Chișinău | |||
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City | |||
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Location of Chișinău in Moldova | |||
Coordinates: 47°0′00″N 28°55′00″E / 47.00000°N 28.91667°E | |||
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
Chișinău (/ˌkɪʃᵻˈnaʊ/; Romanian pronunciation: [kiʃiˈnəw], Russian: Кишинёв, tr. Kišiniov), 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.