Bălți () is a city in

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

. It is the second-largest city in terms of population, area and economic importance, after

Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ; formerly known as Kishinev) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Moldova, largest city of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial centre, and is located in the middle of the coun ...

. The city holds the status of

municipiu A municipiu (from Latin ''municipium''; English: municipality) is a level of administrative subdivision in Romania and Moldova, roughly equivalent to city in some English-speaking world, English-speaking countries. In Romania, this status is gi ...

. Sometimes called "the northern capital", it is a major industrial, cultural and commercial centre and transportation hub in the north of the country. It is situated north of the capital Chișinău, and is located on the river

Răut Răut, also referred to as Reut (, Ukrainian and (Reut), (Revet)) is a river in Moldova, a right tributary of Dniester. Răut, generally navigable until the 18th-19th century, is navigable today only by small recreational boats. The towns Bă ...

, a tributary of the

Dniester The Dniester ( ) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and then through Moldova (from which it more or less separates the breakaway territory of Transnistria), finally discharging into the Black Sea on Uk ...

, on a hilly landscape in the

Bălți steppe The Bălți Steppe () is a hilly area with few trees (apart from those near rivers Dniestr, Răut and numerous lakes and creeks), dominated by agriculturally cultivated land, and occasionally by grasses and shrubs, in the northern part of Moldova. ...

Name

The word "''bălți''" (pl. of

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 ...

sing. "''baltă''") in direct translation means "puddle". It is believed that the city had been named thus because it was founded on a hill dominating the wetland formed where the creek Răuțel ("Little Răut") falls into the river Răut. In addition to the official name ''Bălți'' and the Russian name (), between 1940 and 1989 in

Moldovan Cyrillic alphabet The Moldovan Cyrillic alphabet is a Cyrillic alphabet designed for the Romanian language spoken in the Soviet Union ( Moldovan) and was in official use from 1924 to 1932 and 1938 to 1989 (and still in use today in the breakaway Moldovan region ...

, and after 1989 in Russian, the name was/is also rendered in

Cyrillic The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking countries in Southeastern Europe, Ea ...

as ().

History and symbols

Coat of arms

The current

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

and flag of Bălți, elaborated by Silviu Tabac from the Moldovan State Commission for

Heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and genealo ...

, were adopted by the Municipal Council in April 2006. A shield, with alternating six silvery strips (symbolizing water), and six blue strips (symbolizing earth), form the background (symbolizing the name of the city). The central element of the shield is an

archer Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In modern ...

in red clothes, in the military outfit (yellow) of

Stephen III of Moldavia Stephen III, better known as Stephen the Great (; ; died 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 in a conspiracy organized by his brother an ...

(

: Ștefan cel Mare) times (15th century). The archer represents the medieval

military recruitment Military recruitment is attracting people to, and selecting them for, Recruit training, military training and Military service, employment. Demographics Gender Across the world, a large majority of recruits to state armed forces and Viole ...

, formed by local free peasants. On top of the shield is a silver crown in the shape of a fortress wall with seven towers. (The crown represents the fact that the locality is a city. Apart from Bălți, only the capital

, and

Tiraspol Tiraspol (, ; also /; , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Transnistria, a breakaway state of Moldova, where it is the third-largest city. The city is located on the eastern bank of the Dniester River. Tiraspol is a regional hub of cul ...

are allowed to have seven towers, while other cities must limit this number to three or five.) The shield is supported by two rearing silver horses (the white horse is the traditional symbol of the region, which was part 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 cou ...

before 1812). Under the shield, there is a ribbon with the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

inscription '' CEDANT ARMA TOGAE'', meaning ''let arms yield to the

toga The toga (, ), a distinctive garment of Ancient Rome, was a roughly semicircular cloth, between in length, draped over the shoulders and around the body. It was usually woven from white wool, and was worn over a tunic. In Roman historical tra ...

''. In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, the archer was featured on the coats of arms of the region. In the 19th century, the city and district coats of arms also featured a horse head. In the early 20th century, a shield representing an archer, standing on a hill, the sun, and three bullrush sticks (elements quite sufficient to identify the place where Bălți is situated in the landscape of the north of Moldova) formed the coat of arms of the Bălți county, while these and horse elements - the coat of arms of the city proper.

Flag

The city's flag is composed of two horizontal strips: a blue one on the bottom, and a silver one on top. The shield and archer elements from the coat of arms are also present in the centre of the flag.

Geography

Bălți is situated on the tops and slopes of three hills and in two small valleys. The land in the north of

is very fertile, mostly consisting of black earth or

chernozem Chernozem ( ),; also called black soil, regur soil or black cotton soil, is a black-colored soil containing a high percentage of humus (4% to 16%) and high percentages of phosphorus and ammonia compounds. Chernozem is very fertile soil and can ...

. Several extraction sites for raw materials used in the construction industry are also found in the vicinity of Bălți. The creeks Răuțel, Copăceanca, and Flămândă cross the territory of the municipality, and flow into the river

. Also, several lakes are situated in Bălți: City Lake, Komsolskoe Lake, Hunters and Fishermen Lake, Strâmba Lake. The

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

covers an area of , of which the city proper , the village

Elizaveta Elizaveta () may refer to: People * Elizaveta Alexandrova-Zorina, (born 1984), Russian-born writer * Elizaveta Arzamasova (born 1995), Russian actress * Elizaveta Akhmatova (1820–1904), Russian writer, publisher and translator * Elizaveta Ax ...

(an eastern suburb) , and the village

Sadovoe Sadovoe is a village in the municipality of Bălți in the north of Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldo ...

(a north-western suburb) . Of these, an important portion () is agriculturally cultivated.

Neighbourhoods

The city itself is located on portions of three hills. The river Răut separates one of the hills to the north-east, the slopes of this hill are occupied by the neighbourhood Slobozia. Răut's affluent Răuțel separates another hill in the south, the slopes of which are the Podul Chișinăului. The largest of the three hills dominates the valleys of the creek and river, and contains the city centre and the old town, and the neighbourhoods Pământeni,

Dacia Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It thus ro ...

, 6th district, 8th district, the city's main industrial area, and Molodova neighborhood. The top of this hill is occupied by the medical facilities district. Bălții Noi neighborhood is situated in the valley of the Răuțel creek. A Soroca neighborhood, 10th district, 9th district, the area of the former Bălți concentration camp, and the

Bălți City Airport Bălți-City Airport was the second largest airport in Republic of Moldova, Moldova and one of the two major civilian airports in Bălți (the second being Bălți International Airport, Bălți-Leadoveni International Airport located in the sub ...

are situated in the valley of the Răut river. The names of city neighborhoods reflect different historic influences, such as names of 19th century suburbs that are nowadays within city limits: ''Pământeni'', ''Slobozia'', ''Molodova'', ''Podul Chișinăului'', ''Bălții Noi''; others are known by their

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 ...

-era names: ''6th district'', ''8th district'', ''9th district''. A neighbourhood in the northern part of the city is called ''Dacia'', and is colloquially sometimes referred to as ''BAM''. A district in the eastern part is known as ''10th district''.

Cityscape

Architecture

Cultural venues in the city include: * Vasile Alecsandri National Theatre * The oldest surviving building, a two-story boyar house, right in the heart of the city centre, dates back to 1609. Though it has been re-constructed and re-modeled many times with total disregard to conservation to the extent that now it simply looks like an odd two-story building. * Monument of Stephen the Great (2003)
Others
(see down through the text) Churches:
Saint Nicolas Church, Bălți
(1795). Although

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-pag ...

, the building, financed by Gheorghe Panaiti, has a degree of

catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

influence brought in by the architect Antuan Weismann from Galicia. *

Saint Constantine and Elena Cathedral, Bălți In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

(1934), Orthodox, built in neo-

Byzantine style Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire, or Eastern Roman Empire, usually dated from 330 AD, when Constantine the Great established a new Roman capital in Byzantium, which became Constantinople, until the fall of the ...

. The building, at which official opening the Romanian

royal family A royal family is the immediate family of monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term papal family describes the family of a pope, while th ...

was present, survived almost without visible effects the harsh treatment during the

era. During this time it was mostly a depot and later turned into the municipal museum.
Bishopric Palace, Bălți
(1924–1932), was the main office of the agricultural enterprise-institute "Selectia", and the surrounding park during the

era.
Saint Parascheva Church, Bălți
(1933), by the bishop

Visarion Puiu Visarion Puiu (; sometimes Bessarion in French; born Victor Puiu on 27 February 1879 in Pașcani, Romania – 10 August 1964 in Paris or Viels-Maisons, France) was a metropolitan bishop of the Romanian Orthodox Church. During World War II, ...

.
Archangels Michael and Gabriel Church, Bălți
(1912–1933)
Saint Peter and Paul Church, Bălți
(1915–1929) *

Armenian 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 around the ...

br>Saint Gregory Church, Bălți
(1916) * Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church (1884)

Climate

Bălți has 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 cold ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Dfa''). The all-time maximum temperature registered in the city was , the all-time minimum . There are of annual rainfall, mostly during summer and fall. Winds are generally from the north-east or the north-west at about 2–5 m/s.

Seismology

The city is situated in the 7th zone of seismic activity, with a well-felt earthquake (generally without any serious structural damage to the city's buildings) occurring every 35 years on average.

Demographics

According to the 2014 census, 102,457 inhabitants lived within the Bălți municipality limits, a decrease compared to the previous census in 2004, when 127,561 inhabitants were registered. The population of the city itself was 97,930, and that of the suburban villages of

and

was of 3,221, respectively 1,306. Of these, 46,930 were men and 55,527 were women.

''Footnotes'': * ''There is an ongoing controversy regarding the ethnic identification of Moldovans and Romanians.'' * ''In March 2023, the

Parliament of Moldova The parliament of the Republic of Moldova () is the supreme representative body of the Republic of Moldova, the only state legislative authority, being a unicameral structure composed of 101 elected MPs on lists, for a period or legislature o ...

approved a law referring to the national language as Romanian in all legislative texts and the constitution, making the name Moldovan obsolete. ''

Religion

At the 2004 census, 90.7% of the population (110,961 people) identified themselves as

Christian Orthodox Orthodoxy () is adherence to a purported "correct" or otherwise mainstream- or classically-accepted creed, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical co ...

, 2.1% (2,609) as Baptist, 0.8% as Roman Catholic Church, Catholic, 0.5% as Seventh-day Adventist Church, Seventh-day Adventist, 0.4% as Pentecostalism, Pentecostal, 0.2% as Methodism, Methodist, 0.1% as Evangelicalism, Evangelical, 0.09% as Muslim, 0.06% as Presbyterianism, Presbyterian, 0.04% as Old Believers, 0.04% as Reformed churches, Reformed, 1.8% (2161 people) as followers of other religions, 0.4% as atheism, atheist, and 2.7% (3,304) as agnosticism, non-religious.

Social aspects

The post-independence decrease in the city population is mainly due to the Economy of Moldova, economic and Demographics of Moldova, demographic situation of Moldova, which prompted a wave of permanent or temporary emigration. Remittances from the Foreign worker, migrant workers account for 30% of Moldova's Gross domestic product, GDP, the highest percentage in all of Europe. Often, elderly relatives and children of these workers are left to live in Bălți. The majority of the population of Bălți is bilingual (

and Russian language, Russian), but some people only know one of these two languages. Many people in the city also understand and/or speak Ukrainian language, Ukrainian.

Pre-WWII Jewish Community

"Between the two world wars, the Jewish community of Bălți was a vibrant population of trade, industry and culture, Zionism and Yiddish, political parties and youth movements. Bălți was the second-largest populated city in Bessarabia, with the second-largest number of Jewish inhabitants after Chișinău, and the economic center of the region. In the official 1930 census, Bălți was listed as having 14,229 Jewish residents, about 60% of its total population. "Following the Molotov–Ribbentrop Agreement, Bălți was absorbed into the Soviet Union in the summer of 1940, coming under Soviet rule. "On 22 June 1941, the Germans invaded the USSR. On 9 July, Bălți was occupied by German and Romanian armies, and waves of abuse and murder began. At the end of July, the German units and Gestapo officers left the city in the hands of the Romanians. In September 1941 the last of the Jews of Bălți– some 2,800 people – were expelled to the Mărculești Camp, and the Jewish population of the city ceased to exist. In Mărculești, many members of the community died, and the rest were deported to Transnistria."

Culture and contemporary life

Entertainment and performing arts

Theaters: * Vasile Alecsandri National Theatre * "Eugène Ionesco" Theatre * "Licurici" Republican Puppet Theatre * "B.P. Hajdeu" Republican Drama-Muzical Theatre * "Mihai Eminescu" National Theatre * "Luceafarul" Republican Theatre * Municipal Theatre "Satiricus I.L. Caragiale" Museums and Art museum, art galleries: * "Exhibition of the Union of painters "Constantin Brâncuși" * Artum Art Gallery

Media

* ''Deca-press'', the oldest independent News agency, press agency in the north of the country. * '':ru:СП (газета), Spros i Predlojenie'', a major Russian language Newspaper, daily newspaper serving northern Moldova. *
Gazeta.MD
' the News agency founded in December 2007. * Golos Bălți the city newspaper, founded in 1947. * '':ru:Маклер (газета), Makler'' the advertising newspaper from Moldova and Ukraine. *
Belicy-sity
' information and entertaining portal Belicy-sity.

Radio stations

List of FM radio stations from Bălți as of 4 July 2009. * 90.0-«Serebriannii dojdi» * 90.5-«Prime FM» * 92.00-«Retro FM» * 101.0-«Vocea Basarabiei» * 101.5-«City radio» * 102.1-«Radio ALLA» * 102.9-«BBC» * 103.5-«Vzrosloe radio Shanson» * 103.9-«Fresh FM» * 104.9-«Radio Moldova» * 105.6-«Megapolis Fm» * 106.2-«Russcoe Radio» * 107.2-«NOROC» * 107.6-«Hit FM»

Civil society

Bălți is a source of civil society development both locally and nationwide. Bălți is home to numerous independent and apolitical organisations such as ''Second Breath'', one of the Moldovan Non-governmental organization, NGOs for care of socially vulnerable persons, ''Tinerii pentru Dreptul la Viață'' ("Youth for the right to live"), a List of youth organizations, youth organisation.

Sports

* 7 sport schools in Bălți offer programmes in the following sports: Orienteering, volleyball, shooting sports, handgun shooting sports, equestrianism, basketball, team handball, handball, Olympic weightlifting, weightlifting, chess, Swimming (sport), swimming, canoeing, Association football, football, Track and field athletics, athletics, tourism. * Municipal Stadium "Olimpia Bălți Stadium" (home of FC Olimpia Bălți) * Olympic-size swimming pool, Olympic Swimming pool, Swimming Pool "Central" * Olympic-size swimming pool, Olympic Swimming Pool "Volna" (open air) * FC Olimpia Bălți is a football club based in the city and plays in Moldova's top league, the Moldovan National Division

Economy

Historically Bălți was known for producing tobacco. They also had many vineyards and orchards. Most of the city's industry centres on food processing, notably in the production of flour, sugar, and wine. Manufacturing of furniture and agricultural machinery also plays an important role in Bălți's economy. The Tertiary sector of the economy, service sector has developed after 1989 to cover the basic needs of the population.

Manufacturing

This city is an important economic centre, with manufacturing playing an important role. Besides traditional for Moldova Winemaking, wine making, sugar, Meat packing industry, meat processing, Flour, flour milling, oil production, and light industry in general, Bălți is the centre for manufacturing of agricultural machinery, of various construction materials, fur, textile, chemical and furniture industries. A mammoth Soviet-type Conglomerate (company), conglomerate 8,000-worker factory (called "Lenin" before 1989 and "Răut" afterwards) produced a large variety of machine Building material, building products for consumer or industry use, from Ironing, irons and Telephone, telephone sets to sonar equipment for Military history of the Soviet Union, Soviet military submarines. However, due to swift changes in the economic environment after the breakdown of the Soviet planned economy system, the manufacturing base of the city has severely suffered. Nevertheless, more recently, new economic ties are being created, with collaboration and direct investment mostly from European Union, the European Union. Lisa Dräxlmaier GmbH celebrated the inauguration of its second plant in Moldova. The facility, which will be located in Balti, will produce wiring harnesses. The plant has about of production and logistics space.

Shopping

Bălți has several major Chain store, shopping chain outlets, such as the German Metro AG, Metro Group AG, Ukrainian Fourchette and Moldovan Fidesco Group, Fidesco. Numerous shops, can be found in the central (retail), eastern (en gros) and northern (retail) parts of the city. The biggest shopping galleries are located in the centre and in the Dacia district (north) of the city. Souvenir boutiques are mostly found around the central square Vasile Alecsandri. The central market (place), market is open from early morning. A variety of small private stores and supermarkets are available. There are also six public-owned and four private-owned markets. More recently several supermarket chains have opened stores in the city.

Health facilities

The city has a big Republican hospital, another multifunctional municipal hospital, a children's hospital, and a range of other medical facilities (smaller clinics and hospitals, as well as buildings, named poly-clinics, gathering doctors offices).

Government

Bălți Municipality is a Administrative divisions of Moldova, territorial unit of

(one of its 3 municipalities not subordinated to other territorial units; it has had the status of municipality since 1994), containing the city itself, and the villages of

and

. The Mayor Office () is headed by the Mayor of Bălți, Mayor (), and administers the local affairs, while the Municipal Council serves as a consultative body with some powers of general policy determination. It is composed of 35 council members elected every four years. As a result of the last regional elections of local public administration held in June 2007, the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova, Communist Party (PCRM) holds 21 mandates, 11 mandates are held by representatives of other parties, and 3 mandates by independents. There are two factions in the Municipal Council: the PCRM faction (21 members) and "Meleag" (Romanian for "Native land") faction (3 independents and 4 representatives of different parties). The Mayor of Bălți, Mayor of the municipality is elected for four years. Vasile Panciuc, Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova, PCRM, is the incumbent from 2001 and was re-elected twice: in 2003 during the anticipated elections (as a result of a new reform of the administrative division in Moldova), and in 2007.

Politics

Until recently, voters in the Bălți municipality mainly supported the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova, PCRM. This is explained by the fact that the municipality contains a large Russian language, Russian-speaking minority (43%) which primarily votes Communist. However, support for the Communists has seen a steady decline in the last three elections.

Elections

, - ! style="background:#e9e9e9; text-align:center;" colspan=2, Parties and coalitions ! style="background:#e9e9e9; text-align:right;", Votes ! style="background:#e9e9e9; text-align:right;", % ! style="background:#e9e9e9; text-align:right;", +/− , - , , align=left, Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova , align="right", 36,348 , align="right", 56.89 , align="right", −1.27 , - , , align=left, Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova , align="right", 11,721 , align="right", 18.35 , align="right", +5.53 , - , , align=left, Democratic Party of Moldova , align="right", 8,746 , align="right", 13.69 , align="right", -1.91 , - , , align=left, Liberal Party (Moldova), Liberal Party , align="right", 3,147 , align="right", 4.93 , align="right", −2.71 , - , , align=left, Party Alliance Our Moldova , align="right", 882 , align="right", 1.38 , align="right", −1.49 , - , style="background:gray;", , align=left, Other Party , align="right", 3,057 , align="right", 4.76 , align="right", +1.85 , - , style="text-align:left; background:#e9e9e9;" colspan=2, Total (turnout 58.73%) , style="text-align:right; width:30px; background:#e9e9e9;", 64,233 , style="text-align:right; width:30px; background:#e9e9e9;", 100.00 , style="text-align:right; width:30px; background:#e9e9e9;",

Military

The 1st Motorized Infantry Brigade "Moldova" of the Moldovan Ground Forces, Moldovan Land Forces Command (out of a total of 6 brigades – three infantry, one artillery, one airborne and one anti-aircraft) is located in Bălți. A unit of

Tochka-M short-range rockets, each carrying of Bomb, conventional explosive, was known to be based in the city. No up to date information is available.

Education

Primary and Secondary Education

There are 13 lyceums and 6 professional education institutions () offering the last 3 years of high school education and 2 years post-high school technical education. Also, 14 secondary schools (numbered 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 19, 21, 23), 7 professional or professional-technical schools (numbered 1 through 7), and 3 boarding schools, including one for Visual impairment, visually impaired are located in the city.

Higher education

* The Alecu Russo State University of Bălți, Alecu Russo University of Bălți, the Education in Moldova, second-largest university in Moldova, named after the 19th century Romanians, Romanian scholar and ethnologist Alecu Russo. The university houses one of the biggest libraries in Balkans, South-Eastern Europe. It is a public university. * The private Dniester Institute of Economy and Law * The private Moldovan Branch of the non-governmental educational institution "Baltic Institute of Ecology, Politics and Law" * The private Humanist Contemporary Institute These schools teach either in Romanian, Russian, Ukrainian, English or are mixed. The latter case was inherited from the

system, which provided for education in Russian and Romanian (Moldovan) languages, where mixed schools were created with the administration being carried out in both languages.

Historical monuments and architecture

* Saint Nicolas Cathedral (1795) * Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary (1884) * Saint Gregory Armenian Church (1916) * Saint Constantine and Helen Cathedral (1935) * Saint Parascheva Church (1934) * Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul (1929) * Church of the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel (1933) * Bălți Bishopric (1934) * Vasile Alecsandri National Theatre * Matrimonial Palace * History and Ethnography Museum * A monument of Stefan the Great (2003) * Bust of Mihai Eminescu * Bust of Vasile Alecsandri * Bust of Taras Shevchenko (2001) * A monument to soldiers killed in Afghanistan (1999) * Bust of King Ferdinand I of Romania, Ferdinand I of Romania from the Alecu Russo State University of Bălți, University of Bălți. Author Veaceslav Jiglitski (2023)

Transport

Public transport

Passenger transport in Bălți is handled mainly by the Bălți Trolleybus Authority and Bălți Bus Authority, as well as by private bus, minibus and taxi companies. The total number of passengers transported in Bălți in 2004 was 35.4 million. There are around 25 minibus lines in Bălți and its Urban agglomeration, agglomeration. The Bălți Bus Authority (B.B.A.) provides regular bus routes only in suburbs. There are also private bus and minibus services, which are not regulated by the B.B.A., provides regular routes in Bălți. There are 3 trolleybus lines in Bălți, the fourth line being planned to be constructed in future. Most trolleybuses used by the Bălți Trolleybus Authority (B.T.A.) are different modifications of the Soviet Trolza, ZiU-682, one Czech Škoda Works, Škoda-14Tr13/6M, three Belarusian Belkommunmash, АКСМ–20101, and seven Russian VMZ (Vologodskiy mechanical plant), Trans-Alfa 5298.00 (375). Bălți offers a choice of taxi services, most of which operate for a fixed fee in the inner city. Three taxi companies are branches of Moldovan national companies, two taxi companies are Bălți registered businesses.

Road

Bălți is an important transportation hub of

. The best Transport, inter-city transportation is done by coach or van (privately or Public company, publicly owned). of

-style highway (portions in good or fair condition) connect the city to the capital

. By road one can also reach Ukraine (in about 2 hours) to the north or to the east, and Romania (in about 1 hour) to the south-west by the Sculeni–Victoria, Iași, Sculeni crossing point, which leads to the Romanian city of Iași ( from Bălți), or to the west by the Stânca-Costești Dam, Stânca–Costești crossing. The Bălți Inter-City Coach Station provides for regular bus connections throughout Moldova, as well as for numerous European and international connections (Eurolines).

Rail

Regular rail connections to Ocnița (north), Rezina (east) and Ungheni (south-east), as well as to

exists, however it takes today 6 hours to cover the to Chișinău. The railway lines are not electrified, and contain only a single track between stations. Since Moldova gained independence, the railway lines became the responsibility of Calea Ferată din Moldova (Railways of Moldova) state company. There are two railway stations: Bălți-City Station and Bălți-Slobozia Station (the name of a city neighbourhood), which both serve internal and international traffic.

Air

The city also has two operational airports. One of them, Bălți International Airport, north of the city center (near the village of Corlăteni, Rîșcani, Corlăteni), was built in the 1980s, modern by Soviet standards, is officially certified. Large aircraft can land (one 2,200 meter runway), it operates both charter passenger and cargo flights. As of October 2007, it does not operate regular passenger flights. A second airport, for small aircraft,

, is located on the Eastern outskirts of the city. It was the most important airport in the surrounding region during World War II, but currently is only used for municipal and regional public services, agriculture, emergency services and Flight training, pilot training.Now, there are developing an industrial area.

Notable people

* Boris Anisfeld, Russian-American painter and theater designer. *Mihai Volontir, awarded Moldovan actor * Natalia Barbu, singer, represented Moldova at the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest, Eurovision musical competition * Gheorghe Briceag, political prisoner, dissident, and human rights activist with the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, Helsinki Committee, recipient of the 2004 Homo Homini Award * Iosif Chișinevschi, communist politician * Eugenio Coșeriu, philologist, founder of the School of Linguistics at University of Tübingen, Tübingen University * Lia van Leer, founder and director of the International Jerusalem Film Festival * Marian Lupu, politician, speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, Parliament of Moldova since 2005 * Ion Pelivan, lawyer and politician, co-leader of the Moldavian National Party, minister of the exterior of the Moldavian Democratic Republic, killed by NKVD * Ștefan Pirogan, mayor of Bălți (1923–1934) * Vadim Pirogan, political prisoner and dissident * Colea Răutu, Romanian movie star * Leonid Soybelman, musician * Nicolae Testemițanu, Moldovan physician, surgeon, hygienist, and politician * Nicolae Filip, academician * Vadim Vacarciuc, weight lifter, 1997 World Champion * Boris Sandler, novelist and editor of ''Forverts'' (Yiddish edition of the Jewish ''Forward'', published in New York). * Isa Kremer, soprano of Russian Jewish descent * Mikhaïl Faerman, Belgian-Russian classical pianist * Geta Burlacu, Singer, represented Moldova the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest, Eurovision with the song: "A Century Of Love". * Riorita Paterău, politician

Trivia

* The famous Yiddish song ''Mein Shtetle Belz'' from 1932, written by Jacob Jacobs (theater) and composed by Alexander Olshanetsky for the play ''Ghetto Song'', makes a reference to the old Jewish city of Bălți. It had been a tribute to the famous singer Isa Kremer, born in Bălți, and who was probably also the first one to perform it.

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Bălți is Twin towns and sister cities, twinned with: * Arad, Israel, Arad, Israel * Białystok, Poland * Botoșani, Romania * Chernivtsi, Ukraine * Comrat, Moldova * Gyula, Hungary, Gyula, Hungary * İzmir, Turkey * Jining, China * Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine, Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine * Lakeland, Florida, Lakeland, United States * Larissa, Greece * Livny, Russia * Miercurea Ciuc, Romania * Mohyliv-Podilskyi, Ukraine * Narva, Estonia * Nizhny Novgorod, Russia * Orsha, Belarus * Płock, Poland * Podolsk, Russia * Polotsk, Belarus * Pushkin, Saint Petersburg, Pushkin (Saint Petersburg), Russia * Rechytsa, Belarus * Smolyan, Bulgaria * Stryi, Ukraine * Suceava, Romania * Vinnytsia, Ukraine * Vitebsk, Belarus * Western Administrative Okrug, Western Administrative Okrug (Moscow), Russia * Wuzhong, Ningxia, Wuzhong, China * Zapadnoye Degunino District, Zapadnoye Degunino District (Moscow), Russia

Consulates

* Consulate-General of Romania, address
51, Sfântul Nicolae Str.
* Consulate of Ukraine, address
143, Kiev Str.

Notes and references

External links

* *
The former Jewish Community of Bălți/Beltsy

Tourism in Bălți at ''www.tur.md''The Story of the Jewish Community in Bălți
- an online exhibition by Yad Vashem
Jewish Cemetery in Bălți

Interactive map of the city of Bălți

Autogarabalti.md
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