavs or an amalgam) with the Moldavian Bârlad. Ioan Bogdan demonstrated that the Hasdeu document was false, thus invalidating the hypothesis. Like

and

Suceava Suceava () is a Municipiu, city in northeastern Romania. The seat of Suceava County, it is situated in the Historical regions of Romania, historical regions of Bukovina and Western Moldavia, Moldavia, northeastern Romania. It is the largest urban ...

, the medieval town took its name from the adjacent river, but nothing more can be said for certain.

Constantin Cihodaru Constantin is an Aromanian, Megleno-Romanian and Romanian male given name. It can also be a surname. For a list of notable people called Constantin, see Constantine (name). See also * Constantine (name) * Konstantin The first name Konstan ...

linked the name, of possible Hungarian origin, to a Slavic word (''berlo'' — "rod", "cottage" or ''birlo'' — "swamp"), to which was added the Hungarian suffix ''-d'', also found, for example, in the names

Cenad Cenad (, during the Dark Ages ''Marosvár''; , archaically ''Maroschburg''; ; ) is a commune in Timiș County, Romania. It is composed of a single village, Cenad. The village serves as a customs point on the border with Hungary. Today's village ...

, Arad, Tușnad, and

Tășnad Tășnad (; Hungarian: ''Tasnád'', Hungarian pronunciation: ; German: ''Trestenburg'') is a town in Satu Mare County, Crișana, Romania. It administers five villages: Blaja (''Tasnádbalázsháza''), Cig (''Csög''), Rațiu (''Ráctanya''), Săr ...

. Supporting this notion is the historic presence of a significant Hungarian community, with traditions recalling the fight against the Tatars in the mid-14th century.

History

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Bârlad was captured on 24 August 1944 by

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

troops of the

2nd Ukrainian Front The 2nd Ukrainian Front () was a front of the Red Army during the Second World War. History On October 20, 1943, the Steppe Front was renamed the 2nd Ukrainian Front. In mid-May 1944 Malinovsky took over the 2nd Ukrainian Front. During t ...

during the Jassy–Kishinev Offensive.

Population

Natives

* Constantin Aur * Martin Bercovici * Elena Bibescu * Mihail Cristodulo Cerchez *

N. D. Cocea N. D. Cocea (common rendition of Nicolae Dumitru Cocea, , also known as Niculae, Niculici or Nicu Cocea; November 29, 1880 – February 1, 1949) was a Romanian journalist, novelist, critic and left-wing political activist, known as a major but c ...

* Adi Cristian Colceru (David Deejay) *

Anton Davidoglu Anton Davidoglu (June 30, 1876 – May 27, 1958) was a Romanian mathematician who specialized in differential equations. He was born in 1876 in Bârlad, Vaslui County, the son of Profira Moțoc and Doctor Cleante Davidoglu. His older brother was ...

* Cleante Davidoglu * Manolache Costache Epureanu * Elena Farago * Leonte Filipescu *

Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej (; 8 November 1901 – 19 March 1965) was a Romanian politician. He was the first Socialist Republic of Romania, Communist leader of Romania from 1947 to 1965, serving as first secretary of the Romanian Communist Party ...

* Max Goldstein * Marcel Guguianu * Ernest Juvara * Valeriu Lazarov * Alexandru I. Philippide * Ștefan Procopiu * Andreea Răducan *

Nicolae Tonitza Nicolae Tonitza (; April 13, 1886 – February 27, 1940) was a Romanian painter, Engraving, engraver, Lithography, lithographer, journalist and art critic. Drawing inspiration from Post-Impressionism and Expressionism, he had a major role in ...

* Ovidiu Tonița * Bogdan Zebega * George Tutoveanu

Education

Bârlad features a total number of 43 school units, of which 23

kindergartens Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...

, 12 primary and secondary schools, 5 high schools, one

vocational school A vocational school (alternatively known as a trade school, or technical school), is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary education#List of tech ed skills, secondary or post-secondar ...

, one music and arts school, an orphanage for preschool children, and one for school children. All these units are subordinated to the Romanian Ministry of Education. Education Main high schools are: *''Colegiul Național Gheorge Roșca Codreanu'' ( Gheorghe Roșca Codreanu National College) – the only national college in Vaslui County; *''Liceul Teoretic Mihai Eminescu'' (Mihai Eminescu Theoretical High School); *''Grupul Școlar Industrial Alexandru Ioan Cuza'' (Alexandru Ioan Cuza Industrial High School); *''Liceul Tehnologic Petru Rareș'' (Petru Rareș Technological High School); * ''Liceul Pedagogic Ioan Popescu'' ( Ioan Popescu Pedagogical High School).

International relations

Twin towns—Sister cities

Bârlad is twinned with: * Vergèze,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Konya Konya is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium. In 19th-century accounts of the city in En ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Sport

"Rulmentul Bârlad" is the city's rugby team, currently playing in the first rugby league in Romania. One of the pioneers of rugby in Romania, the first team was created in 1956 under the name of "Constructorul", meaning "The Builder" in

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, traditional ...

. "S.C. RULMENȚI S.A. Bârlad" was formed later on in 1962, competing in the first tier of the Romanian rugby division ever since. The team colours are white and blue. Notable performances are the winning of the 1986 and 1987 F.R.R cup (Federația Română de Rugby - The Romanian Rugby Cup). "Fepa '74 Bârlad" was the city's football team, changing its name to "F.C. Bârlad" shortly after. Its best performance was the promotion in the second tier of the Romanian Football Championship in the mid-1980s. Football *FC Bârlad *Fepa 74 Bârlad *FC Rulmentul Bârlad Rugby *Rulmentul Bârlad Gymnastics *CSS Bârlad Kickboxing *Scorpions Bârlad

Gallery

File:Primăria municipiului Bârlad.jpg, City Hall File:Museo Vasile Pârvan.jpg, Vasile Pârvan Museum File:Biserica Sf Ilie.jpg, St. Elijah Church File:Jutjat(Juzgado) Bârlad.jpg, Palace of Justice File:Teatrul "Victor Ion Popa" Barlad.jpg, Victor Ion Popa Theatre

Notes

External links

*
Bună Dimineața Bârlad - BDB News
*
Bârlad City Hall
site *
Bârlad city portal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barlad Cities in Romania Localities in Western Moldavia Capitals of former Romanian counties Populated places in Vaslui County Market towns in Moldavia