Edineț

Edineț
Edineț Location in Moldova
Coordinates: 48°10′N 27°19′E / 48.167°N 27.317°E / 48.167; 27.317Coordinates: 48°10′N 27°19′E / 48.167°N 27.317°E / 48.167; 27.317
Country	Moldova
District	Edineț District
Established	1431
Area
• Total	2.2 sq mi (5.7 km2)
Population (2012)
• Total	20,200
• Density	91,780/sq mi (3,543,8/km2)
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Postal code	MD-4601
Area code(s)	+373 246

Edineț (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈedinet͡s]) is a town in the north of Moldova. It is the administrative center of the eponymous district. The town is located 201 km north of the national capital, Chișinău. It is located at 48°10′N 27°19′E / 48.167°N 27.317°E / 48.167; 27.317. The town administers also two suburban villages, Alexăndreni and Gordineştii Noi. The population at the 2004 census was 17,292, including 15,624 in the town itself.

To the North of the town is situated the commune Hlinaia (Glina-Mare), to the South – the town of Cupcini, to the Est – the commune Ruseni, and to the West the suburb Alexăndreni.

History

The first known written mention of the locality is in a document from July 15, 1431, by which the Prince of Moldavia Alexandru cel Bun offered to a certain Ivan Cupcici "14 villages with their old domains and empty land to found new villages and an apiary". According to this document, the old name of Edineț was Viadineți, possibly meaning little Viadins. A document dating August 18, 1690, given by Prince Constantin Movilă to a certain Cozma Pop mentions the village as Iadineți. The name Edineț is documented since 1663, and remained used till present.

In 1812, eastern part of Moldavia was annexed by the Russian Empire, and became known as Governorate of Bessarabia.

Bessarabia proclaimed independence in January 1918 as Moldavian Democratic Republic. In April 1918, Bessarabia proclaimed union with Romania.

At the 1930 census, there were three separately administered localities: Edineți-Târg (literally Edineți-Fair), population 5,910, Edineţi-Sat (literally Edineţi-Village), population 5,260, part of Plasa Briceni of the Hotin County,^[1] and Alexăndrenii-Noi, population 1,083, part of Plasa Răşcani of the Bălţi County.^[2]

In 1918–1940, along Edineţ, two other spellings were sometimes used: Edineţi and Ediniţa. Between the two World Wars there was a Zionist Tarbut school.

In 1940, the Soviet Union with the consent of the Nazi Germany occupied Bessarabia, and created the Moldavian SSR, closing privately owned businesses and religious schools.

A year later, Romanian Army, now allied with the Nazi Germany, drove the Soviets out and recoverned Bessarabia. The German and Romanian troops entered Edineţ on July 5, 1941. Only a part of the Jews of Edineţ fled before that. Within two days several hundred Bessarabian Jews of Edineţ were murdered by units of Einsatzkommando D and Romanian gendarms, assisted by quite a few civilians that came to profit from the Jews. Many women and young girls were raped; some of them committed suicide. The victims were buried in three large ditches, then the Jewish gravediggers who had interred the bodies were in turn murdered and buried on the same spot. In the middle of August a ghetto was set up. Surviving Jews of Edineţ and others from different places from the north of Bessarabia, and from Bukovina were interned. In September there were about 12,000 Jews in the ghetto, crammed into a small area, suffering from malnutrition and disease. Many of the interned succumbed to disease, cold weather, hunger, and thirst; dozens of persons died every day. On September 16, 1941, all Jews were deported to Transnistria. The majority of them died in Transnistria. By 1944 only a few managed to survive. The few dozen families still alive at the end of the War settled either in Czernovitz or moved to Israel. Only a handful chose to return to Edineţ.

In 1944, Soviets re-conquered Bessarabia, and re-established Moldavian SSR. During the Soviet time, the town was also known in the Russified versions Yedintsy and Yedintzi.

In 1960s, the Jewish population was estimated at about 200. There was no synagogue although the Jewish Cemetery was still extant.

At the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Moldova became an independent country.

Demographics

¹There is an ongoing controversy over whether Moldovans' self-identification constitutes an ethnic group distinct and apart from Romanians, or a subset. At the 2004 Moldovan Census, citizens could declare only one ethnic group. Consequently, one could not declare oneself both "Moldovan" and "Romanian". In the 1930 Romanian census no one was registered as "Moldovan".

Culture

Edineţ has a Natural History Museum, and a famous Museum of National Craftsmen, whose collection is rich in original folk objects and works.

Media

• Radio Chişinău 104.6 FM
• Jurnal FM 107.9 MHz
• Radio Sanatatea

Notable people

• Ghenadie Ciobanu

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Edineț is twinned with:

• Râmnicu Sărat, Romania

References

External links

• Edineţ District Council
• Weather in Edineţ
• Meteo Moldova
• Edineţ telephone directory
• Edineţ based radio station
• Yad l'Yedinitz; memorial book for the Jewish community of Edineţ, Bessarabia

v t e Cities of Moldova (alphabetical order) Municipalities Chișinău (national capital) Bălți Bender (Tighina)2 Capitals of autonomous units Comrat3 Tiraspol1,3 District seats4 Anenii Noi Basarabeasca Briceni Cahul Cantemir Călărași Căușeni Cimișlia Criuleni Dondușeni Drochia Edineț Fălești Florești Glodeni Hîncești Ialoveni Leova Nisporeni Ocnița Orhei Rezina Rîșcani Sîngerei Soroca Strășeni Șoldănești Ștefan Vodă Taraclia Telenești Ungheni Other cities Biruința Bucovăț Căinari Camenca1 Ceadîr-Lunga Codru Cornești Costești Crasnoe1 Cricova Cupcini Dnestrovsc1 Dubăsari1 Durlești Frunză Ghindești Grigoriopol1 Iargara Lipcani Maiac1 Mărculești Otaci Rîbnița1 Sîngera Slobozia1 Tiraspolul Nou1 Tvardița Vadul lui Vodă Vatra Vulcănești 1 In Transnistria. 2 Controlled by the Transnistrian authorities. 3 Also a municipality. 4 The seat of Dubăsari District is the commune of Cocieri (not a city).