Edineț | |
|---|---|
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 Flag  Coat of arms | |
  Edineț Location in Moldova | |
| Coordinates:48°10′N27°19′E / 48.167°N 27.317°E /48.167; 27.317 | |
| Country | Moldova |
| District | Edineț District |
| Established | 1431 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Constantin Cojocari (LOC) |
| Area | |
• Total | 2.2 sq mi (5.7 km2) |
| Elevation | 758 ft (231 m) |
| Population | |
• Total | 15,520 |
| • Density | 7,100/sq mi (2,700/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Postal code | MD-4601 |
| Area code | +373 246 |
| Climate | Dfb |
Edineț (Romanian pronunciation:[ˈedinet͡s]) is a municipality[2] in northernMoldova. It is the administrative center of theeponymous district. The town is located 201 km north of the national capital,Chișinău. It is located at48°10′N27°19′E / 48.167°N 27.317°E /48.167; 27.317. The town administers two suburban villages,Alexăndreni andGordineștii Noi. The population at the2004 census was 17,292 inhabitants, including 15,624 in the town itself.
To the north of the town is the communeHlinaia (Glina-Mare); to the south, the town ofCupcini; to the east, the commune ofRuseni; and to the west, the suburb ofAlexăndreni.
The first known written mention of the locality is in a document from July 15, 1431, in which the Prince ofMoldaviaAlexandru cel Bun offered to Ivan Cupcici "14 villages with their old domains and empty land to found new villages and anapiary". According to the document, the old name of Edineț wasViadineți, possibly meaning "little Viadins". A document dating August 18, 1690, given by PrinceConstantin Movilă to Cozma Pop, mentions the village asIadineți. The nameEdineț is documented since 1663, and is still used today. Between 1918–1940, the alternative spellingsEdineți andEdinița were sometimes used.
In 1812, the eastern part of Moldavia was annexed by theRussian Empire and became known asGovernorate of Bessarabia.[3]
Bessarabia proclaimed independence in January 1918 as theMoldavian Democratic Republic. In April 1918, Bessarabiaproclaimed union withRomania, this came as a result of theWorld War I.[4]
Later on, close to theWorld War II, this territory was then incorporated into theSoviet Union.[5]
It will later on be independent from theSoviet Union in 1991.[6]
At the 1930 census, there were three separately administered localities: Edineți-Târg (literally "Edineți-Fair"), population 5,910, Edineți-Sat ("Edineți-Village"), population 5,260, part of Plasa Briceni of theHotin County,[7] and Alexăndrenii-Noi, population 1,083, part of Plasa Rășcani of theBălți County.[8]
Between the two World Wars there was aZionistTarbut school in the town.
In 1940, theSoviet Union, with the consent of theNazi Germanyoccupied Bessarabia, created theMoldavian SSR, closing privately owned businesses andreligious schools.
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A year later, theRomanian Army, now allied with Nazi Germany, drove the Soviets out and recovered Bessarabia. German and Romanian troops entered Edineț on July 5, 1941. Before that, some of theBessarabian Jews of Edineț had already fled. Within two days, several hundred Jews were murdered by units ofEinsatzkommando D and Romanian gendarmes, assisted by some civilians. Within the first two weeks, Romanian soldiers had killed about 1,000 Jews out of 5,000 living in the town.[9] 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 Edineț, and others from different places in the north of Bessarabia and fromBukovina, were interned. In September there were about 12,000 Jews in the ghetto, crammed into a small area, suffering from malnutrition and disease. Dozens of people died every day, succumbing to disease, cold weather, hunger, or thirst. On September 16, 1941, all the remaining Jews were deported toTransnistria, where the overwhelming majority of themdied. By 1944 only a few managed to survive. The few dozen families still alive at the end of the war settled either inCzernovitz or moved toIsrael. Only a handful chose to return to Edineț.
In 1944, the Soviets re-conquered Bessarabia and re-established the Moldavian SSR. During theSoviet time, the town was also known in theRussified versionsYedintsy andYedintzi and inYiddish asYedinets orEydinets.
In 1960s, the Jewish population was estimated at 200. There was no synagogue, although the Jewish cemetery still existed.
Following the dissolution of theSoviet Union in 1991,Moldova became an independent country.[10]
Edineț has a Natural History Museum, and a famous Museum of National Craftsmen, whose collection has many original folk objects and works.
According to the2024 census, 12,369 inhabitants lived in Edineț, a decrease compared to the previous census in 2014, when 15,520 inhabitants were registered.[11][12]
| Ethnic composition (1930 Census) | |||||||
| Ethnic group | |||||||
| Edineți-Târg | Edineți-Sat | Alexăndrenii-Noi | |||||
| Romanians | 194 | 2,183 | 1,082 | ||||
| Jews | 5,341 | 398 | – | ||||
| Russians | 344 | 2,214 | 1 | ||||
| Ruthenians (Ukrainians) | 14 | 353 | – | ||||
| Romani | – | 55 | – | ||||
| Bulgarians | 1 | 1 | – | ||||
| Poles | 14 | 28 | – | ||||
| Germans | – | 3 | – | ||||
| Albanians | 1 | – | – | ||||
| Hungarians | – | 1 | – | ||||
| others | 1 | 24 | – | ||||
| Total | 5,910 | 5,260 | 1,083 | ||||
| Linguistic composition (1930 Census) | ||||
| Language | ||||
| Edineți-Târg | Edineți-Sat | Alexăndrenii-Noi | ||
| Romanian | 183 | 2,209 | 1,082 | |
| Yiddish | 5,328 | 401 | – | |
| Russian | 375 | 2,360 | 1 | |
| Ukrainian | 9 | 282 | – | |
| Polish | 11 | 7 | – | |
| German | 2 | 1 | – | |
| Bulgarian | 1 | – | – | |
| other | 1 | – | – | |
| Total | 5,910 | 5,260 | 1,083 | |
Edineț istwinned with:
Râmnicu Sărat, Romania
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1 InTransnistria.2 Controlled by the Transnistrian authorities.3 Also a municipality.4 The seat ofDubăsari District is the commune ofCocieri (not a city). | ||
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