Edineț

For the former administrative subdivision of Moldova, see Edineț County.

Edineț
Municipality
Flag Coat of arms
Edineț Location in Moldova
Coordinates: 48°10′N 27°19′E
Country	Moldova
District	Edineț District
Established	1431
Area
• Total	2.2 sq mi (5.7 km2)
Elevation	758 ft (231 m)
Population  (2014)
• 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 town and municipality in northern Moldova. It is the administrative center of the eponymous district. The town is located 201 km north of the national capital, Chișinău. It is located at 48°10′N 27°19′E. The town administers two suburban villages, Alexăndreni and Gordineștii Noi. The population at the 2004 census was 17,292 inhabitants, including 15,624 in the town itself.

To the North of the town is situated the commune Hlinaia (Glina-Mare), to the South – the town of Cupcini, to the East – the commune Ruseni, and to the West the suburb Alexăndreni.

History

The first known written mention of the locality is in a document from July 15, 1431, by which the Prince of Moldavia Alexandru cel Bun offered to a certain Ivan Cupcici "14 villages with their old domains and empty land to found new villages and an apiary". According to the document, the old name of Edineț was Viadineți, possibly meaning little Viadins. A document dating August 18, 1690, given by Prince Constantin Movilă to a certain Cozma Pop mentions the village as Iadineți. The name Edineț is documented since 1663, and still used to present days.

In 1812, eastern part of Moldavia was annexed by the Russian Empire, and became known as Governorate of Bessarabia.

Bessarabia proclaimed independence in January 1918 as Moldavian Democratic Republic. In April 1918, Bessarabia proclaimed union with Romania.

At the 1930 census, there were three separately administered localities: Edineți-Târg (literally Edineți-Fair), population 5,910, Edineți-Sat (literally Edineți-Village), population 5,260, part of Plasa Briceni of the Hotin County, and Alexăndrenii-Noi, population 1,083, part of Plasa Rășcani of the Bălți County.

In 1918–1940, along Edineț, two other spellings were sometimes used: Edineți and Edinița. Between the two World Wars there was a Zionist Tarbut school.

In 1940, the Soviet Union with the consent of the Nazi Germany occupied Bessarabia, and created the Moldavian SSR, closing privately owned businesses and religious schools.

Seat of the District Council

A year later, Romanian Army, now allied with the Nazi Germany, drove the Soviets out and recovered Bessarabia. The German and Romanian troops entered Edineț on July 5, 1941. Only a part of the Jews of Edineț fled before that. Within two days several hundred Bessarabian Jews of Edineț were murdered by units of Einsatzkommando D and Romanian gendarmes, assisted by quite a few civilians that came to profit from the Jews. Within the first two weeks, the Romanian soldiers had killed about 1,000 Jews out of 5,000 living in the town. 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 from the north of Bessarabia, and from Bukovina were interned. In September there were about 12,000 Jews in the ghetto, crammed into a small area, suffering from malnutrition and disease. Many of the interned succumbed to disease, cold weather, hunger, and thirst; dozens of persons died every day. On September 16, 1941, all Jews were deported to Transnistria. The majority of them died in Transnistria. By 1944 only a few managed to survive. The few dozen families still alive at the end of the War settled either in Czernovitz or moved to Israel. Only a handful chose to return to Edineț.

In 1944, Soviets re-conquered Bessarabia, and re-established Moldavian SSR. During the Soviet time, the town was also known in the Russified versions Yedintsy and Yedintzi.

In 1960s, the Jewish population was estimated at about 200. There was no synagogue although the Jewish Cemetery was still extant.

At the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Moldova became an independent country.

Demographics

Ethnic composition
Ethnic group	1930 census			2004 census
	Edineți-Târg	Edineți-Sat	Alexăndrenii-Noi	Edineț	Alexăndreni	Gordineștii Noi	Total
Moldovans1	–	–	–	8,747	1,272	331	10,351
Romanians1	194	2,183	1,082	131	23	0	153
Jews	5,341	398	–	18	–	–	18
Russians	344	2,214	1	3,394	15	2	3,411
Ruthenians (Ukrainians)	14	353	–	2,682	17	5	2,704
Romani	–	55	–	2000	–	–	2000
Bulgarians	1	1	–	37	–	–	37
Gagauzians	–	–	–	23	–	–	23
Poles	14	28	–	11	–	–	11
Germans	–	3	–	91	1	2	94
Albanians	1	–	–
Hungarians	–	1	–
others	1	24	–
Total	5,910	5,260	1,083	15,624	1,328	340	17,292

¹There is an ongoing controversy over whether Moldovans' self-identification constitutes an ethnic group distinct and apart from Romanians, or a subset. At the 2004 Moldovan Census, citizens could declare only one ethnic group. Consequently, one could not declare oneself both "Moldovan" and "Romanian". In the 1930 Romanian census no one was registered as "Moldovan".

Native language
Language	1930 census			2004 census
	Edineți-Târg	Edineți-Sat	Alexăndrenii-Noi
Romanian	183	2,209	1,082	N/A
Yiddish	5,328	401	–	N/A
Russian	375	2,360	1	N/A
Ukrainian	9	282	–	N/A
Polish	11	7	–	N/A
German	2	1	–	N/A
Bulgarian	1	–	–	N/A
other	1	–	–	N/A
Total	5,910	5,260	1,083	17,292

Culture

Edineț has a Natural History Museum, and a famous Museum of National Craftsmen, whose collection is rich in original folk objects and works.

Media

• Radio Chișinău 104.6 FM
• Jurnal FM 107.9 MHz
• Radio Sanatatea

Notable people

• Ghenadie Ciobanu
• Joseph Gaer
• Revekka Galperina
• Samuel Wainer

International relations

Main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in Moldova

Twin towns – Sister cities

Edineț is twinned with:

• Râmnicu Sărat, Romania

Further reading

• Yedintsy (p. 425) at Miriam Weiner's Routes to Roots Foundation

External links

• Edineț District Council
• Edineț based radio station
• Edineț, Moldova at JewishGen
• Yad l'Yedinitz; memorial book for the Jewish community of Edineț, Bessarabia