Moinești

Moineşti
Municipality

Moineşti City Hall
Moineşti

Location of Moineşti

Coordinates: 46°26′0″N 26°29′0″E / 46.43333°N 26.48333°ECoordinates: 46°26′0″N 26°29′0″E / 46.43333°N 26.48333°E
Country  Romania
County Bacău County
Status Municipality
Government
 • Mayor Viorel Ilie (Conservative Party)
Area
 • Total 46.04 km2 (17.78 sq mi)
Population (2011)
 • Total 21,787
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
 • Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
Website http://www.moinesti.ro/

Moineşti (Romanian pronunciation: [mojˈneʃtʲ]) is a city in Bacău County, Romania, with a population of 21,787 as of 2011. Its name is derived from the Romanian-language word moină, which means "fallow" or "light rain". Moineşti once had a large Jewish community; in Jewish contexts the name is often given as Mojnescht. The city administers one village, Găzărie.

History

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1930 6,616—    
1948 5,868−11.3%
1956 12,934+120.4%
1966 18,714+44.7%
1977 20,862+11.5%
1992 25,560+22.5%
2002 25,532−0.1%
2011 21,787−14.7%
Source: Census data

First mentioned in 1467, the locality was listed among the Moldavian villages on the Bawer map of 1783. A târg was first attested in this location in 1832; it had 188 houses and 588 inhabitants.

In 1921, Moineşti was designated a comună urbană ("urban commune"), with its own coat of arms and local administration, but a step short of being considered a city. It became a municipality in 2002. The 2011 census counted 20,855 inhabitants.

Economy

The area around Moineşti is rich in natural resources such as petroleum, natural gas, salt and timber. Between the years 1950s and 1980s Moineşti experienced a steady economic growth thanks to the large petroleum extracting industry. After 1990, however, following the nation-wide industry privatization Moineşti's economy changed dramatically, at some points reaching level of unemployment of over 20%

Dada monument

In 1996, honoring Tristan Tzara, the founder of Dadaism who was born in Moineşti, a monument was built on the side of the road that enters the town. It was created from concrete and steel by the German-Romanian sculptor Ingo Glass in the true Dada spirit and it is 25 meters long, 2.6 meters wide and 10 meters high and it weighs 120 tons.

People

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Moinești.
  1. ↑ "Nestor Ratesh". Radio Free Europe. Retrieved 3 November 2011.