Iași Ridge

Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Romanian social, cultural, academic and artistic life. The city was the capital of the Principality of Moldavia from 1564 to 1859, then of the United Principalities from 1859 to 1862, and the capital of Romania from 1916 to 1918.

Known as the Cultural Capital of Romania Iași is a symbol of Romanian history. Historian Nicolae Iorga stated that "there should be no Romanian who does not know of it". Still referred to as "The Moldavian Capital", Iași is the main economic and business centre of Romania's Moldavian region. In December 2018, Iași was officially declared the Historical Capital of Romania.

At the 2021 census, the city-proper had a population of 271,692, its metropolitan area had a population of 423,154, whereas more than 500,000 people live within its peri-urban area. Counting 500,668 residents (as of 2018), the Iași urban area is the second most populous in Romania after Bucharest.

Home to the oldest Romanian university and to the first engineering school, Iași is the third most important education and research centre of the country, accommodating over 60,000 students in five public universities.Metropolitan Area Iași
The social and cultural life revolves around the Vasile Alecsandri National Theatre (the oldest in Romania), the Moldova State Philharmonic, the Opera House, the Iași Athenaeum, the Botanical Garden (the oldest and largest in Romania), the Central University Library (the oldest in Romania), the cultural centres and festivals, an array of museums, memorial houses, religious and historical monuments. The city is also known as the site of the largest Romanian pilgrimage which takes place every year, in October.

Etymology and names

Scholars have different theories on the origin of the name "Iași". Some argue that the name originates with the Sarmatian tribe Iazyges (of Iranian origin), one mentioned by Ovid as and .

Other explanations show that the name originated from the Iranian Alanic tribe of Jassi, having the same origin with the Yazyges tribes Jassic people. In medieval times the Prut river was known as ''Alanus fluvius'' and the city as ''Forum Philistinorum''. From this population derived the plural of the town name, "Iașii".

Another historian wrote that the Iasians lived among the Cumans and that they left the Caucasus after the first Mongolian campaign in the West, settling temporarily near the Prut. He asserts that the ethnic name of Jasz which is given to the Iasians by the Hungarians has been erroneously identified with the Jazyges; also he shows that the word ''jasz'' is a Slavic loan word. The Hungarian name of the city (''Jászvásár'') literally means "Jassic Market"; the antiquated Romanian name, ''Târgul Ieșilor'' (and the once-favoured ''Iașii''), and the German ''Jassenmarkt'', may indicate the same meaning.

History

Ancient times

Archaeological investigations attest to the presence of human communities on the present territory of the city and around it as far back as the prehistoric age.Orașul Iași: monografie istorică și socială
Later settlements included those of the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture, a late Neolithic archaeological culture.

There is archaeological evidence of human settlements in the area of Iași dating from the 6th to 7th centuries (Curtea Domnească) and 7th to 10th centuries; these settlements contained rectangular houses with semicircular ovens. Also, many of the vessels (9th–11th centuries) found in Iași had a cross, potentially indicating that the inhabitants were Christians.

Early development

In 1396, Iași is mentioned by the German crusader Johann Schiltberger (a participant in the Battle of Nicopolis). The name of the city is first found in an official document in 1408. This is a grant of certain commercial privileges by the Moldavian Prince Alexander to the Polish merchants of Lvov. However, as buildings older than 1408 still exist, e.g. the Armenian Church believed to be originally built in 1395, it is certain that the city existed before its first surviving written mention.

Capital of Moldavia

Around 1564, Prince Alexandru Lăpușneanu moved the Moldavian capital from Suceava to Iași. Between 1561 and 1563, a school and a Lutheran church were founded by the Greek adventurer prince, Ioan Iacob Heraclid.

In 1640, Vasile Lupu established the first school in which the Romanian replaced Greek, and set up a printing press in the Byzantine Trei Ierarhi Monastery (''Monastery of the Three Hierarchs''; built 1635–39). Between 15 September – 27 October 1642, the city hosted the Synod of Iași (also referred to as the Synod of Jassy). In 1643, the first volume ever printed in Moldavia was published in Iași.

The city was often burned down and looted by the Tatars (in 1513, 1574, 1577, 1593), by the Ottomans in 1538, the Cossacks and Tartars (1650), or the Poles (1620, 1686). In 1734, it was hit by the plague. The city was also affected by famine (1575, 1724, 1739–1740), or large local fires (1725, 1735, 1753, 1766, 1785), propagated by many buildings that were built on wooden structures.

It was through the Treaty of Jassy that the sixth Russo-Turkish War was brought to a close in 1792. A Greek revolutionary manoeuvre and occupation under Alexander Ypsilanti (Αλέξανδρος Υψηλάντης) and the Filiki Eteria (Φιλική Εταιρία) (1821, at the beginning of the Greek War of Independence) led to the storming of the city by the Turks in 1822. In 1844 a severe fire affected much of the city.

Mid–19th century to 20th century

Between 1564 and 1859, the city was the capital of Moldavia; then, between 1859 and 1862, both Iași and Bucharest were de facto capitals of the United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia. In 1862, when the union of the two principalities was recognised under the name of ''Romania'', the national capital was established in Bucharest. For the loss caused to the city in 1861 by the removal of the seat of government to Bucharest the constituent assembly voted 148,150 lei to be paid in ten annual instalments, but no payment was ever made.

During World War I, Iași was the capital of a much reduced Romania for two years, following the Central Powers' occupation of Bucharest on 6 December 1916. The capital was returned to Bucharest after the defeat of Imperial Germany and its allies in November 1918. In November–December 1918 Iași hosted the Jassy Conference.

Jewish community

Iași also figures prominently in Jewish history, with the first documented presence of Sephardi Jews from the late 16th century. The oldest tomb inscription in the local cemetery probably dates to 1610. By the mid-19th century, owing to widespread Russian Jewish and Galician Jewish immigration into Moldavia, the city was at least one-third Jewish, growing to 50% Jewish by 1899 according to the ''Great Geographic Dictionary of Romania'' cited by JewishGen. The Podu Roș Synagogue was built in Iași, circa 1810, by Avraham Yehoshua Heshel of Apta, but the synagogue became mostly Misnagdic not long thereafter.

In 1855, Iași was the home of the first-ever Yiddish-language newspaper, ''Korot Haitim'', and, in 1876, the site of what was arguably the first-ever professional Yiddish theatre performance, established by Avraham Goldfaden. The words of HaTikvah, the national anthem of Israel, were written in Iași by Naftali Herz Imber. Jewish musicians in Iași played an important role as preservers of Yiddish folklore, as performers and composers.

The first Zionist Hebrew-language newspaper in Romania, ''Emek Israel'', was published in Iași in 1882. Zionist sports clubs, student associations and discussion groups were established in the city, most of which later merged into the Organizația Sionistă. The Hachshara Farms in Iași were a type of training farms to prepare young people for resettlement in the Palestine region.

According to the 1930 census, with a population of 34,662 (some 34% of the city's population), Jews were the second largest ethnic group in Iași. There were over 127 synagogues.
After World War II, in 1947, there were about 38,000 Jews living in Iași. Because of massive emigration to Israel, in 1975 there were about 3,000 Jews living in Iași and four synagogues were active.

Currently, Iași has a dwindling Jewish population of ca. 300 to 600 members and two working synagogues, one of which, the 1671 Great Synagogue, is the oldest surviving synagogue in Romania and among the oldest synagogues still active in Europe. A 10-year restoration project funded by UNESCO, the Romanian Ministry of Culture and the local authorities of Iași restored it to its former glory, opening in time for Hanukkah on 4 December 2018.

World War II

During the war, while the full scale of the Holocaust remained generally unknown to the Allied Powers, the Iași pogrom stood as one of the known examples of Axis brutality toward the Jews. The pogrom lasted from 29 June to 6 July 1941, and over 13,266 people,Jewishgen
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The Iași Pogrom
at Radio Romania International

quotes 13,266 or 14,850 Jews killed. or one third of the Jewish population, were massacred in the pogrom itself or in its aftermath, and many were deported. Particularly brutal was the massacre of Jews who were forced on sealed trains in the brutal summer heat. Over half of the occupants perished in these trains, which were aimlessly driven throughout the countryside with no particular destination.

In May 1944, the Iași area became the scene of ferocious fighting between Romanian-German forces and the advancing Soviet Red Army and the city was partially destroyed. The German Panzergrenadier Division ''Großdeutschland'' won a defensive victory at the Battle of Târgu Frumos, near Iași, which was the object of several NATO studies during the Cold War. By 20 August, Iași had been taken by Soviet forces.

Iași suffered heavy damage due to Soviet (June–July 1941, June 1944) and American (June 1944) airstrikes, respectively. The bombing of Soviet aviation and artillery on 20 August 1944, resulted in more than 5,000 civilian deaths and the destruction of two-thirds of the city.

Post-World War II era

Iași experienced a major wave of industrialisation, in 1955–1989.General View-The historical and architectural Iași
During this period of time, it received numerous migrants from rural regions, and the urban area expanded. In the Communist era, Iași saw a growth of 235% in population and 69% in area. The local systematisation plans of the old city started in 1960 and continued in the 1970s and 1980s as part of the larger national systematisation programme; however, the urban planning was sometimes arbitrary and followed by dysfunctions."The Spatial Evolution of Iași City: Tradition and Trends" by O. Stoleriu and C. Stoleriu By 1989, Iași had become highly industrialised, with 108,000 employees (representing 47% of the total workforce) active in 46 large state-owned enterprises, in various industries: machine building and heavy equipment, chemical, textile, pharmaceutical, metallurgical, electronics, food, energy, building materials, furniture.Studiu comparativ de caz despre industria ieșeană

After the end of the Communist regime and the transition to a free market economy, the private sector has grown steadily, while much of the old industry (such as the industrial sector) gradually decayed.

Geography

Topography

Located in the North-East of Romania, at the contact between the Jijia Plain and the Bârlad Plateau, Iași used to be the crossroads place of the historic trade routes that passed through Moldavia coming from the Kingdom of Poland, Habsburg monarchy, Tsardom of Russia, and Constantinople.

The city lies on the Bahlui River valley, a tributary of the Jijia River (tributary of the Prut River). The surrounding country is one of uplands and woods, featuring monasteries and parks. Iași itself stands amid vineyards and gardens, partly on hills, partly in the in-between valley.

The central part of the city is located on the fluvial terrace of the Bahlui River (the so-called Palat Terrace). From this nucleus, the city evolved after the medieval times toward south and north on the Bahlui River floodplain and on the adjacent hills. The southern part of the city lies on the Iași Ridge () (the northernmost hill of the Bârlad Plateau). Considering the present day extension of the administrative boundaries, the city territory has an altitudinal extension of , between the 34.5 m a.s.l. (113.19 ft) in the Bahlui River floodplain, at the Holboca bridge, and 354.77 m a.s.l. (1,163.94 ft), at the edge of the Repedea Hill.

It is a common belief that Iași is built on seven hills (): Breazu, Bucium, Cetățuia, Copou, Galata, Repedea and Șorogari, thus triggering comparisons with Rome.

Climate

Under the Köppen climate classification, Iaşi falls within either a humid continental climate (''Dfa'', near ''Dfb'') if the isotherm is used, or a humid temperate climate (''Cfa'') bordering on an oceanic climate (''Cfb'') if the isotherm is used. Iași experiences four distinct seasons. Summers are warm with temperatures sometimes exceeding while winters are cold and windy with moderate snowfall and temperatures at night sometimes dropping below .

Cityscape

Architecture

Iași features historical monuments, 500-year-old churches and monasteries, contemporary architecture, many of them listed on the National Register of Historic Monuments. Notable architecture includes the Trei Ierarhi Monastery, part of the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Site, or the neo-Gothic Palace of Culture, built on the old ruins of the mediaeval Princely Court of Moldavia.

During World War II and the Communist era many historical buildings in the old city centre (around Union Square area) were destroyed or demolished, and replaced by International style buildings and also a new mainly Mid-Century modern style Civic Centre was built around the Old Market Square (The Central Hall).

The mid-1990s to early-2000s brought the first non-industrial glass curtain walled buildings (Romtelecom, Hotel Europa), while in 2012, in close proximity to the Palace of Culture, the Palas shopping mall and office complex was inaugurated.

Other significant buildings include:
* Alexandru Ioan Cuza University main building (1897), a mixture of the Neoclassical and Baroque styles, houses the famous ''Hall of the Lost Footsteps'' where one can admire the works of the painter Sabin Bălașa;
* "Vasile Alecsandri" National Theatre, built between 1894 and 1896 in Neoclassic style with Baroque and Rococo inspired painted and sculpted ornaments;
* , a building from the second half of the 17th century in which in 1679, the metropolitan bishop Dosoftei settled the second typography in Moldavia. With three façades, arched and right-angled windows, the edifice was restored between 1966 and 1969. It houses the department of old literature of the Romanian Literature Museum;
* Roznovanu Palace (The City Hall), second half of the 18th century, rebuilt between 1830 and 1833, it hosted the Romanian government during World War I;
* , 1806, Empire style, the palace served as the royal residence of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza between 1859 and 1862 and in 1917–1918, during World War I, as the royal residence of king Ferdinand;
* , 1850, a meeting place for the city intellectuals, the headquarters of Literary Society Junimea (1863) and of the Convorbiri Literare (Literary Interlocutions) magazine (1867), houses the Romanian Literature Museum;
* Luceafărul Theatre, 1987, a unique modern building in Romania;
* Central University Library, 1934, incorporates Greek Revival elements;
* Great Railway Station, 1870, inspired by the Venetian Doge's Palace.

Religious buildings

Iași is the seat of the Romanian Orthodox Metropolitan of Moldavia and Bukovina, and of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Iași. The city and the surrounding area house more than 10 monasteries and 100 historical churches. Among the oldest is Princely Saint Nicholas (1491), dating from the reign of Stephen the Great, and the Metropolitan Cathedral is the largest of its kind in Romania. The Trei Ierarhi Monastery, a unique monument, considered to be an architectural masterpiece, was erected in 1635–1639 by Vasile Lupu, and adorned with gilded carvings on its outer walls and twin towers.
* Metropolitan Cathedral (1839/1886), the largest Orthodox church in Romania, a late Renaissance style, with Baroque elements and Gheorghe Tattarescu paintings, it contains the relics of Saint Paracheva (sometimes known colloquially in English as Saint Friday);St. Paraskeve Pilgrimage Centre

* Golia Monastery, 1564, rebuilt in 1650 in late-Renaissance style with Byzantine frescoes and intricately carved doorways, is a monumental construction, a monastery in the middle of the city, surrounded by tall walls, with corner turrets, and a height bell tower;
* Old Catholic Cathedral, 1782, in Baroque style, and New Catholic Cathedral, 2005;
* Armenian Church, built in 1395, testifies the existence of an important Armenian community in these parts of Romania;
* Great Synagogue, in late Baroque style, built in 1657–1671, is the oldest surviving synagogue in Romania and one of the oldest in Europe.

Other examples of historic churches and monasteries (some of them surrounded by defence walls and towers) include: Socola (1562), Galata (1582), Saint Sava (1583), Hlincea (1587), (1594), Bârnova (1603), Barnovschi (1627), Golia (1650), Cetățuia (1668), Frumoasa (1726), Saint Spiridon (1747), (1761), Bărboi (1843 with 18th-century bell tower), Bucium (1853).

File:Biserica Armeana Iasi 03.JPG, Armenian Church
File:Biserica Barnovschi02.JPG, Barnovschi Church
File:Golia25.JPG, Golia Church architectural elements
File:Mănăstirea Cetăţuia25.jpg, Moldavian princely palace at Cetățuia Monastery
File:Manastirea Frumoasa 01.JPG, Frumoasa Monastery
File:Catedrala veche din Iasi41.jpg, St. George Church (Old Metropolitan Cathedral)

Pilgrimage

The city has become a major Christian pilgrimage site since the early modern period. In 1641, the relics of Saint Parascheva were brought to Iași. Each year, around 14 October, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims gather to commemorate Saint Parascheva, while the city itself established its Celebration Days at the same time. The October pilgrimage is one of the largest in Europe, drawing people all over Romania as well as from neighbouring Orthodox countries.

During the entire year, pilgrimages to Iași can also involve visits to a large number of religious sites, both within and around the city.

Gardens, parks and natural landmarks

Iași has a diverse array of public spaces, from city squares to public parks.

Begun in 1833, at the time when Iași was the capital of Moldavia, by Prince Mihail Sturdza and under the plans of Gheorghe Asachi and Mihail Singurov, Copou Park was integrated into the city and marks one of the first Romanian coordinated public parks. The oldest monument in Romania stands in the middle of the park, the (1834), a tall obelisk, dedicated to the ''Regulamentul Organic'', the first law on political, administrative and juridical organisation in Romanian Principalities.

Founded in 1856, the Botanical Garden of Iași, the first botanical garden in Romania, has an area of over 100 hectares, and more than 10,000 species of plants.

Iași Exhibition Park was opened in 1923 and built under the co-ordination of the architect N. Ghica Budești.

The Ciric Park, located in the north-eastern part of Iași, consists of parkland and four lakes.

Eminescu's Linden Tree () is a 500-year-old silver linden (''Tilia tomentosa Moench'') situated in Copou Park. Mihai Eminescu reportedly wrote some of his best works underneath this linden tree, rendering it one of Romania's most important natural monuments and a notable Iași landmark. The , in Bucium neighbourhood, is another spot where Mihai Eminescu sought inspiration (the poem "Down Where the Lonely Poplars Grow"). In 1973, the 15 white poplars still left (with the age ranges between 233 and 371 years) were declared natural monuments.

Iași County has 387 centuries-old trees, of which 224 were declared monument trees and 160 got the Romanian Academy's approval and are proposed for such a classification. Most of them are oak or linden trees. The oldest tree in the county is the 675-year-old hybrid linden (''Tilia'') tree located in the courtyard of Bârnova Monastery, in the vicinity of Iași. When the linden was about 57 years old and about in diameter, Iași was mentioned as an urban settlement, during the reign of Prince Alexander the Good (1408).

Demographics

As of 2021 census, with 271,692 inhabitants, Iași is the country's third most populous city. With a population of 500,668 residents (2018), the Iași urban area is the second largest in Romania.

As of 2021, the Iași metropolitan area (which includes Iași and 19 other nearby communities) had a population of 423,154, while Iași County, with its 760,774 inhabitants, was the most populous county in Romania (after the Municipality of Bucharest). Additionally there were 60,000 more residents (mostly students) and thousands of daily commuters.

According to the 2002 census, in Iași there were 109,357 housing units and 320,888 people living within the city proper. Of this population, 98.5% were ethnic Romanians, while 0.59% were ethnic Romani, 0.13% Jews, 0.13% Greeks, 0.13% Lipovans, 0.08% Hungarians, 0.05% Germans and 0.39% others. In terms of religion, 92.5% of the population were Christian Orthodox, 4.9% Roman Catholic, other religious groups 2.6%. There are currently almost 10,000 Roman Catholics living in Iași. There is a debate between historians as to whether the Catholics are originally of Romanian or Hungarian descent.

Economy

Iași is an important economic centre in Romania. The local and regional economy relies on industry and service sector institutions and establishments. The most important service sectors are related to education, health care, banking, research, culture, government and tourism.

The city is an important information technology sector centre, with the presence of several large multinational companies (Amazon, Oracle, Continental, Conduent, Xerox, Accenture, Capgemini, SCC) and many other local and foreign companies such as Bentley Systems, Bitdefender, Comodo, Endava, Ness, Pentalog, or TiVo (to name a few), as well as two universities which offer specific degree programmes. Industry forecasts expect the Iași ITC workforce to grow from the current 16,000 (end of 2016) employees to more than 33,000, by 2030.Numărul de angajaţi ai industriei IT&Outsourcing din Iaşi

An estimated workforce of more than 35,000 employees is active in Iași's industrial manufacturing sector, particularly in automotive (Delphi, Lear, Conex Distribution), pharmaceutical industry ( Antibiotice Iași, Fiterman Pharma, Ircon SRL), metallurgical production (ArcelorMittal, Technosteel LBR), aerospace ( BMT Aerospace), industrial equipment (Agmus, ASAM, Fortus), energy ( E.ON Moldova Distribuție, Veolia Energie), textiles and clothing ( Benetton, Iași Conf, Iașitex), home appliances (Tehnoton), building materials (Brikston, Build Corp), food (Compan, Panifcom, Zeelandia).

Located in an area recognised for its vineyards and wines, Iași is part of a traditional wine region with viticultural centres surrounding the city: Copou, Bucium, Uricani, Comarna, Plugari, and Probota. Iași County is also home to renowned Cotnari and Bohotin vineyards.

With large shopping malls and commercial centres located in the area, Iași also has a well-developed retail business.

Largest employers

Sources:

Politics and administration

The city's current local council has the following multi-party political composition, based on the results of the ballots cast at the 2020 Romanian local elections:

Culture

Major events in the political and cultural history of Moldavia are connected with the name of the city of Iași. The great scholars of the 17th century, Grigore Ureche, Miron Costin and later Ion Neculce, wrote most of their works in the city or not far from it and the famous scholar Ion Neculce">rom the rule ...