Hîncești

Hîncești is a city and municipality in Moldova.

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

History


Hîncești was established in 1500 AD as Dobreni. It was part of the Principality of Moldavia until its annexation by Russia in 1812. Within the Russian Empire it was known under the Russified name Gincheshty (Гинчешты), but in Romanian as Hîncești. After World War I, it became part of Romania, formed in the meantime from the unification of the principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia. During World War II, it was occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940, which changed its name to Kotovskoe after Grigore Kotovski, who was born there. But from 1941 to 1944 it was again known as Hîncești, when Romania regained control of the settlement. Before WWII, the Jewish community was rather large, in 1930, there were 1,523 Jews living there.

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

Demographics
According to the 2014 census, the population of Hîncești amounted to 12,491 inhabitants, a decrease compared to the previous census in 2004, when 15,281 inhabitants were registered. Of these, 5,824 were men and 6,667 were women.

Footnotes:

* There is an ongoing controversy regarding the ethnic identification of Moldovans and Romanians.

* ''Moldovan language is one of the two local names for the Romanian language in Moldova. In 2013, the Constitutional Court of Moldova interpreted that Article 13 of the constitution is superseded by the Declaration of Independence, thus giving official status to the name Romanian. ''

In 1890, Hîncești had a stable population of 3,098 citizens. By 1970, the population had increased to 14.3 thousand, and by 1991, 19.3 thousand.

Education
There are four Lyceum (junior colleges) in Hîncești:
 * Mihai Viteazul Lyceum
 * Mikhail Lomonosov Lyceum
 * Mihai Sadoveanu Lyceum
 * Mihai Eminescu Lyceum
 * Timotei Bătrânu Arts School

Sports
The local football club is FC Petrocub Hîncești.

Notable citizens

 * Grigory Kotovsky (1881–1925), Soviet military leader and Communist activist.
 * Manuc Bei, Very wealthy Armenian merchant

Twin towns – Sister cities
Hîncești is twinned with:
 * 🇷🇴 Ploiești, Romania
 * 🇮🇱 Or Akiva, Israel