The Republic of Moldova is informally divided into three main regions: the south of the country, the center and the north. The largest city in the north of Moldova, also called the northern capital, is the municipality of Balti.
Geographically, Balti is located on a swampy area called the Balti steppe and is located at a distance of 130 km from the capital of Moldova - the city of Chisinau. The city's population is approximately 130,000 inhabitants, and the date of its foundation, or more precisely, the first mention in the chronicles, is considered to be 1421.
Historically, the city of Balti is famous for the fact that here in 1711. the camp of D. Cantemir, the ruler of Moldova, and the Russian Tsar Peter 1 was located during the Prut campaign.
During the period of its intensive development, during Soviet times, Balti became a large industrial and industrially developed center of the republic. Balti has a large railway junction, two airports and a bus station.
The cultural part of the city is also diverse. There are several parks and squares in Balti. Victory Park, Andriesh children's park, central park with a summer stage, Selection park. Within the city limits there are several lakes, each with its own recreational area, these are the “City” lake, “Komsomolskoye” and lake “Ivanesko”.
The highlight of Balti are its holy places. This is the Cathedral of St. Equal to the Apostles Constantine and Helen", built in the style of national romanticism, the ancient Armenian Church "St. Gregory the Illuminator of Armenia", bell tower and cathedral "St. Nicholas”, restored in 1975, the Catholic Church “St. Archangels”, Church “St. Venerable Paraskeva”, Church “St. Apostles Peter and Paul”, and in the park “Selection” the building of the Balti diocesan administration is located.
Balti can rightfully be considered a cultural capital for its abundance of monuments and memorial sites. The youngest complex can be called the Alley of Classics, where busts of figures of Moldovan culture can be installed on pedestals. This complex was opened in 2010. Alley to soldiers who fell in 1941-1944. was founded in 1944. Monuments: to the liberators of the city - Tank T-34, monument to N. Ostrovsky, A. Russo, young guard B. Glavan, monument to M. Eminescu, monument to railway workers in the form of a Steam Locomotive, monument to “Stephen the Great”, which is located in front of the building of the mayor’s office of the municipality.
Balti is famous for its State University. Alec Russo and many institutes and secondary specialized educational institutions. The city has the National Theater named after. Vasile Alecsandri, cinema "Patria", many libraries and reading rooms, an art gallery, an ethnographic museum, two municipal Palaces of Culture.
The infrastructure and appearance of the city of Balti are constantly developing and changing. Over the past decade, several large supermarkets and an entertainment complex have appeared in the city. The number of shopping centers and small boutiques with clothing and perfumes is growing every year. Electrical and telecommunications networks are being improved and replaced, and new fiber optic cables are being installed for high-speed connections.
For tourists, the city of Balti is of great interest. There are several hotels in the city where you can always stay. The city's restaurants and cafes are always at your service. Excellent Moldovan and European cuisine will satisfy the needs of even the most notorious gourmets.
On the main square of the city of Balti there is the National Theater named after. Vasile Alexandri. The theater building has two halls (large and small), and a circular stage.
The theater hosts performances for adults and children - classical and modern, national and international repertoire. Theater named after Vasile Alecsandri is one of the main art theaters in the country, producing national drama.
National Theater named after Vasile Alexandri
The founding date of this national theater is May 16, 1957. Initially, it was a Moldovan troupe that complemented the Russian theater that had been operating in the city of Balti since 1947.
In May 1990, the theater received a new name and became the Vasile Alexandria National Theater. The building was opened on May 16 of the same year, it housed two halls, divided into small and large, as well as a circular stage. The project was designed by architect Yanina Galperina.
Over the entire period, the theater presented about 190 performances, which reached both adult and children's audiences. The theater has a national and international repertoire, covering both classical and modern productions. This theater is one of the leaders producing national drama. The entire repertoire of the theater is based on texts written by authors from Moldova and Romania. All artists of the troupe are graduates of the University of Arts of Moldova
Coordinates: 47.76067600,27.92499300
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Airport Balti-City
Balti-City Airport is one of two airports in the city of Balti, which, unlike the international Balti-Ljadovena, was a regional airport. Today, the airport does not operate, and in its place there is a special economic zone (a limited territory with a special legal status).
Previously, the airport and its grounds were used for domestic flights between the city and neighboring Moldovan cities. During World War II it was the most important airport in the region. At that time, it received small aircraft, performing economic and public functions.
The airport is located directly in the city of Balti, so it is easy to get to it from the city center by trolleybus (travel time - 10 minutes).
Coordinates: 47.77444400,27.95750000
The most popular attractions in Balti with descriptions and photographs for every taste. Choose the best places to visit famous places in Balti on our website.
Balti in Moldova is called the “Northern Capital” - after the separation of Transnistria, the city with a population of 149 thousand people became second in the country with a very large margin from third (in fact, the following Cahul, Ungheni and Soroca are inferior to Balti by about three times each). The history of Balti is super-typical for Moldova: the village has been known since 1421, since 1620 it has been the possession of the Iasi monastery of St. Spyridon, and since 1766 it has been owned by the merchant brothers Alexander, Constantine and Iordacia Panaite. The latter invited Jews here in 1779, turning the village into a trading town, elevated to a district town near Russia... and the district was called Yassky until 1887. In 1894, the railway came here, and most importantly, unlike Chisinau, the city developed under the Romanians, growing three times in the interwar period (up to 35 thousand people)... and therefore, with a completely ordinary history, the architecture of Balti for the former The USSR is non-trivial - perhaps it is the second reserve of the Romanian interwar period after Chernivtsi, and in terms of churches - I would even say that it is the first. Moldovan history and Romanian architecture are also combined with Slavic modernity: slightly more than half of Moldovans in the northern capital of the country (54%), and another 42% are Ukrainians and Russians. And in general, in some places Balti subtly reminded me of the regional centers of Kazakhstan... at least the historical environment here is organized in the same way: several dozen interesting buildings, scattered in the general grayness. However, I still have enough material about Balti for 2 large posts - in the first we will explore most of the center, and in the second we will explore the university and two railway suburbs.
Although Balti is a railway city through and through, it takes about 6 hours to travel by train from here to Chisinau, and there are no direct diesel engines at all - only through the border Ungheni. But there are countless buses between the two capitals: official minibuses every 15-30 minutes from the Northern Bus Station (including express trains that travel non-stop, covering 130 km in 2 hours - on the broken Moldovan roads the speed is almost cosmic), and - another hello Kazakhstan! - private traders to fill minivans and cars. In Balti, the bus station is located on the eastern outskirts, at the exit to Floresti, and is densely overgrown with a bazaar. Actually, there is no bus station here anymore - there are several small ticket booths on the covered platform, and furniture is now sold in the bus station itself:
Please note that the inscription outside the window in Russian - Balti in this sense contrasts very sharply even with Chisinau, not to mention small towns. You hear Russian speech here on the streets much more often than Moldavian.
The city from end to end, from the northeast (bus station) to the southwest, crosses its Stefan cel Mare (Stephen the Great) Avenue - its length here is about 10 kilometers, that is, more than 2 times longer than that of its namesake in Chisinau. Most likely, this is the longest street in Moldova. You need to follow it from the bus station to the center:
On the way, I accidentally turned onto May 1st Street, which (changing its name to Kievskaya) leads to the station Slobodzeya, and through questioning I found out that the latter was very far away, and I was already walking through the courtyards to the center. Signs in Balti generally have a special theme - for example, throughout the city they indicate an arrow to the Balti Hotel, and if you believe these arrows, the Balti Hotel is everywhere here.
Balti courtyard:
Features of the decor of local Stalin buildings:
Finally, I returned to Stefan the Great Avenue, which, entering the center, looks like this:
The bell tower in front belongs to the St. Nicholas Cathedral, and is, although not authentic (demolished in 1965, recreated in the 1990s), but perhaps a unique example of post-war architecture in this genre - the original bell tower was destroyed during the war, and in the first years after After the liberation of Balti, they somehow managed to build a new one here. However, this, of course, is not Stallians, but a neo-Brynkovian style, characteristic of pre-war Romania.
As for the temple itself, in terms of architecture it is a typical Polish church of the 18th century, which, to tell the truth, I did not expect here at all. In fact, it was built as an Armenian Catholic cathedral in 1791-95 - then Iordache Panaite decided to invite Armenians to Balti (apparently to create healthy competition for his Jews), but in the end something did not work out, the Armenians did not arrive, but the temple was consecrated as Orthodox in 1804. However, its impressive size predetermined Balti architecture - until the 1920s it accommodated all the city parishioners, which is why in Balti (except Slobodzeya) there is not a single church of the Russian era.
The door was open, and inside was completely empty. I unsheathed my camera, leaving some lei in the donation box. Here I got my third surprise - the paintings:
Yes, in artistic terms they are blatantly weak, at the level of illustrations for children's books:
But this is not the main thing - the inscription at the entrance says that the cathedral was painted in 1942-43! In addition, it did not close, so the murals were renewed in the 1970s.
And although I have traveled to almost five hundred cities, this is the first time I see the architectural heritage created during the war. Although, I’m lying - there is still the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya line of the Moscow Metro. In general, a rare case. Balti Cathedral is perhaps the most interesting underground church in Moldova:
Adjacent to the cathedral is Independence Square, which they obviously wanted to build in the Stalinist style, but Khrushchev prevented it. However, the Stalinist mayor's office (1958) is also atypical for Moldova. But the monument to Stephen the Great in front of it is new (2004):
The five-story building on the right looks at St. Nicholas Cathedral with one end, and at the other, again, the Church of St. Michael the Archangel, which is not at all typical for Moldova - modern, but very beautiful and clearly the largest in the country. The inscriptions in the niches on the facade are in Polish, and in general you might think that at least a few percent of the population in Balti is Poles, but in fact there are no more of them here than in any other city of 100 thousand in the former USSR. As for the church, I really regretted that I was too lazy to walk around it.
Here is the descent to the City Park:
And branching off from Independence Square is the long narrow Piazza Vasile Alecsandri, which in some places looks more like a pedestrian street:
There is a lot of things on it - an indoor market, an unfinished office (?) building, shopping malls, government institutions, a cinema... but first of all the Vasily Alexandri National Theater, built in 1990-91:
Including the composition on the facade... Why can’t I get rid of the feeling that they have a weapon in their hands?
There is also a fountain and a passport office with the Soviet Trinity:
And the registry office, which occupies a rare tsarist-era house in Balti - most likely, it was another gymnasium:
Next door is an abandoned cafe. Possibly Romanian era.
In addition, if you walk a little beyond the square, you can see the already mentioned hotel “Balti” - it seems that this is a late Soviet stylization of Romanian functionalism (!), or simply the “handwriting” of the Moldovan architects is as follows:
If you walk further along the hotel, then in the public garden you will suddenly find the Armenian Church of St. George (1910-14), already quite Armenian-Orthodox. The peculiarity of Balti churches is that they are all very small and hidden by the surrounding houses and trees, so it can be very difficult to find them:
So Let's go back to the square for now, and again we will go to the Prospect: At the intersection there are stands with the names and short biographies of the heroes of the Great Patriotic War, like somewhere in Belarus, the place itself is very busy - a couple of dozen shops and tents and the main stop for trolleybuses and minibuses:
Opposite is the Romanian post office building. Its second facade is also interesting, but it is completely impossible to photograph due to the stuck stalls. And it’s not easy to take such a shot - usually there’s another trolleybus standing there, picking up passengers:
I walked along the avenue to the southwest, moving away from the cathedral and the bus station. I was puzzled by this building - most likely, a good stylization of the Romanian interwar period (for which such wide glazing was not typical):
This 1930s house, on the contrary, is quite authentic. Looking back:
Peter and Paul Church (1915-29) is another example of Romanian interwar culture. The temple is surrounded on three sides by a prison:
The house on the corner of Decebala Street, along which we will return here in the next part, seems to be Romanian, but in the list of architectural monuments it appears under 1956. It is clear that before and after the war the same architects built here, but such tolerance for national architecture was very unexpected for the post-war USSR (there is, of course, an “ethnic” version of Stalinism, but here it is clearly not that, but something petty-bourgeois):
A couple more Romanian houses. The near one is notable for its stucco platbands, the distant one (1934) is remarkable for this arrogant angel and the fact that it is occupied by the directorate of the Dniester Institute of Economics and Law (1995), almost the first private university in Moldova:
But in general, there is enough of everything here - and captive German Stalins, lined with cauldrons:
And the royal barracks:
And high-rise buildings with decorative elements... By the way, pay attention - even though the country is the poorest in Europe, there are plenty of double-glazed windows in the center of Balti:
I didn’t go further than 31 August Street, which connects the university with the Western Station, which I will talk about in the next part. The last shot from the avenue is a monument to the victims of Chernobyl in apocalyptic colors:
To the right of the boulevard is mainly the railway industrial zone behind the facades of the first houses, and the center is to the left. And the center here, as already mentioned, I associate with cities of Kazakhstan like or - mostly extremely nondescript, consisting of high-rise buildings and the private sector, with individual inclusions of old buildings, rarely more than a few houses in a row.
At best it looks like this:
Romanian houses, in Russian opinion, are quite original, but somehow they don’t fit into ensembles:
“Polish House” - it remains a mystery to me why there is such a noticeable Polish influence in Balti:
But nothing at all reminds us of the Jewish past (after all, Jews here made up 70% of the population) - except for the former Jewish Lyceum on Lapushnianu Street (now a local history museum), which I never found. There is also a functioning synagogue here, but in a late-Soviet house bought by Jews in 1980. But for example, these ruins on Mira Street seemed similar to a former synagogue to me:
Although this building is even more similar, in some places it is referred to as the 19th century mansion of a certain Hadzhi Makarov, and in others as the former mayor’s office of the interwar era.
In general, I wandered around the streets of Balti for a long time and didn’t find much. In most of the center, the landscape is frankly dull, and the streets are not at all picturesquely neglected, and if you do not prepare for a tour of Balti in advance, the likelihood of finding something is low.
For example, on Shchusev Street - I knew for sure that there was another one there, farthest from the center, the Church of St. Michael the Archangel (1929-33) from the Romanian era. I passed by the indicated address a couple of times - the church is very small, hidden in the courtyard and almost invisible from the outside:
Meanwhile, one of the most interesting Balti churches: after all, the “national” branch of interwar Romanian architecture mainly played on the motifs of medieval Wallachia. Here the stylization is clearly for Moldavia of the 15th-16th centuries:
In addition, the church is now also Old Believer. Old Believers in Moldova love just such temples - small, away from busy places and with a cunningly hidden entrance: I found the gate only on the third attempt.
In the same area there is also the Emmanuel Baptist Church - Baptists in Balti are the second largest denomination (about 3,000 people), three times ahead of Catholics. However, Protestants in Moldova are generally very active:
Finally, a couple more sketches from the area between the Old Believer and Baptist churches:
Two more Romanian churches, as well as two train stations and a university, are in the next part.
BALTI , Balti (Bălţi), a city in Northern Moldova; has the status of a municipality. Population 145.8 thousand people. (2016), taking into account the adjacent settlements of Biruintsa, Pelinia, Radoaja, Raucel, Singerei, Sturzovka and others, approx. 250 thousand people, within the agglomeration of approx. 650 thousand people It is located on the border of the North Moldavian Plain and the Chuluk Upland, on the Reut River, at the confluence of the Reutsel River. The most important transport hub of Northern Moldova; The highways Chisinau - Chernivtsi (Ukraine), Iasi (Romania) - Soroca, Rybnitsa - Kobanj and the railway lines Rybnitsa - Ocnita, Balti - Ungheni, Raucel - Glodeni converge here. International airports: Balti (11 km north-west of the center of Bulgaria; charter flights) and Marculesti (32 km north-east; cargo).
According to the official version, B. was founded on May 22, 1421. However, the latest research shows that the first mention of it in documents dates back to 10/4/1620. In the 17th century rural settlement of Iasi cinut (county) of the Moldavian principality. During Prut campaign 1711- the main supply base for the troops of Peter I. It was repeatedly subjected to raids and devastation by the Tatars. From 1766 in the boyar-monastery possession, at the end of the 18th century. a predominantly Jewish place. Since 1812, together with Eastern Moldavia as part of the Russian Empire. County town Bessarabia region (1818–73), Bessarabia province(1873–1917), the center of Yassy (from 1887 - Beletsky) district. The importance of B. as a trading center (horse fairs were held monthly) increased after construction in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. railways. Along with the trade in livestock (exported mainly to Austria), the production and export of high-quality wheat (mainly through Odessa) increased significantly. In 1917, the center of the district of the same name in the Moldavian Democratic Republic. In 1918–40 and 1941–44 as part of Romania. In 1923, the episcopal center of the Khotyn diocese was moved to Bulgaria. Severely damaged during the 2nd World War, most of the Jewish population was destroyed. Liberated from the Nazi invaders on March 26, 1944 during the Uman-Botoshan operation (March–April 1944). In 1940–41 and 1944–91, the district, district center of the Moldavian SSR, a city of republican subordination, a large industrial center. Since 1994 a municipality, in 1998–2003 the center of the county of the same name. In the post-Soviet period, the resident population decreased by 15%.
Numerous archaeological monuments of the Neolithic, Bronze Age, and Chernyakhov culture (2nd–4th centuries), as well as ancient mounds, have been preserved on the territory of Belarus and its environs. A large number of architectural monuments of the 18th–20th centuries are concentrated in the city center. Among them are the Orthodox Cathedrals of St. Nicholas (1791–95, architect A. Vaisman, later European Baroque; the interior was painted by the Moldavian artist Eustathius Altini, 1795–1803; bell tower, 1888, reconstructed in 1994–95; there is a help center and library church book, choir, Sunday school, 1995) and St. Constantine and Helena (1924–33, architect A. Gabrielescu, neo-Byzantine style) with the baptistery (architect V. Wojciechowski), Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary (1881–84), Holy Trinity (1903–10), St. Apostles Peter and Paul (1915–16, then Gabrielescu, 1924–29, neo-Moldovan style), Venerable Paraskeva (1924–35, Gabrielescu, neo-Romanian style), Archangels Michael and Gabriel (1928–36, neo-Moldavian style), Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (1930s), St. Panteleimon (1999), Demetrius of Thessalonica (2000–05; bell tower 2005–10), All Saints (2003–08), St. Martyr. Minas (2006–09), Protection of the Holy Virgin (2007); the Armenian Church of St. George (1910–14, architect A. L. Krasnoselsky), the monumental Catholic Church of St. Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael (2001–10), Baptist and Evangelical churches (all in the 2000s).
Residential buildings and administrative buildings (19th - mid-20th centuries), the Bodesko estate (19th century; in 1914–18 the zemstvo government, in the interwar period the county prefecture; in 1934 rebuilt under the leadership of the architect R. L. Spierer; subsequently the House of Pioneers, now the Wedding Palace), the Hadji Markarov House (late 19th century; during the interwar period, the city hall), the Bălţi hotel complex (19th century), the barracks of a military unit (1905), the Residence of the Bishop of Khotyn V. Puiu in the neo-Romanian style, in including Bishop's Palace, administrative building, main gate, park (1924–27, Gabrielescu, then N. and R. Miheescu, 1929–34). Other buildings include the former administrative building of the Research Institute of Field Crops “Selection” (in the early 1990s it was returned to the church, since 2006 the residence of the Bishop of Balti and Falesti), the building of a former bank, a former Jewish lyceum (both from the 20th century), and a railway station "Pământeni" (1930s) and the restaurant "Nistru" (1952); ensemble of Pechiy (Mira), Shmidt streets; central squares - Independence (with the monumental building of the City Council, 1958) and V. Alexandri (buildings of the theater named after him, a cinema and the main shopping center).
Numerous monuments to outstanding figures: A. Russo (1971; sculptor I. Kozlov), N. A. Ostrovsky (1970s), V. I. Lenin (1980), Young Guard B. Glavan (1981), Romanian poet and novelist M. Eminescu (1990; sculptor V. Grosu), Moldovan writer and poet V. Alexandri (2001), T. G. Shevchenko (2002), ruler of the Moldavian principality Stefan the Great (2004; sculptor G. Postovanu, architect V. Eremchuk ), Alley of Classics of National Culture (2010), V. S. Vysotsky (2013). Memorial sculptural compositions and ensembles: Alley of soldiers who fell in 1941–44 (1944; monuments to I. N. Kozhedub, A. I. Pokryshkin and G. A. Rechkalov, 2004), Hungarian soldiers (1944), Soviet soldiers (1955) , Liberators of the city (“Tank”, 1968), “Hospitality” (1979), railway workers “Steam Locomotive” (1980s), monuments on the graves of soldiers who died in 1944, and on the mass grave of railway soldiers (1957), at the burial site of prisoners of the Soviet camp (1991), victims of the Holocaust (1997, 2009), soldiers who died in 1944 (1997; village Elizaveta), soldiers who died in Afghanistan (1999), victims of repression of the communist regime (2002), victims of Chernobyl (2003). Mosaics “Roads” and “Greetings” (1972).
The most important scientific and educational center of Northern Moldova. Research Institute: field crops “Selection” (1944; within the structure of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova) and “Reef-Aquaapparat” (1996; development of hydroacoustic equipment, medical devices for physiotherapy, devices for railway transport). Among the universities is State University named after. A. Rousseau (1945; modern status since 1992; a complex of buildings of former lyceums - an architectural monument, 1924–38, Spierer, in the Art Nouveau style), in its structure there is a scientific library (1945), etc.; Dniester Institute of Economics and Law (founded in 1995 as a branch of the Moscow University of Management and Law; current status since 1998; the main building is an architectural monument, 1934); branch of the Baltic Institute of Economics, Politics and Law (St. Petersburg), training center of the Modern Humanitarian Institute (Academy) of the Republic of Moldova (Chisinau); 6 colleges. Libraries: municipal named after. E. Coseryu (history dates back to 1880; library status since 1913; restored after the war in 1944; in 1972 a centralized library system was created on its basis; since 2005 bears the name of the Romanian linguist E. Coseru) and the children's room named after. I. Creangă.
Museum of History and Ethnography (1960; the collection contains archaeological exhibits, collections of coins, costumes, old documents; in the building of the former Jewish Lyceum). Art gallery named after. A. Cantemira (1973). National Theater named after V. Aleksandri (established in 1934 as the city theater "Scala", from 1944 jazz, from 1947 Russian dramatic, from 1957 Moldavian-Russian dramatic, from 1990 national status; since 1994 the children's troupe "Zhizhilitsy" has been operating; modern building and sculptural composition " Theater", 1990, architect Ya. A. Galperina, sculptor Yu. Khvorovsky), municipal children's theater "Vera". Palaces of Culture: city (with a concert hall), “Moldova”, “Flame”; Center for Culture and Youth. Folk groups: dance ensemble “Vântuleț” (1957), orchestra “Lăutarul” (1970), folk ensemble “Doiniț a” (1991), etc. Youth festival “Crystal Stork”, annual “City Day” (May 22). City park (founded by Empress Maria Alexandrovna in 1856), “Meșterul Popular” (folk craftsmen) square.
Football clubs: “Zaria” (1984; in 1992–2014 “Olimpia”), plays matches at the City Stadium (1955; 6 thousand seats); “Locomotiv” (1940, one of the oldest in Moldova), performs at the stadium of the same name (1.5 thousand seats). Equestrian club, rowing channel, tennis court.
One of the largest industrial centers in Moldova. Leading industries: mechanical engineering, food and flavoring, light and construction materials. There are several industrial zones. During the Soviet period, many large industrial enterprises arose in the city: Electrotehnica factories, electric lighting fixtures, instrument making, etc., thermal power plants (1956; installed capacity 24 MW). On the basis of the instrument-making plant (established in 1944 as the Balti Mechanical Plant; from 1951 – Plant No. 898 in the structure of the USSR military-industrial complex; then the V.I. Lenin Production Association; now “Răut”; production of hydroacoustic and navigation equipment) an industrial park is being formed “ Răut". The Moldagrotehnico plant (founded in 1944; reconstructed in the 1990s), in cooperation with a number of foreign companies, produces over 20 types of agricultural machinery. Within the framework of the free economic zone created in 2010, a plant of the German company Dräxlmaier Group (automotive components production) operates. The food industry is represented by a bakery (Produse Cerealiere company), a meat processing plant (1944; Basarabia-Nord), a dairy plant (Incomlac, a division of the JLC Group; the largest in the country), wine and cognac and food (mineral water, vodka , alcohol, including medicinal; in the free economic zone) factories, oil mill ("Floarea Soarelui"), sugar, biochemical factories and several corn processing factories. Among the light industry enterprises are the factories of the companies “Flautex” (production of cotton textiles: pillowcases, bedspreads, tablecloths, napkins, etc.), “Infinity” (a joint Moldovan-Turkish venture), “Bălţeanca”, “Runfelsia” (all three are sewing products), "Fashion Group" (a Moldovan-Italian joint venture; knitted products), "Viat-Plus" (knitted products, embroidery on all types of fabrics and leather), "Stip" (soft toys, car seat cushions, disposable hygiene products) packages for airlines) and "Mioara" (1945; former fur factory; fur coats and linings, wool blankets, etc.); building materials industry - factories of the companies "Constructorul" (building structures made of concrete, metal and wood), "Bălindmontaj" (building metal structures), "Drumuri Bălţi" (asphalt concrete mixtures), "Knauf-gips" (a division of the German company "Knauf"); building mixtures), "CSMM-67" and a brick factory. In industrial zone No. 3 (in the area of the Balti-Slobodzeya railway station - Northern Station) there are a locomotive and carriage depot, an oil depot, a fuel and lubricants warehouse for the National Army of the Republic of Moldova, a plant for the production of railway sleepers and an oxygen plant. In the western part of Bulgaria there is a large military base (the 1st Moldova Infantry Brigade, part of the Carabinieri, and a military hospital are based here).
In the vicinity of B. - Beletskaya steppe (reference chernozems are nominated for inclusion in the list
Balti is located in the north of Moldova, 120 km northwest of Chisinau, on a hilly plain (Balti steppe), at the confluence of the Reutsel River.
Reut crosses the city from northeast to southwest, Reutsel - from southeast to northwest. The total length of these rivers in Balti is 17 km. The Kopachanka and Flamynde rivers, tributaries of the Reut, also flow through the city. All rivers belong to the Dniester basin. On the territory of Balti there are several artificial lakes: Gorodskoe, Komsomolskoe, Kirpichnoe.
The area of the city is 41.42 km², with suburbs - 78 km². Balti is located in a 7-point seismicity zone. The soil structure consists of ordinary chernozem and clayey sandy loam.
Climate
The climate is moderate continental. Winters are mild and short, summers are hot and long. The average temperature in January is −4.5 °C, in July +20.5 °C. The absolute maximum temperature is +38 °C, the absolute minimum is −32 °C. Prevailing winds are northeast and northwest 2-5 m/sec. The annual precipitation rate is 350-450 mm, the bulk of precipitation occurs in the warm season.
Name
The word “balti” (singular - balte) literally means “swamps” (another meaning is “puddles”). It is believed that the city received this name because it is located in a swampy area.
Story
The first documentary mention of the existence of a settlement on the site of modern Balti dates back to 1421. This year is considered to be the year the city was founded. At that time, the settlement was part of the domain of Ringala, the wife of the Moldavian ruler Alexander the Good.
At the end of the 15th century it was completely burned by the troops of Khan Mengli I Giray and until the beginning of the 18th century there is no information about the destroyed settlement.
In 1711, during the Prut campaign of Peter I, the settlement was burned again (according to one version, by the Tatars who sought to destroy the supply base of Russian troops, according to another, by Russian troops during the retreat).
In 1766, the Moldavian ruler Alexander Ghika donated lands along the Reut River to the Iasi monastery of St. Spyridon and large merchants - brothers Alexander, Constantine and Jordan Panaite. The village of Balti begins to be built on the Panaite estate, which at the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th centuries became a small trading place.
In 1812, Bessarabia came under Russian jurisdiction, and in 1818, with the formation of the Bessarabia region, Balti was appointed a district town of Iasi district. In the same year, Emperor Alexander I visited Balti. It is believed that during his stay in Balti, the emperor received news of the birth of his nephew (the future Emperor Alexander II) and, in honor of this event, ordered Balti to be given the status of a city.
In 1856, Empress Maria Alexandrovna honored Balti with a visit.
In 1887, Yassky district was renamed Beletsky (that is, Beltsky). At this time, approx. people lived in Balti. 10 thousand people, mostly Jews - 70%, there were 72 synagogues in the city.
Located at the crossroads of major roads (it connected Chernivtsi, Khotyn, Soroki with Chisinau, Bendery, Akkerman, Izmail), the city gradually became a significant trading center in Bessarabia. The main item of trade was livestock.
The importance of Balti increased even more when the Balti-Ungheni-Chisinau and Rybnitsa-Balti-Ocnita railway was built in 1894. By the beginning of the 20th century, Balti had turned into an industrial city with widely developed trade and many factories.
The economic development of Balti continued after the annexation of Bessarabia to Romania in 1918.
Jews made up the majority of the city's population. According to the Romanian census of 1930, of the 35,000 inhabitants, about 20,000 were Jews, 10,000 Romanians (Moldovans), and 5,000 Ukrainians and Russians.
King Carol II of Romania visited Balti twice: in 1924 (while still crown prince) and in 1935 (together with his son, the future king Mihai I).
Like most Moldovan cities, Balti suffered greatly during World War II. Most of the remaining Jewish population in the city was destroyed.
In Soviet times, Balti became a large industrial center with the status of a city of republican subordination.
In 1991, the independence of Moldova was proclaimed. In the conditions of the economic crisis caused by the collapse of the USSR, most of the city's enterprises found themselves on the brink of survival. Unemployment and a sharp decline in living standards led to the fact that a significant part of the residents left the city. From 1989 to 2004, the population of Balti decreased by 20%. Most Jews repatriate to Israel and immigrate to other countries.
In 1994, Balti was given the status of a municipality.
In 1998, as a result of administrative-territorial reform, the Balti district was formed with its center in the city of Balti. However, after the reverse reform of 2003 (the abolition of counties and a return to division into districts), Balti again acquired the status of a separate administrative unit, not included in any of the districts.
Administrative structure
The municipality of Balti is an independent administrative-territorial unit. The municipality includes the villages of Elizavetovka and Sadovoe.
The governing bodies of the municipality are the municipal council and the mayor, who heads the mayor's office.
The council consists of 35 councilors elected for a term of 4 years. According to the results of the 2007 elections, the majority of seats in the Balti Municipal Council belong to the Party of Communists (PCRM) - 21 seats; 11 seats belong to representatives of other parties, 3 seats - to independent candidates. There are two factions in the council: the PCRM faction (21 councilors) and the Meleag faction (Edge), which includes 2 independent councilors and 4 representatives of different parties.
The mayor of the municipality is also elected for a 4-year term. Since 2001, the post of mayor has been occupied by Vasile Panchuk, who was re-elected twice: in 2003 - in early elections (in connection with the reform of the administrative-territorial structure), and in 2007.
Population
According to the Department of Statistics and Sociology of the Republic of Moldova, as of January 1, 2006, the population of the Balti municipality was 127.6 thousand people. Of this number, 122.7 thousand live in the city, 4.9 thousand live in suburban villages (3.5 thousand in Elizavetovka, 1.4 thousand in Sadovoy).
2004 Census
According to the 2004 census, the municipality of Balti had a population of 127,561 people. Urban population - 122,669 people, rural - 4892 people. Men - 58,418, women - 69,143.
Religious composition: Orthodox - 110,961, Baptists - 2609, Catholics - 990, Seventh-day Adventists - 576, Pentecostals - 487, evanghelică sinodo prestbiter - 296, сreştină după evahghelie - 166, Muslims - 106, evanghelică de confesiune - 77, Old Believers - 47, Reformed - 44, adherents of other religions - 2161; atheists - 544 people, professing no religion - 3304, refused to indicate their religion - 5193.
Note: in 1897, the first census of the population of the Russian Empire was carried out; in 1930 - a census of the population of Romania (in 1939 another census was carried out, but the data was not processed due to the outbreak of World War II); All-Union population censuses were carried out in 1959, 1970, 1979, 1989.
Industry
Balti is a large industrial center. There are 40 enterprises in the city: food and light industry, electrical and agricultural engineering, production of building materials, etc. The annual volume of industrial production in average prices is 2.2 billion lei (2004).
Urban farming
The housing stock of Balti consists of 1,562 houses (26,918 apartments) (2004).
Balti has 376 streets and 11 road bridges. The total length of all streets, driveways and embankments is 220.7 km, area - 1478.5 thousand km2. The total length of sidewalks is 218.4 km, storm sewer networks are 31.2 km. The service life of municipal roads is 10 years or more, which affects the condition of their surface.
Water supply to Balti is carried out from the Dniester River through the Soroca water pipeline, as well as from artesian wells. There are 89 wells in total, most of them are mothballed. In addition, on the territory of the municipality there are 36 clean water reservoirs, 14 pumping stations, 667 mine wells. The wear and tear of the city's water supply networks exceeds 70%.
Transport
Public transport
Passenger transportation in Balti is carried out by trolleybus and bus departments, private buses, minibuses and passenger taxis. The total volume of traffic for the year is 35.4 million passengers (2004). Tariffs for public transport are regulated by the municipal council (1.5 MDL on a bus and 1 MDL on a trolleybus, 2 MDL on a minibus).
Buses and minibuses
The Balti bus fleet operates 10 regular routes in Balti and in the suburbs of the municipality. There are also about 25 minibus lines in Balti and nearby localities, as well as private buses, which are not regulated by the Balti Bus Authority.
Trolleybuses
There are three trolleybus lines in Balti. Most of the trolleybuses used by the Balti Trolleybus Administration (MPTU) are various modifications of the Russian ZiU (the newest of them were produced in 1992), the Czech Skoda 14trM (2002 onwards) and three AKSM 20101 (2003-2004 onwards). ).
Taxi
There is a large selection of taxi services in Balti (more than 5 companies), most of which have a fixed tariff within the city. Three services are branches of Chisinau Moldovan Republican Companies, two are Balti companies.
The tariff “2.50 lei km/0.50 lei minute of downtime” is currently being implemented by the government and is the subject of difficult negotiations on the part of taxi service unions.
Highways
Balti has always been at the crossroads of important routes and today is an important transmodal transport hub, namely at the intersection of the European main road E583 (class B road).
Bus service is an effective way to travel between cities in Moldova, as well as minibuses (public or private services). Balti is connected to Chisinau by 127 km of highway built in Soviet times (part of the road is in good condition). In 2 hours from Balti, by road you can reach Ukraine in a northern or western direction and 1 hour from Romania in a southwestern direction through the customs checkpoint Skulany-Sculany or in a western direction through Stancu Costesti, which allows you to reach important Romanian city of Iasi (104 km from Balti).
The Balti bus station is one of the largest in Moldova and provides bus service to literally any locality in Moldova, as well as European (Eurolines) and international bus service.
Railway stations
Balti is the most important transport hub in the north of Moldova, which includes two railway stations: “Balti-Slobodzeya” and “Balti-City” of the Moldovan Railways. Both stations serve passenger and freight trains of local and international traffic. Regular commuter trains include the following directions: Ocnita (north), Rezina (east), Ungheni (southwest), as well as Chisinau. The train ride to Chisinau takes 6 hours (200 km from Balti by rail).
Airports
The city has two functioning airports, one of which is international - Balti-Lyadoveni International Airport, a few km north (near the village of Korlateni, formerly called Lyadoveni), modern by Soviet standards, built in the 80s, where they can produce landing of large jet airliners (one runway 2,200 meters long). At the moment there is no information about regular flights.
The second airport for small aircraft is Balti City Airport, located on the eastern border of the city. This airport was the most important airport in the surrounding region during World War II.
Night Balti
Nightlife in the center of Balti revolves around the central Vasile Alecsandri square, one of the largest in Europe. Here you can find numerous cafes and restaurants serving international cuisine (Turkish, Japanese). One of Belchan's favorite pastimes is an evening walk along Independence Boulevard to the central square.
As for club life, the two largest clubs in the north of Moldova are located in Balti. The Soho club offers a wide range of music to suit all tastes, famous for its 80s themed parties on Thursdays. The Soho club is located near the city center, in the Reut Palace of Culture. A-Club is known for its weekend morning parties for young patrons, while this club is the best place for a Wednesday after-work party. A-Club is located opposite the Balti Slobozia (North Station) train station.
- In July 1941, Reinhard Heydrich, head of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt RSHA, made several flights from Balti City Airport in his privately modified Messerschmitt Bf.109 for air combat. Heydrich was shot down by Soviet air defenses over Ukraine and narrowly escaped capture.
- In the 1980s, city authorities delegated Marshal Akhromeyev to the Supreme Council of the Soviet Union. He was one of the close allies of the 1991 putschists who tried to remove Gorbachev from power.