Chișinău

Chișinău
City
Clockwise, from left: Stephen the Great Monument, Water Tower, Gates of Chisinau, Triumphal Arch, Liberation Monument, Sky Tower, Bell Tower of the Nativity Cathedral, City Hall,
Flag Seal
Chișinău Location of Chișinău in Moldova
Coordinates: 47°0′00″N 28°55′00″E / 47.00000°N 28.91667°E / 47.00000; 28.91667
Country	Moldova
First written mention	1436
Government
• Mayor	Dorin Chirtoacă
Area
• City	123 km2 (47 sq mi)
• Metro	563.3 km2 (217.5 sq mi)
Elevation	85 m (279 ft)
Population (2014 census)
• City	492,894
• Density	4,007/km2 (10,380/sq mi)
• Metro	736,100a
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Postal code	MD-20xx
Area code(s)	+373 22
ISO 3166 code	MD-CU
Website	www.chisinau.md
a As the estimated population of the Municipality of Chișinău (which comprises the city of Chișinău and 34 other suburban localities)

Coordinates: 47°0′N 28°55′E / 47.000°N 28.917°E / 47.000; 28.917

Chișinău (/ˌkɪʃᵻˈnaʊ/; Romanian pronunciation: [kiʃiˈnəw]), also known formerly as Kishinev, is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial center, and is located in the middle of the country, on the river Bîc. According to the preliminary results of the 2014 census, the city of Chișinău is home to 492,894 residents. The estimated number of resident population in the Municipality of Chișinău (which includes other nearby communities), as of 1 January 2015, is 736,100.

Chișinău is the most economically prosperous locality in Moldova and its largest transportation hub.

The origin of the city's name is unclear.

In one version, the name comes from the archaic Romanian word chișla (meaning "spring", "source of water") and nouă ("new"), because it was built around a small spring, at the corner of Pușkin and Albișoara streets.

The other version, formulated by Ștefan Ciobanu, Romanian historian and academician, holds that the name was formed the same way as the name of Chișineu (alternative spelling: Chișinău) in Western Romania, near the border with Hungary. Its Hungarian name is Kisjenő, from which the Romanian name originates. Kisjenő comes from kis "small" and the "Jenő," one of the seven Hungarian tribes that entered the Carpathian Basin in 896. At least 24 other settlements are named after the "Jenő" tribe.