Bălți County was a county ( Romanian: '' județ'') in the

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania () was a constitutional monarchy that existed from with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King of Romania, King Carol I of Romania, Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian royal family), until 1947 wit ...

between 1925 and 1938 and between 1941 and 1944, with the seat at

Bălți Bălți () is a city in Moldova. It is the second-largest city in terms of population, area and economic importance, after Chișinău. The city holds the status of municipiu. Sometimes called "the northern capital", it is a major industrial, cu ...

. The county was located in the eastern part of

Greater Romania Greater Romania () is the Kingdom of Romania in the interwar period, achieved after the Great Union or the related pan-nationalist ideal of a nation-state which would incorporate all Romanian speakers.Irina LivezeanuCultural Politics in Greate ...

, in the northern part of

Bessarabia Bessarabia () is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coa ...

. Its territory now belongs to the

Republic of Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a 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. The unrecognised ...

, covering almost the territory of Moldova's Bălți County, which existed between 1998 and 2003. Bălți County neighboured the counties of Soroca to the east,

Orhei Orhei (), also formerly known as Orgeev (), is a city, municipality and the administrative centre of Orhei District in the Moldova, Republic of Moldova, with a population of 21,065. Orhei is approximately north of the capital, Chișinău. Hist ...

to the south-east, Lăpușna and

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 ...

to the south-west, Botoșani to the north-east, and Hotin to the north.

Administration

The county was originally administratively subdivided into three districts ('' plăși''):Portretul României Interbelice - Județul Bălți
/ref> #Plasa Fălești, headquartered at Fălești #Plasa Râșcani, headquartered at Râșcani #Plasa Slobozia, headquartered at Slobozia Later, Bălți County was reorganized from the administrative point of view. The number of districts increased to six, by abolishing Plasa Slobozia and creating four new districts: #Plasa Bălți, headquartered at

#Plasa Cornești, headquartered at Cornești #Plasa Glodeni, headquartered at Glodeni #Plasa Sângerei, headquartered at Sângerei At the census of Autumn 1941, the county had the following administrative organization: #Municipality of

#Plasa Bălți, headquartered at

#Plasa Cornești, headquartered at Cornești #Plasa Fălești, headquartered at Fălești #Plasa Glodeni, headquartered at Glodeni #Plasa Râșcani, headquartered at Râșcani

Population

According to the census data of 1930, the county's population was 386,721, of which 70.1% were ethnic Romanians, 12.0% Russians, 8.2% Jews, 7.6% Ukrainians, as well as other minorities.Recensământul general al populației României din 29 decemvrie 1930, Vol. II, pag. 48-49 From the religious point of view 89.3% of the population was Eastern Orthodox, 8.3% Jewish, 0.8% Roman Catholic, as well as other minorities.

Urban population

In the year 1930, the county's urban population was 30,570, of which 46.5% were ethnic Jews, 29.0% Romanians, 17.7% Russians, 3.2% Poles, as well as other minorities. In the urban area the mother tongues were divided as follows: Yiddish (45.5%), followed by Romanian (28.1%), Russian (21.7%), Polish (2.0%), Ukrainian (1.1%), as well as other minorities. From a religious point of view, the urban population consisted of 47.1% Eastern Orthodox, 46.6% Jewish, 4.1% Roman Catholic, as well as other minorities. Census data of 1941 - during World War II - indicate the county's population was 407,930, of which 80.44% were ethnic Romanians, 14.38% Ukrainians, 3.11% Russians, 0.78% Poles, 0.72% Jews, as well as other minorities.

After 1938

After the 1938 ''Administrative and Constitutional Reform'', Bălți County merged with the counties of

Bacău Bacău ( ; , ; ; ) is the main city in Bacău County, Romania. With a population of 136,087 (as of 2021 census), Bacău is the 14th largest city in Romania. The city is situated in the historical region of Moldavia, at the foothills of the ...

Baia Baia (; ; ) is a commune in Suceava County, in the historical region of Western Moldavia, northeastern Romania with a population of 7,261 as of 2021. It is composed of two villages, namely Baia and Bogata. Located on the Moldova (river), Moldova ...

, Botoșani,

, Neamț, Roman, Soroca and Vaslui to form

Ținutul Prut Ținutul Prut was one of the ten Romanian ''ținuturi'' ("lands"), founded in 1938 after King Carol II initiated an institutional reform by modifying the 1923 Constitution and the law of territorial administration. It comprised parts of central Mo ...

. In June 1940, as a consequence of the

Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, officially the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and also known as the Hitler–Stalin Pact and the Nazi–Soviet Pact, was a non-aggression pact between Nazi Ge ...

, Romania was compelled to cede Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina (including Bălți County) to the

Soviet Union 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 ...

, leading to the creation of the

Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic The Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic or Moldavian SSR (, mo-Cyrl, Република Советикэ Сочиалистэ Молдовеняскэ), also known as the Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic, Moldovan SSR, Soviet Moldavia, Sovie ...

(Moldavian SSR). The area returned to Romanian administration as the Bessarabia Governorate following the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union in July 1941. A military administration was established and the region's Jewish population was either executed on the spot or deported to the

Transnistria Governorate The Transnistria Governorate () was a Romanian-administered territory between the Dniester and Southern Bug, conquered by the Axis Powers from the Soviet Union during Operation Barbarossa. A Romanian civilian administration governed the territo ...

, where further numbers were killed. As the Soviet Union's offensive pushed the Axis powers back, the area fell again under Soviet control. On September 12, 1944, Romania signed the

Moscow Armistice The Moscow Armistice was signed between Finland on one side and the Soviet Union and United Kingdom on the other side on 19 September 1944, ending the Continuation War. The Armistice restored the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940, with a number of modi ...

with the Allies. The Armistice, as well as the subsequent Paris Peace Treaty of 1947, confirmed the Soviet-Romanian border as it was on January 1, 1941.

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

. Foreign relations of the United States, 1946
Paris Peace Conference: documents Volume IV (1946)
/ref> The area of the county, along with the rest of the Moldavian SSR, became part of the independent country 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. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

in 1991.

References

External links

Bălți County on memoria.ro
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balti County Former counties of Romania Counties of Bessarabia 1925 establishments in Romania 1938 disestablishments in Romania 1941 establishments in Romania 1944 disestablishments in Romania States and territories established in 1925 States and territories disestablished in 1938 States and territories established in 1941 States and territories disestablished in 1944