Iași

This article is about a major city in Romania. For other uses, see Iasi (disambiguation).

Iași
City
From top left: Palace of Culture, Vasile Alecsandri Statue in front of the National Theatre, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Golia Tower, Metropolitan Cathedral, and the Botanical Garden
Coat of arms
Nickname(s):  The Cultural Capital of Romania, The City of Great Loves, The City of the Famous Destinies, The City of Great Ideas, The City of the Three Unions, The City on Seven Hills
Country	Romania
County	Iași County
Status	Municipality
Founded	1408 (first official record)
Government
• Mayor	Gheorghe Nichita (Social Democrat Party (Romania))
Area
• City	93.9 km2 (36.3 sq mi)
• Metro	808 km2 (312 sq mi)
Population  (2011 census)
• City	263,410
• Density	2,805/km2 (7,260/sq mi)
• Metro	349,992
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal Code	700xxx
Area code	+40 x32
Car Plates	IS
Website	www.primaria-iasi.ro

Iași (Romanian pronunciation: [jaʃʲ]; also historically referred to as Jassy or Iassy) is one of the largest cities and a municipality in Romania. Located in the historical Moldavia region, Iași 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 in Romanian history. The historian Nicolae Iorga said "There should be no Romanian who does not know of it". Still referred to as The Moldavian Capital, Iași is the seat of Iași County and the main economic centre of the Romanian region of Moldavia.

As of 2011, Iași itself has a population of 263,410 (the fourth most populous Romanian city), the metropolitan area is home to about 350,000 residents, while the population of the peri-urban area exceeds 500,000 residents. Home to the first Romanian university and to the first engineering school, it is the second largest university centre in the country and accommodates over 75,000 students in 5 public and 7 private universities. The social and cultural life revolves around the Vasile Alecsandri National Theater (the oldest in Romania), the Moldova State Philharmonic, the Opera House, the Tătărași Athenaeum, a famous Botanical Garden (the oldest and largest in Romania), the Central University Library (the oldest in Romania), the high quality cultural centres and festivals, an array of museums, memorial houses, religious and historical monuments.

Etymology and names

The city is historically referred to as:

• English, German, Polish: Jassy
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• Template:Lang-uk
• Template:Lang-yi

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; possibly connected to the Yaz culture of Eastern Iran), one mentioned by Ovid as "Ipse vides onerata ferox ut ducata Iasyx/ Per media Istri plaustra bubulcus aquas" and "Iazyges et Colchi Metereaque turba Getaque/ Danubii mediis vix prohibentur aquis".

A now lost inscription on a Roman milestone found near Osijek, Croatia by Matija Petar Katančić in the 18th century, mentions the existence of a Jassiorum municipium, or Municipium Dacorum-Iassiorum from other sources.

Another explanation is that the name originated from the Iranian Alanic tribe of Jassi. The Hungarian name of the city (Jászvásár) literally means "Jassic Market"; the antiquated Romanian name, Târgul Ieșilor (and the once-favoured Iașii), may indicate the same meaning.

Oral sources say that the name may come from an archaic form of the Romanian word "to exit" because the city was an important trade node in the region.

History

Coat of arms of the Principality of Moldavia at Cetățuia Monastery

Ancient times

Archaeological investigations attest the presence of human communities on the present territory of the city and around it as far back as the prehistoric age. Later settlements included those of the Cucuteni-Trypillian culture, a late Neolithic archaeological culture.

Early development

The name of the city is first officially mentioned in a document about commercial privilege granted by the Moldavian Prince (Voivode) Alexandru cel Bun to the Polish merchants of Lvov in 1408. However, as buildings older than 1408 existed and still exist (for example the Armenian Church originally believed to be built in 1395), it is believed that the city existed long before its first mentioning.

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.

Three Hierarchs Monastery

Iași in the 1700s

Princely Court of Moldavia

In 1640, Vasile Lupu established the first school in which the mother-tongue replaced Greek, and set up a printing press in the Byzantine Trei Ierarhi Church (Church of the Three Hierarchs; built 1635–39). In 1643, the first volume ever printed in Moldavia was issued in Iași.

The city was burned down by the Tatars in 1513, by the Ottomans in 1538, by the Imperial Russian troops in 1686. In 1734, it was hit by the plague.

Through the Peace of Iași, the sixth Russo-Turkish War was brought to a close in 1792. A Greek revolutionary maneuver 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 there was a severe conflagration.

Mid–19th to 20th century

Al. Lăpușneanu Street

Union Square

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 recognized 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 severely 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

Avram Goldfaden's statue near the Iași National Theatre

See also: History of the Jews in Romania

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 mid-19th century, owing to widespread Russian Jewish and Galician Jewish immigration into Moldavia, the city was at least one-third Jewish.

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 theater performance, established by Avraham Goldfaden. The words of HaTikvah, the national anthem of Israel, were written in Iași by Naphtali Herz Imber. Jewish musicians in Iași played an important role as preservers of Yiddish folklore, as performers and composers.

According to the 1930 census, with a population of 34,662 (some 34%) out of the total of 102,872, Jews were the second largest ethnic group in Iași. There were over 127 synagogues.

Great Synagogue

After World War II, in 1947, there were about 38,000 Jews living in Iași. During the Postbellum period, Iași played a prominent part in the revival of Yiddish culture in Romania, and, from 1949 to 1963, it was home to a second company of the State Jewish Theater. The intellectuals of Iași included many Jewish academics, scientists, writers, journalists, doctors, lawyers, and engineers. However, the number of Jews continued to drop because of massive emigration to Israel and, in 1975, there were about 3,000 Jews living in Iași and four synagogues were active.

Today, 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. Outside of the city on top of a hill there is a large Jewish Cemetery which has graves dating from the late 19th century; burial records date from 1915 to the present day and are kept in the community center. Since 1996, an annual publication on the history of the Jews in Romania, Studia et acta historiae Iudaeorum Romaniae, has been published by the local history and archeology institutes of the Romanian Academy. There is also a Jewish community center serving kosher meals from a small cantina.

World War II

Main article: Iași pogrom

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, or one third of the Jewish population, were massacred in the pogrom itself or in its aftermath, and many were deported. The pogrom began as a diversionary tactic. Due to its proximity to the Soviet border, the city's Jewish population was accused of aiding the Bolsheviks, and rumors were promoted among the general population that the Jews were anti-Romanian. The pretext for the pogrom included a minor Soviet air attack on the city on 26 June 1941, two days after Romanian and German forces attacked the Soviet Union.

After a second air attack two days later, the 14th Infantry Division, led by General Stavrescu declared its mission of eradicating "those who are aiding the enemy". In a telegram, Stavrescu wrote that the Russian aviators "had accomplices among the Judeo-communist suspects of Iași." Under express orders from military dictator and German ally Ion Antonescu, the city was to be "cleansed" of its Jewish population. Orders also specified that Section Two of the General Headquarters of the Romanian Army and the Special Intelligence Service (SIS) of Romania were to spread rumors of Jewish treachery in the press, including ones that Jews were guiding Soviet military aircraft by placing lights in their houses' chimneys.

A systematic massacre by the Iași police, Romanian and German soldiers, and a portion of the citizens of Iași followed and at least 8,000 Jews were killed; more than 5,000 Jews were loaded onto overcrowded, sealed "death trains" that drove slowly back and forth across the country in the hot summer weather until most of their passengers were killed by hyperthermia, thirst, or infection and bleeding.

Six Romanians of Iași are credited with saving around one hundred Jews (see Righteous Among the Nations).

Main articles: First Jassy-Kishinev Offensive and Jassy–Kishinev Offensive (August 1944)

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 Târgul 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.

Geography

Topography

See also: Seven hills of Iași

Copou hill

Located in the North-East of Romania, between the Iași Ridge (Template:Lang-ro) (the northern-most hill formation of the Bârlad Plateau) and the Jijia Plain, Iași used to be the crossroads place of the commercial routes that passed through Moldavia coming from Kingdom of Poland, Habsburg Monarchy, Tsardom of Russia and Constantinople.

The city lies on the Bahlui River, a tributary of the Jijia (tributary of the Prut). The surrounding country is one of uplands and woods, featuring the monasteries of Bârnova, Bucium, Cetățuia, Frumoasa, Galata (with nearby Nicolina mineral springs), Hlincea, and the dendrologic park of Repedea. Iași itself stands amid vineyards and gardens, partly on hills, partly in the in-between valley.

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

Climate

Climate data for Iași, Romania
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	−1 (31)	2 (35)	8 (46)	16 (61)	22 (72)	25 (77)	27 (80)	26 (79)	22 (72)	16 (61)	8 (47)	2 (36)	14 (58)
Daily mean °C (°F)	−4 (25)	−2 (29)	3 (37)	11 (51)	16 (61)	19 (67)	21 (69)	20 (68)	16 (61)	10 (50)	4 (40)	−1 (31)	9 (49)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	−7 (19)	−5 (23)	−1 (30)	5 (41)	10 (50)	13 (56)	15 (59)	14 (57)	11 (51)	5 (41)	1 (34)	−4 (25)	5 (41)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	33 (1.30)	30 (1.20)	30 (1.20)	53 (2.10)	64 (2.50)	102 (4.00)	84 (3.30)	56 (2.20)	48 (1.90)	25 (1.00)	36 (1.40)	30 (1.20)	592 (23.30)
Source: Weather.com

Iași has a humid, continental-type climate (Köppen climate classification "Dfb" — summer wetter than winter, European subtype) with four distinct seasons. Summers are warm with temperatures sometimes exceeding 32 °C (90 °F) while winters are cold and windy with moderate snowfall and temperatures at night sometimes dropping below −10 °C (14 °F). Average monthly precipitation ranges from about 25 mm (1 in) in October to 100 mm (4 in) in June.

Cityscape

Architecture

Palace of Culture and Princely Saint Nicholas Church

Central Hall Square

With historical monuments, 500-year-old churches and monasteries, contemporary architecture, many of them listed on the National Register of Historic Monuments, Iași is an outstanding educational center. Pieces of architecture include 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 regime many historical buildings in the old city center (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).

Grand Hotel Traian (Union Square), designed and built by Gustave Eiffel

Cuza Palace, The Union Museum

Dosoftei House

Other 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;
• Metropolitan Cathedral, the largest Orthodox church in Romania, a late Renaissance style, with Baroque elements and Gheorghe Tattarescu paintings;
• Dosoftei House, 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;
• 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 30 m (98.43 ft) height bell tower;
• Roznovanu Palace (The City Hall), second half of the 18th century, rebuilt between 1830 and 1833, during World War I, it hosted the Romanian government;
• Union Museum, 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;
• Great Synagogue, in late Baroque style, built in 1657–1671, is the oldest surviving synagogue in Romania and one of the oldest in Europe;
• Pogor House, 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;
• Armenian Church, built in 1395, testifies the existence of an important Armenian community in these parts of Romania;
• Luceafărul Theatre, 1987, a unique modern building in Romania;
• Old Catholic Cathedral, 1782, in Baroque style, and New Catholic Cathedral, 2005;
• Central University Library, 1934, incorporates Greek Revival elements;
• Great Railway Station, 1870, inspired by Venetian Doge's Palace.

Monasteries and churches

Barnovschi Church

Iași is the seat of the Romanian Orthodox Metropolitan of Moldavia and Bukovina, and of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Iași. 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.

St. George Church (Old Metropolitan Cathedral)

The city and area house more than 10 monasteries and 100 historical churches. One of the oldest is Princely Saint Nicholas (1491), dating from the reign of Stephen the Great and the largest in Romania is the Metropolitan Cathedral; perhaps the finest, however, is the 17th century old metropolitan church, Trei Ierarhi, an example of Byzantine art, erected in 1635–1639 by Vasile Lupu, and adorned with countless gilded carvings on its outer walls and twin towers. Other examples of beautiful churches and monasteries, some surrounded by big walls, are: Socola (1562), Galata (1582), Saint Sava (1583), Hlincea (1587), Aroneanu (1594), Bârnova (1603), Barnovschi (1627), Golia (1650), Cetățuia (1668), Frumoasa (1726), Saint Spiridon (1747), Old Metropolitan Cathedral (1761), Bărboi (1843 with 18th century bell tower), Bucium (1853).

Gardens and parks

Ciric Park

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

Mihai Eminescu's statue and his Linden Tree in Copou Park

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 Obelisk of Lions (1834), a 13.5 m (44.29 ft) tall obelisk, dedicated to the Law of Organic Rules, the first law on political, administrative and juridical organization 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 coordination of the architect N. Ghica Budești.

The Ciric Park, located in the north-eastern part of Iași is another complex which consists into the park and four lakes.

Cultural life

Pogor House, The Romanian Literature Museum

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 Dimitrie Cantemir known throughout all Europe also linked his name to the capital of Moldavia.

The first newspaper in Romanian language was published in 1829 in Iași and it is in Iași where, in 1867, appeared under literary society Junimea, the Convorbiri literare review in which Ion Creangă’s Childhood Memories and the best poems by Mihai Eminescu were published. The reviews Contemporanul and Viața Românească appeared in 1871, respectively in 1906 with great contributions to promoting Romanian national cultural values.

Moldova State Philharmonic

Many great personalities of Romanian culture are connected to Iași: the chronicler Nicolae Milescu, the historians and politics men Mihail Kogălniceanu or Simion Bărnuțiu, the poets Vasile Alecsandri or George Topârceanu, the writers Mihail Sadoveanu, Alecu Russo, or Ionel Teodoreanu, the literary critic Titu Maiorescu, the historian A.D. Xenopol, the philosophers Vasile Conta or Petre Andrei, the sociologist Dimitrie Gusti, the geographer Emil Racoviță, the painter Octav Băncilă, only to name a few.

Theatres and orchestras

Vasile Alecsandri National Theatre and Iaşi Romanian National Opera

Luceafărul Theatre

The "Vasile Alecsandri" National Theatre, opened in 1840, is the first National Theatre in Romania. The building, designed according to the plans of the Viennese architects Hermann Helmer and Ferdinand Fellner, was raised between 1894 and 1896, and also hosts, starting 1956, the Iași Romanian National Opera.
Iași is also home to:

• Moldova State Philharmonic Orchestra
• Luceafărul Theatre
• Tătărași Athenaeum
• Ludic Theatre

Museums

Ion Creangă Memorial House

Iași is home to many museums, memorial houses, art galleries.
First Memorial House from Romania opened in Iași in 1918 as Ion Creangă Memorial House, and today the Iași Romanian Literature Museum owns twelve memorial houses. The Mihai Eminescu Museum is situated in Copou Park and it is dedicated to the great poet’s life and creation. Other museums are dedicated to: Dosoftei, Mihail Kogălniceanu, Vasile Pogor, Nicolae Gane, Petru Poni, Mihai Codreanu, Mihail Sadoveanu, George Topîrceanu, Otilia Cazimir, Radu Cernătescu.

Mihai Codreanu Memorial House

The Theatre Museum, opened in 1976, at the celebration of 160 years since the first theatrical performance in Romanian, illustrates the development of the theatrical phenomenon since the beginning, important moments of the history of Iași National Theatre, the foundation, in 1840, of the Philharmonic-dramatic Conservatoire, prestigious figures that have contributed to the development of the Romanian theatre.

The Union Museum, includes original pieces and documents which belonged to prince Al. I. Cuza and his family.

The Natural History Museum, founded on 4 February 1834, is the first museum of this kind in Romania with over 300,000 items, the most valuable being the collections of insects, mollusk, amphibians, reptiles, birds, plants and minerals.

Four other museums are located in the Palace of Culture, The Art Museum has the largest art collection in Romania, with more than 8,000 paintings, out of which 1,000 belong to the national and universal patrimony, The Moldavia's History Museum, offers more than 35,000 objects from various fields, archaeology, numismatics, decorative art, ancient books, documents, The Ethnographic Museum of Moldavia owns more than 11,000 objects depicting the Romanian advance through the ages and The Science and Technology Museum with five distinct sections and one memorial house.

French Institute in Iași

Foreign culture centres

Iași hosts five cultural centres: French, German, British, Latin American & Caribbean and Hellenic.

Periferic Biennial

Periferic is an international biennial of contemporary art organized in Iași, Romania by the Vector Association. Eight editions have taken place thus far.

Media

Main article: Media in Iași

Economy

Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Iași is an important economic centre in Romania. The local and regional economy relies on public sector institutions and establishments.

The most important sectors are related to health care, education, manufacturing, research, culture, government and tourism. It is active in automotive, pharmaceutical industry, metallurgical production, textiles and clothing, constructions, banking, wine, preserved meat.

The city is an important IT sector centre, with software companies and two universities that provide high quality graduate engineers.

Iași is also a well-developed commercial city with many shopping malls and commercial centres.

Largest employers

Top 10 Employers

Company	Industry	Employees
St. Spiridon University Hospital	Health Care	2,717
Alexandru Ioan Cuza University	High Education	2,263
Delphi Diesel Systems	Automotive	2,087
Gheorghe Asachi Technical University	High Education	1,848
Antibiotice SA	Pharmaceutical Industry	1,418
University of Medicine and Pharmacy	High Education	1,344
RATP	Public Transport	1,300
CET	Energy & Heating Industry	1,200
St. Maria Clinic Children's Hospital	Health Care	1,200
ApaVital SA	Water Industry	1,200

Sources:

Demographics

Historical population of Iași
Year	Population	%±
18th century	~30,000	—
1831	59,880	99.6%
1859	65,745	9.8%
1900	78,067	18.7%
1912 census	75,229	−3.6%
1930 census	102,872	36.7%
1948 census	96,075	−6.6%
1956 census	112,977	17.6%
1966 census	161,023	42.5%
1977 census	265,002	64.5%
1992 census	344,425	29.9%
2002 census	320,888	−6.8%
2011 census	263,410	−17.9%

Roznovanu Palace, today Iași City Hall

According to the 2002 Romanian census, there were 109,357 housing units and 320,888 people living within the city of Iași. Additionally there were 60,000 more residents (mostly students) and thousands of daily commuters.

Of this population, 98.5% were ethnic Romanians, while 0.59% were ethnic Roma, 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%.

As per 2011 census, 263,410 inhabitants live within the city limits, making it the fourth most populous city in Romania, a decrease from the figure recorded at the 2002 census.

Iași Metropolitan Area has a population of 349,992, an area of 808 km² and includes the municipality of Iași and 13 other nearby communities, while the population of the peri-urban area exceeds 500,000 residents.

Education

Al. I. Cuza University

The first institute of higher learning that functioned on the territory of Romania was Academia Vasiliană (1640) founded by Prince Vasile Lupu as a "higher school for Latin and Slavonic languages", followed by the Princely Academy in 1707.

The first high education structure in Romanian language was established in the autumn of 1813, when engineer Gheorghe Asachi laid the foundations of a class of engineers, its activities taking place within the Greek Princely Academy.

After 1813, other moments marked the development of higher education in Romanian language, regarding both humanities and the technical science. In 1835, Academia Mihăileană founded by Prince Mihail Sturdza is considered first Romanian superior institute in the country.

University of Medicine and Pharmacy

In 1860, three faculties part of the Academia Mihăileană formed the nucleus for the newly-established University of Iași, the first Romanian university.

The Physicians and Naturalists Society, founded in Iași, has existed since the early part of the 19th century, and a number of periodicals are published. One of the oldest medical universities in Romania, founded in 1879, is in Iași. It is now known as the Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy.

In 1937, the two applied science sections of the University of Iași became departments of the newly created Gheorghe Asachi Polytechnic School. In the period before and after World War II, the later (renamed Polytechnic Institute in 1948) extended its domain of activity, especially in the field of engineering, and became adopted a Technical University in 1993.

Public universities include:

File:Iaşi , Central Universitary Library „Mihai Eminecu“ 3.jpg

Central University Library

• Alexandru Ioan Cuza University
• Gheorghe Asachi Technical University
• Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy
• George Enescu University of Arts
• Ion Ionescu de la Brad University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine

Besides the universities, there are schools of art and music.

The Central University Library of Iași, where the chief records of Romanian history are preserved, is the oldest and the second largest in Romania.

Health

Iași is home to at least 15 hospitals, including the St. Spiridon Hospital, the second largest and one of the oldest in Romania, St. Maria Clinic Children's Hospital, Socola Psychiatric University Hospital and Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases.

Transportation

Rail

Great Railway Station

Iași-Pașcani railway was opened on 1 June [O.S. 20 May] 1870, Iași-Ungheni on 1 August 1874 and Iași-Chișinău railway was opened on 1 June 1875 by the Russian Empire in preparation for the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878).

Nowadays, three train stations, Great Railway Station, Nicolina International Rail Station and Socola Rail Station serve the city and are operated by Romanian Railways (CFR). Moldovan railway also serves these stations for travel into Moldova.

The Great Railway Station, located about 1 km to the city centre, provides direct rail connections to all the major Romanian cities and to Chișinău. The rail stations are very well connected to all the parts of the city by the trams and buses of the local public transport companies.

Air

Iași Airport Terminal

Iași is served by the Iași International Airport (IAS) located 8 km (5 mi) northeast of the city centre. The airport offers direct domestic, European and Anatolian scheduled or charter connections.

Road

Iași is connected by European routes E583/E85 with Bucharest through a four lane express road, by European route E58 with Central Europe and Chişinău in Moldova, and by DN National Roads with all major cities of Romania. It is also planned an East–West freeway connection to A3 Transylvania Motorway.

The Iași Coach Station is used by several private transport companies to provide coach connections from Iași to a large number of locations from all over the country.

Public transport

Two operators, the local public transport company, RATP Iași, and Unistil, a private company, provide public transit within the Iași city and operate an extensive network using 150 trams (electric trams began operating in Iași in 1900) and 150 buses. In the first 3 months of 2007, RATP carried 11,365,819 passengers, an average of 128,000 passengers per day.

Monuments and history

• 
  Stephen the Great
• 
  Dosoftei
• 
  Miron Costin
• 
  Grigore III Ghica Monument
• 
  Gheorghe Asachi
• 
  The Obelisk of Lions
• 
  Vasile Alecsandri
• 
  Alexandru Ioan Cuza
• 
  Mihai Eminescu
• 
  Mihail Kogălniceanu
• 
  Independence Monument
• Attacking Cavalryman Monument
  Attacking Cavalryman Monument
• World War I Heroes Monument
  World War I Heroes Monument
• Union Monument
  Union Monument
• 
  Victims of Iaşi Pogrom Monument
• 
  Victims of Communism Memorial

Twin towns — Sister cities

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

Iași is twinned with:

Chișinău, Moldova (2008) Assiut, Egypt (1995) Athens, United States (2001) Filacciano, Italy (1999) Forano, Italy (1999) Irbid, Jordan (2000) Isfahan, Iran (1999) Jericho, Palestinian Authority (2003)

Kozani, Greece (1928) Monterrey, Mexico (2002) Morlupo, Italy (1999) Nazzano, Italy (1999) Padua, Italy (1995) Peristeri, Greece (2002) Poitiers, France (1969)

Quebec City, Canada (2001) Sant'Oreste, Italy (1999) Torrita Tiberina, Italy (1999) Villeneuve d'Ascq, France (2003) Vinnytsia, Ukraine (1993) Xi'an, China (1993) Eindhoven, Netherlands (2011) Veliko Turnovo, Bulgaria (1998)

Consulates in Iași

• Moldova – Consulate-General

Honorary Consulates:

• Hungary
• Italy (Vice Consulate)
• Pakistan

People

See: List of people from Iași

References

Bibliography

• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
• National Institute of Statistics: http://www.insse.ro

External links

• Iași City Hall website
• Iași at romaniatourism.com
• Official site of the Iași police inspectorate Template:Ro icon

• Public transport picture gallery
• Street Map of Iași, as comissioned by the City Hall
• Map of Iași Metropolitan Area (free interactive map with street index, points of interest, and geographic location hyper-linking)
• Map of Public Transportation in Iași (free interactive map with transportation index)
• Map of Public Transportation in Iași
• Iași at museum.ici.ro
• Picture gallery with most points of interest in Iași
• Local news and events
• Cultural events in Iași
• Public transport in Iași
• Iași city Tourism
• Iasi Legendary City
• Iași City Portal
• Iași photo gallery

• Al. I. Cuza University of Iași official site
• Gh. Asachi Technical University of Iași official site
• Gr. T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Iași official site
• G. Enescu University of Arts of Iași official site
• I. Ionescu de la Brad University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Iași official site