Hîncești () is a city and municipality 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. ...

. Hîncești is situated on the

Cogâlnic River The Cogâlnic (also Cogîlnic, Kogylnik, Kogîlnic, Kohylnyk, or Kunduk) is a 243 km river in Moldova and south-western Ukraine. The Cogâlnic rises in the hills of Nisporeni District in the Codri, Codri region west of the Moldovan capital, Chiș ...

, southwest of the Moldovan capital,

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 ...

. Since 2003 it has been the seat of Hîncești District.

History

Hîncești was established in 1500 AD as Dobreni. It was part of the

Principality of Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially independent and later auto ...

until its annexation by

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

in 1812. Within the Russian Empire it was known under the Russified name Gincheshty (Гинчешты), but in Romanian as Hîncești. After

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, it became part of Romania, formed in the meantime from the unification of the principalities of

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...

and Moldavia. 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 ...

, it was occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940, which changed its name to ''Kotovskoe'' after Grigore Kotovski, who was born there. But from 1941 to 1944 it was again known as Hîncești, when Romania regained control of the settlement. Before WWII, the Jewish community was rather large, in 1930, there were 1,523 Jews living there. From 1945 to 1965 it was called Kotovskoe, which in 1965 was changed to Kotovsk. Since 1990 it is again called Hîncești.

Demographics

According to the 2014 census, the population of Hîncești amounted to 12,491 inhabitants, a decrease compared to the previous census in 2004, when 15,281 inhabitants were registered. Of these, 5,824 were men and 6,667 were women.

''Footnotes'': * ''There is an ongoing controversy regarding the ethnic identification of Moldovans and Romanians.'' * ''Moldovan language is one of the two local names for the

Romanian language Romanian (obsolete spelling: Roumanian; , or , ) is the official and main language of Romania and Moldova. Romanian is part of the Eastern Romance languages, Eastern Romance sub-branch of Romance languages, a linguistic group that evolved fr ...

in Moldova. In 2013, the

Constitutional Court of Moldova The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Moldova () represents the sole body of constitutional jurisdiction in the Moldova, Republic of Moldova, autonomous and independent from the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. The task of the ...

interpreted that Article 13 of the constitution is superseded by the Declaration of Independence, thus giving official status to the name ''Romanian''.'' In 1890, Hîncești had a stable population of 3,098 citizens. By 1970, the population had increased to 14.3 thousand, and by 1991, 19.3 thousand.

Education

There are four

Lyceum The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies among countries; usually it is a type of secondary school. Basic science and some introduction to ...

(junior colleges) in Hîncești: * Mihai Viteazul Lyceum * Mikhail Lomonosov Lyceum * Mihai Sadoveanu Lyceum * Mihai Eminescu Lyceum * Timotei Bătrânu Arts School

Sports

The local

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club is FC Petrocub Hîncești.

Notable citizens

* Grigory Kotovsky (1881–1925), Soviet military leader and Communist activist. * Manuc Bei, Very wealthy Armenian merchant

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Hîncești is twinned with: *

Ploiești Ploiești ( , , ), formerly spelled Ploești, is a Municipiu, city and county seat in Prahova County, Romania. Part of the historical region of Muntenia, it is located north of Bucharest. The area of Ploiești is around , and it borders the Ble ...

, Romania * Or Akiva, Israel

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hincesti Cities and towns in Moldova Municipalities of Moldova Populated places established in 1500 1500 establishments in Europe 16th-century establishments in Moldavia Kishinyovsky Uyezd Lăpușna County (Romania) Ținutul Nistru Hîncești District