Hîncești

Hîncești (Romanian pronunciation: [hɨnˈt͡ʃeʃtʲ]; Cyrillic: Хынчешть; Russian: Ганчéшты/Хынчешты, romanized: Gancheshty/Hyncheshty) is a city and municipality[2] in Moldova.

Hîncești
Municipality
Flag Coat of arms
Hîncești Location within Moldova
Coordinates: 46°49′N 28°35′E
Country	Moldova
District	Hîncești District
Government
• Mayor	Alexandru Botnari, re-elected in 2015
Population  (2014)[1]
• Total	12,491
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code	MD-3401
Area code(s)	+373 269
Climate	Dfb

Hîncești is situated on the Cogâlnic River, 33 km (21 mi) southwest of the Moldovan capital, Chișinău. Since 2003 it has been the seat of Hîncești District.

History

Manuc Bei's Mansion in Hîncești

Hîncești was established in 1500 AD as Dobreni.[3] [4] Within the Russian Empire it was known under the Russified name Gincheshty (Гинчешты), but in Romanian Hîncești. In 1940 the name was changed to Kotovskoe after Grigore Kotovski, who was born there. But from 1941 to 1944 it was again known as Hîncești. Before WWII, the Jewish community was rather large, in 1930, there were 1.523 Jews living there. In July 1941, an Einsatzgruppen of Romanian gendarmes murdered more than 100 Jews in a mass execution perpetred in a trench outside the town.[5]

From 1945 to 1965 it was called Kotovskoe, which in 1965 was changed to Kotovsk. Since 1990 it is again called Hîncești.

Demographics

In 1890 Hîncești had 3,098 people. By 1970 the population was 14.3 thousand, and by 1991, 19.3 thousand. At the 2006 census it had 19.5 thousand residents.

Education

There are four Lyceum (junior colleges) in Hîncești:

• Mihai Viteazul Lyceum
• M. Lomonosov Lyceum
• Mihai Sadoveanu Lyceum
• M. Eminescu Lyceum
• Timotei Batrinu Scoala de Arte

Notable citizens

• Leonid Abramovich Anulov (1897–1974), a Soviet intelligence officer, organizer of clandestine intelligence networks (the so-called "Red Orchestra") in Switzerland.
• Grigory Ivanovich Kotowski (1881–1925), Soviet military leader and Communist activist.
• Yankl Yankelevich (1905–1938), Jewish poet who wrote in Yiddish

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Moldova

Twin towns – Sister cities

Hîncești is twinned with:

• Ploiești, Romania

• Or Akiva, Israel

Notes

1. Results of Population and Housing Census in the Republic of Moldova in 2014: "Characteristics - Population (population by communes, religion, citizenship)" (XLS). National Bureau of Statistics of the Republic of Moldova. 2017. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
2. LEGE Nr. 248 din 03.11.2016 pentru modificarea și completarea Legii nr. 764-XV din 27 decembrie 2001 privind organizarea administrativ-teritorială a Republicii Moldova (in Romanian)
3. Not to be confused with Dobreni, Romania (Latitude: 44° 25' 0 N, Longitude: 25° 7' 0 E).
4. Viorel, Miron (2006) "Managementul resurselor turistice în mediul rural din Republica Moldova" p. 99, doctoral thesis, Economics Department, Universitatea Agrarǎ de Stat din Moldova, Chișinău, in Romanian
5. http://yahadmap.org/#village/hince-ti-hancesti-ganchesty-gincheshty-hince-ti-moldova.837