Bălți () is a city in

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

. It is the second-largest city in terms of population, area and economic importance, after

Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ; formerly known as Kishinev) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Moldova, largest city of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial centre, and is located in the middle of the coun ...

. The city holds the status of

municipiu A municipiu (from Latin ''municipium''; English: municipality) is a level of administrative subdivision in Romania and Moldova, roughly equivalent to city in some English-speaking world, English-speaking countries. In Romania, this status is gi ...

. Sometimes called "the northern capital", it is a major industrial, cultural and commercial centre and transportation hub in the north of the country. It is situated north of the capital Chișinău, and is located on the river Răut, a tributary of the

Dniester The Dniester ( ) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and then through Moldova (from which it more or less separates the breakaway territory of Transnistria), finally discharging into the Black Sea on Uk ...

, on a hilly landscape in the Bălți steppe.

Name

The word "''bălți''" (pl. of Romanian sing. "''baltă''") in direct translation means "puddle". It is believed that the city had been named thus because it was founded on a hill dominating the wetland formed where the creek Răuțel ("Little Răut") falls into the river Răut. In addition to the official name ''Bălți'' and the Russian name (), between 1940 and 1989 in

Moldovan Cyrillic alphabet The Moldovan Cyrillic alphabet is a Cyrillic alphabet designed for the Romanian language spoken in the Soviet Union ( Moldovan) and was in official use from 1924 to 1932 and 1938 to 1989 (and still in use today in the breakaway Moldovan region ...

, and after 1989 in Russian, the name was/is also rendered in

Cyrillic The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking countries in Southeastern Europe, Ea ...

as ().

History and symbols

Coat of arms

The current

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

and flag of Bălți, elaborated by Silviu Tabac from the Moldovan State Commission for

Heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and genealo ...

, were adopted by the Municipal Council in April 2006. A shield, with alternating six silvery strips (symbolizing water), and six blue strips (symbolizing earth), form the background (symbolizing the name of the city). The central element of the shield is an archer in red clothes, in the military outfit (yellow) of

Stephen III of Moldavia Stephen III, better known as Stephen the Great (; ; died 2 July 1504), was Voivode (or Prince) of Moldavia from 1457 to 1504. He was the son of and co-ruler with Bogdan II, who was murdered in 1451 in a conspiracy organized by his brother an ...

( Romanian: Ștefan cel Mare) times (15th century). The archer represents the medieval

military recruitment Military recruitment is attracting people to, and selecting them for, Recruit training, military training and Military service, employment. Demographics Gender Across the world, a large majority of recruits to state armed forces and Viole ...

, formed by local free peasants. On top of the shield is a silver crown in the shape of a fortress wall with seven towers. (The crown represents the fact that the locality is a city. Apart from Bălți, only the capital

, and

Tiraspol Tiraspol (, ; also /; , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Transnistria, a breakaway state of Moldova, where it is the third-largest city. The city is located on the eastern bank of the Dniester River. Tiraspol is a regional hub of cul ...

are allowed to have seven towers, while other cities must limit this number to three or five.) The shield is supported by two rearing silver horses (the white horse is the traditional symbol of the region, which was part of

Iași County Iași County () is a county (județ) of Romania, in Western Moldavia, with the administrative seat at Iași. It is the most populous county in Romania, after the Municipality of Bucharest (which has the same administrative level as that of a cou ...

before 1812). Under the shield, there is a ribbon with the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

inscription '' CEDANT ARMA TOGAE'', meaning ''let arms yield to the

toga The toga (, ), a distinctive garment of Ancient Rome, was a roughly semicircular cloth, between in length, draped over the shoulders and around the body. It was usually woven from white wool, and was worn over a tunic. In Roman historical tra ...

''. In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, the archer was featured on the coats of arms of the region. In the 19th century, the city and district coats of arms also featured a horse head. In the early 20th century, a shield representing an archer, standing on a hill, the sun, and three bullrush sticks (elements quite sufficient to identify the place where Bălți is situated in the landscape of the north of Moldova) formed the coat of arms of the Bălți county, while these and horse elements - the coat of arms of the city proper.

Flag

The city's flag is composed of two horizontal strips: a blue one on the bottom, and a silver one on top. The shield and archer elements from the coat of arms are also present in the centre of the flag.

Geography

Bălți is situated on the tops and slopes of three hills and in two small valleys. The land in the north of

is very fertile, mostly consisting of black earth or chernozem. Several extraction sites for raw materials used in the construction industry are also found in the vicinity of Bălți. The creeks Răuțel, Copăceanca, and Flămândă cross the territory of the municipality, and flow into the river Răut. Also, several lakes are situated in Bălți: City Lake, Komsolskoe Lake, Hunters and Fishermen Lake, Strâmba Lake. The

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

covers an area of , of which the city proper , the village Elizaveta (an eastern suburb) , and the village Sadovoe (a north-western suburb) . Of these, an important portion () is agriculturally cultivated.

Neighbourhoods

The city itself is located on portions of three hills. The river Răut separates one of the hills to the north-east, the slopes of this hill are occupied by the neighbourhood Slobozia. Răut's affluent Răuțel separates another hill in the south, the slopes of which are the Podul Chișinăului. The largest of the three hills dominates the valleys of the creek and river, and contains the city centre and the old town, and the neighbourhoods Pământeni,

Dacia Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It thus ro ...

, 6th district, 8th district, the city's main industrial area, and Molodova neighborhood. The top of this hill is occupied by the medical facilities district. Bălții Noi neighborhood is situated in the valley of the Răuțel creek. A Soroca neighborhood, 10th district, 9th district, the area of the former Bălți concentration camp, and the Bălți City Airport are situated in the valley of the Răut river. The names of city neighborhoods reflect different historic influences, such as names of 19th century suburbs that are nowadays within city limits: ''Pământeni'', ''Slobozia'', ''Molodova'', ''Podul Chișinăului'', ''Bălții Noi''; others are known by their

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

-era names: ''6th district'', ''8th district'', ''9th district''. A neighbourhood in the northern part of the city is called ''Dacia'', and is colloquially sometimes referred to as ''BAM''. A district in the eastern part is known as ''10th district''.

Cityscape

Architecture

Cultural venues in the city include: * Vasile Alecsandri National Theatre * The oldest surviving building, a two-story boyar house, right in the heart of the city centre, dates back to 1609. Though it has been re-constructed and re-modeled many times with total disregard to conservation to the extent that now it simply looks like an odd two-story building. * Monument of Stephen the Great (2003)
Others
(see down through the text) Churches:
Saint Nicolas Church, Bălți
(1795). Although Orthodox, the building, financed by Gheorghe Panaiti, has a degree of

catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

influence brought in by the architect Antuan Weismann from Galicia. * Saint Constantine and Elena Cathedral, Bălți (1934), Orthodox, built in neo- Byzantine style. The building, at which official opening the Romanian

royal family A royal family is the immediate family of monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term papal family describes the family of a pope, while th ...

was present, survived almost without visible effects the harsh treatment during the

era. During this time it was mostly a depot and later turned into the municipal museum.
Bishopric Palace, Bălți
(1924–1932), was the main office of the agricultural enterprise-institute "Selectia", and the surrounding park during the

era.
Saint Parascheva Church, Bălți
(1933), by the bishop

Visarion Puiu Visarion Puiu (; sometimes Bessarion in French; born Victor Puiu on 27 February 1879 in Pașcani, Romania – 10 August 1964 in Paris or Viels-Maisons, France) was a metropolitan bishop of the Romanian Orthodox Church. During World War II, ...

.
Archangels Michael and Gabriel Church, Bălți
(1912–1933)
Saint Peter and Paul Church, Bălți
(1915–1929) *

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

br>Saint Gregory Church, Bălți
(1916) * Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church (1884)

Climate

Bălți has a warm-summer

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Dfa''). The all-time maximum temperature registered in the city was , the all-time minimum . There are of annual rainfall, mostly during summer and fall. Winds are generally from the north-east or the north-west at about 2–5 m/s.

Seismology

The city is situated in the 7th zone of seismic activity, with a well-felt earthquake (generally without any serious structural damage to the city's buildings) occurring every 35 years on average.

Demographics

According to the 2014 census, 102,457 inhabitants lived within the Bălți municipality limits, a decrease compared to the previous census in 2004, when 127,561 inhabitants were registered. The population of the city itself was 97,930, and that of the suburban villages of Elizaveta and Sadovoe was of 3,221, respectively 1,306. Of these, 46,930 were men and 55,527 were women.

''Footnotes'': * ''There is an ongoing controversy regarding the ethnic identification of Moldovans and Romanians.'' * ''In March 2023, the

Parliament of Moldova The parliament of the Republic of Moldova () is the supreme representative body of the Republic of Moldova, the only state legislative authority, being a unicameral structure composed of 101 elected MPs on lists, for a period or legislature o ...

approved a law referring to the national language as Romanian in all legislative texts and the constitution, making the name Moldovan obsolete. ''

Religion

At the 2004 census, 90.7% of the population (110,961 people) identified themselves as Christian Orthodox, 2.1% (2,609) as

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

, 0.8% as

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, 0.5% as

Seventh-day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbat ...

, 0.4% as

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...

, 0.2% as

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

, 0.1% as

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

, 0.09% as

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

, 0.06% as

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

, 0.04% as

Old Believers Old Believers or Old Ritualists ( Russian: староверы, ''starovery'' or старообрядцы, ''staroobryadtsy'') is the common term for several religious groups, which maintain the old liturgical and ritual practices of the Russian ...

, 0.04% as Reformed, 1.8% (2161 people) as followers of other religions, 0.4% as

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

, and 2.7% (3,304) as

non-religious Irreligion is the absence or rejection of religious beliefs or practices. It encompasses a wide range of viewpoints drawn from various philosophical and intellectual perspectives, including atheism, agnosticism, religious skepticism, ration ...

Social aspects

The post-independence decrease in the city population is mainly due to the

economic An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

and

demographic Demography () is the statistics, statistical study of human populations: their size, composition (e.g., ethnic group, age), and how they change through the interplay of fertility (births), mortality (deaths), and migration. Demographic analy ...

situation of Moldova, which prompted a wave of permanent or temporary emigration. Remittances from the

migrant workers A migrant worker is a person who Human migration, migrates within a home country or outside it to pursue work. Migrant workers usually do not have an intention to stay permanently in the country or region in which they work. Migrant workers ...

account for 30% of Moldova's GDP, the highest percentage in all of Europe. Often, elderly relatives and children of these workers are left to live in Bălți. The majority of the population of Bălți is bilingual ( Romanian and Russian), but some people only know one of these two languages. Many people in the city also understand and/or speak Ukrainian.

Pre-WWII Jewish Community

"Between the two world wars, the Jewish community of Bălți was a vibrant population of trade, industry and culture, Zionism and Yiddish, political parties and youth movements. Bălți was the second-largest populated city in Bessarabia, with the second-largest number of Jewish inhabitants after Chișinău, and the economic center of the region. In the official 1930 census, Bălți was listed as having 14,229 Jewish residents, about 60% of its total population. "Following the Molotov–Ribbentrop Agreement, Bălți was absorbed into the Soviet Union in the summer of 1940, coming under Soviet rule. "On 22 June 1941, the Germans invaded the USSR. On 9 July, Bălți was occupied by German and Romanian armies, and waves of abuse and murder began. At the end of July, the German units and Gestapo officers left the city in the hands of the Romanians. In September 1941 the last of the Jews of Bălți– some 2,800 people – were expelled to the Mărculești Camp, and the Jewish population of the city ceased to exist. In Mărculești, many members of the community died, and the rest were deported to Transnistria."

Culture and contemporary life

Entertainment and performing arts

Theaters: * Vasile Alecsandri National Theatre * "Eugène Ionesco" Theatre * "Licurici" Republican Puppet Theatre * "B.P. Hajdeu" Republican Drama-Muzical Theatre * "Mihai Eminescu" National Theatre * "Luceafarul" Republican Theatre * Municipal Theatre "Satiricus I.L. Caragiale" Museums and

art galleries An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The long ...

: * "Exhibition of the Union of painters "Constantin Brâncuși" * Artum Art Gallery

Media

* '' Deca-press'', the oldest independent

press agency A news agency is an organization that gathers news reports and sells them to subscribing news organizations, such as newspapers, magazines and radio and television broadcasters. A news agency may also be referred to as a wire service, newswi ...

in the north of the country. * '' Spros i Predlojenie'', a major Russian language

daily newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

serving northern Moldova. *
Gazeta.MD
' the News agency founded in December 2007. * Golos Bălți the city newspaper, founded in 1947. * '' Makler'' the advertising newspaper from Moldova and Ukraine. *
Belicy-sity
' information and entertaining portal Belicy-sity.

Radio stations

List of FM radio stations from Bălți as of 4 July 2009. * 90.0-«Serebriannii dojdi» * 90.5-«Prime FM» * 92.00-«Retro FM» * 101.0-«Vocea Basarabiei» * 101.5-«City radio» * 102.1-«Radio ALLA» * 102.9-«BBC» * 103.5-«Vzrosloe radio Shanson» * 103.9-«Fresh FM» * 104.9-«Radio Moldova» * 105.6-«Megapolis Fm» * 106.2-«Russcoe Radio» * 107.2-«NOROC» * 107.6-«Hit FM»

Civil society

Bălți is a source of

civil society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.NGOs for care of socially vulnerable persons, ''Tinerii pentru Dreptul la Viață'' ("Youth for the right to live"), a

youth organisation The following is a list of youth organizations. A youth organization is a type of organization with a focus upon providing activities and socialization for Minor (law), minors. In this list, most organizations are international unless noted othe ...

Sports

* 7 sport schools in Bălți offer programmes in the following sports:

Orienteering Orienteering is a group of sports that involve using a map and compass to navigation, navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a specia ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

, handgun shooting sports,

equestrianism Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding ( Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...

weightlifting Weightlifting or weight lifting generally refers to physical exercises and sports in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells, barbells or machines. People engage in weightlifting for a variety of different reasons. These can ...

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

canoeing Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. In some parts of Europe, canoeing refers to both canoeing and kayaking, with a canoe being called an 'open canoe' or Canadian. A few of the recreational ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

, athletics,

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

. * Municipal Stadium " Olimpia Bălți Stadium" (home of FC Olimpia Bălți) * Olympic

Swimming Pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming and associated activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built abo ...

"Central" * Olympic Swimming Pool "Volna" (open air) * FC Olimpia Bălți is a football club based in the city and plays in Moldova's top league, the

Moldovan National Division The Moldovan Liga, officially known as Liga 7777.md for sponsorship reasons, is an association football league that is the top division of Football in Moldova, Moldovan football league system. The competition was established in 1992, when Moldov ...

Economy

Historically Bălți was known for producing

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

. They also had many

vineyard A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...

s and

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit tree, fruit- or nut (fruit), nut-producing trees that are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also so ...

s. Most of the city's industry centres on

food processing Food processing is the transformation of agricultural products into food, or of one form of food into other forms. Food processing takes many forms, from grinding grain into raw flour, home cooking, and complex industrial methods used in the mak ...

, notably in the production of flour, sugar, and wine.

Manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer ...

of furniture and agricultural machinery also plays an important role in Bălți's economy. The

service sector The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the ...

has developed after 1989 to cover the

basic needs The basic needs approach is one of the major approaches to the measurement of absolute poverty in developing countries globally. It works to define the absolute minimum resources necessary for long-term physical well-being, usually in terms of Co ...

of the population.

Manufacturing

This city is an important economic centre, with

manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer ...

playing an important role. Besides traditional for Moldova

wine making Winemaking, wine-making, or vinification is the production of wine, starting with the selection of the fruit, its fermentation into alcohol, and the bottling of the finished liquid. The history of wine-making stretches over millennia. There is ...

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

, meat processing, flour milling, oil production, and

light industry Light industry are Industry (economics), industries that usually are less Capital intensity, capital-intensive than heavy industry, heavy industries and are more consumer-oriented than business-oriented, as they typically produce smaller consum ...

in general, Bălți is the centre for manufacturing of

agricultural machinery Agricultural machinery relates to the machine (mechanical), mechanical structures and devices used in farming or other agriculture. There are list of agricultural machinery, many types of such equipment, from hand tools and power tools to tractor ...

, of various

construction Construction are processes involved in delivering buildings, infrastructure, industrial facilities, and associated activities through to the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financing, and design that continues until the a ...

materials, fur, textile, chemical and furniture industries. A mammoth Soviet-type conglomerate 8,000-worker factory (called "Lenin" before 1989 and "Răut" afterwards) produced a large variety of machine building products for consumer or industry use, from irons and telephone sets to

sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances ( ranging), communicate with or detect objects o ...

equipment for Soviet military

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

s. However, due to swift changes in the economic environment after the breakdown of the Soviet

planned economy A planned economy is a type of economic system where investment, production and the allocation of capital goods takes place according to economy-wide economic plans and production plans. A planned economy may use centralized, decentralized, ...

system, the manufacturing base of the city has severely suffered. Nevertheless, more recently, new economic ties are being created, with collaboration and direct investment mostly from the European Union. Lisa Dräxlmaier GmbH celebrated the inauguration of its second plant in Moldova. The facility, which will be located in Balti, will produce wiring harnesses. The plant has about of production and logistics space.

Shopping

Bălți has several major shopping chain outlets, such as the German Metro Group AG, Ukrainian Fourchette and Moldovan Fidesco. Numerous shops, can be found in the central (retail), eastern (en gros) and northern (retail) parts of the city. The biggest shopping galleries are located in the centre and in the Dacia district (north) of the city. Souvenir boutiques are mostly found around the central square Vasile Alecsandri. The central

market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market *Marketing, the act of sat ...

is open from early morning. A variety of small private stores and supermarkets are available. There are also six public-owned and four private-owned markets. More recently several supermarket chains have opened stores in the city.

Health facilities

The city has a big Republican hospital, another multifunctional municipal hospital, a children's hospital, and a range of other medical facilities (smaller clinics and hospitals, as well as buildings, named poly-clinics, gathering doctors offices).

Government

Bălți Municipality is a territorial unit of

(one of its 3 municipalities not subordinated to other territorial units; it has had the status of municipality since 1994), containing the city itself, and the villages of Elizaveta and Sadovoe. The Mayor Office () is headed by the

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

(), and administers the local affairs, while the Municipal Council serves as a consultative body with some powers of general policy determination. It is composed of 35 council members elected every four years. As a result of the last regional elections of local

public administration Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...

held in June 2007, the Communist Party (PCRM) holds 21 mandates, 11 mandates are held by representatives of other parties, and 3 mandates by independents. There are two factions in the Municipal Council: the PCRM faction (21 members) and "Meleag" (Romanian for "Native land") faction (3 independents and 4 representatives of different parties). The

of the municipality is elected for four years. Vasile Panciuc, PCRM, is the incumbent from 2001 and was re-elected twice: in 2003 during the anticipated elections (as a result of a new reform of the

administrative division Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...

in Moldova), and in 2007.

Politics

Until recently, voters in the Bălți municipality mainly supported the PCRM. This is explained by the fact that the municipality contains a large Russian-speaking minority (43%) which primarily votes Communist. However, support for the

Communists Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, d ...

has seen a steady decline in the last three elections.

Elections

, - ! style="background:#e9e9e9; text-align:center;" colspan=2, Parties and coalitions ! style="background:#e9e9e9; text-align:right;", Votes ! style="background:#e9e9e9; text-align:right;", % ! style="background:#e9e9e9; text-align:right;", +/− , - , , align=left,

Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova The Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova (, PCRM) is a communist party in Moldova led by Vladimir Voronin. It is the only communist party to have held a majority government in a post-Soviet state. It has been variously described as Com ...

, align="right", 36,348 , align="right", 56.89 , align="right", −1.27 , - , , align=left, Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova , align="right", 11,721 , align="right", 18.35 , align="right", +5.53 , - , , align=left,

Democratic Party of Moldova The European Social Democratic Party (, PSDE) is a centre-left, populist Social democracy, social democratic political party in Moldova. Established in 1997, the party holds pro-European views, and is an associate member of the Party of European ...

, align="right", 8,746 , align="right", 13.69 , align="right", -1.91 , - , , align=left,

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

, align="right", 3,147 , align="right", 4.93 , align="right", −2.71 , - , , align=left, Party Alliance Our Moldova , align="right", 882 , align="right", 1.38 , align="right", −1.49 , - , style="background:gray;", , align=left, Other Party , align="right", 3,057 , align="right", 4.76 , align="right", +1.85 , - , style="text-align:left; background:#e9e9e9;" colspan=2, Total (turnout 58.73%) , style="text-align:right; width:30px; background:#e9e9e9;", 64,233 , style="text-align:right; width:30px; background:#e9e9e9;", 100.00 , style="text-align:right; width:30px; background:#e9e9e9;",

Military

The 1st Motorized Infantry Brigade "Moldova" of the Moldovan Land Forces Command (out of a total of 6 brigades – three infantry, one artillery, one airborne and one anti-aircraft) is located in Bălți. A unit of

Tochka-M short-range rockets, each carrying of conventional explosive, was known to be based in the city. No up to date information is available.

Education

Primary and Secondary Education

There are 13

lyceum The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies among countries; usually it is a type of secondary school. Basic science and some introduction to ...

s and 6 professional education institutions () offering the last 3 years of high school education and 2 years post-high school technical education. Also, 14 secondary schools (numbered 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 19, 21, 23), 7 professional or professional-technical schools (numbered 1 through 7), and 3

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

s, including one for visually impaired are located in the city.

Higher education

* The Alecu Russo University of Bălți, the second-largest university in Moldova, named after the 19th century Romanian scholar and ethnologist Alecu Russo. The university houses one of the biggest libraries in South-Eastern Europe. It is a

public university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...

. * The private Dniester Institute of Economy and Law * The private Moldovan Branch of the non-governmental educational institution "Baltic Institute of Ecology, Politics and Law" * The private Humanist Contemporary Institute These schools teach either in Romanian, Russian, Ukrainian, English or are mixed. The latter case was inherited from the

system, which provided for education in Russian and Romanian (Moldovan) languages, where mixed schools were created with the administration being carried out in both languages.

Historical monuments and architecture

* Saint Nicolas Cathedral (1795) * Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary (1884) * Saint Gregory Armenian Church (1916) * Saint Constantine and Helen Cathedral (1935) * Saint Parascheva Church (1934) * Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul (1929) * Church of the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel (1933) * Bălți Bishopric (1934) * Vasile Alecsandri National Theatre * Matrimonial Palace * History and Ethnography Museum * A monument of Stefan the Great (2003) * Bust of

Mihai Eminescu Mihai Eminescu (; born Mihail Eminovici; 15 January 1850 – 15 June 1889) was a Romanians, Romanian Romanticism, Romantic poet, novelist, and journalist from Moldavia, generally regarded as the most famous and influential Romanian poet. Emin ...

* Bust of Vasile Alecsandri * Bust of

Taras Shevchenko Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko (; ; 9 March 1814 – 10 March 1861) was a Ukrainian poet, writer, artist, public and political figure, folklorist, and ethnographer. He was a fellow of the Imperial Academy of Arts and a member of the Brotherhood o ...

(2001) * A monument to soldiers killed in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

(1999) * Bust of King Ferdinand I of Romania from the University of Bălți. Author Veaceslav Jiglitski (2023)

Transport

Public transport

Passenger transport in Bălți is handled mainly by the Bălți Trolleybus Authority and Bălți Bus Authority, as well as by private bus, minibus and taxi companies. The total number of passengers transported in Bălți in 2004 was 35.4 million. There are around 25 minibus lines in Bălți and its

agglomeration Agglomeration may refer to: * Urban agglomeration, in standard English * Megalopolis, in Chinese English, as defined in China's ''Standard for basic terminology of urban planning'' (GB/T 50280—98). Also known as "city cluster". * Economies of agg ...

. The Bălți Bus Authority (B.B.A.) provides regular bus routes only in suburbs. There are also private bus and minibus services, which are not regulated by the B.B.A., provides regular routes in Bălți. There are 3

trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...

lines in Bălți, the fourth line being planned to be constructed in future. Most trolleybuses used by the Bălți Trolleybus Authority (B.T.A.) are different modifications of the Soviet ZiU-682, one Czech Škoda-14Tr13/6M, three Belarusian АКСМ–20101, and seven Russian Trans-Alfa 5298.00 (375). Bălți offers a choice of taxi services, most of which operate for a fixed fee in the

inner city The term inner city (also called the hood) has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Soc ...

. Three taxi companies are branches of Moldovan national companies, two taxi companies are Bălți registered businesses.

Road

Bălți is an important transportation hub of

. The best

inter-city Inter-city rail services are Express train, express trains that run services that connect cities over longer distances than Commuter rail, commuter or Regional rail, regional trains. They include rail services that are neither short-distance co ...

transportation is done by coach or van (privately or publicly owned). of

-style highway (portions in good or fair condition) connect the city to the capital

. By road one can also reach

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

(in about 2 hours) to the north or to the east, and

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

(in about 1 hour) to the south-west by the Sculeni– Sculeni crossing point, which leads to the Romanian city of

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

( from Bălți), or to the west by the Stânca–Costești crossing. The Bălți Inter-City Coach Station provides for regular bus connections throughout Moldova, as well as for numerous European and international connections (

Eurolines Eurolines is a brand of intercity bus service owned by an international non-profit organisation formed under Belgian law. Using the Eurolines brand, partner bus companies operate service in Europe and Morocco. History Eurolines was founded in ...

Rail

Regular rail connections to Ocnița (north), Rezina (east) and

Ungheni Ungheni () is a municipality in Moldova. With a population of 35,157, it is the seventh largest town in Moldova and the seat of Ungheni District. There is a bridge across the Prut and a List of Moldova–Romania border crossings, border chec ...

(south-east), as well as to

exists, however it takes today 6 hours to cover the to Chișinău. The

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

lines are not electrified, and contain only a single track between stations. Since Moldova gained independence, the railway lines became the responsibility of Calea Ferată din Moldova (Railways of Moldova) state company. There are two

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

s: Bălți-City Station and Bălți-Slobozia Station (the name of a city neighbourhood), which both serve internal and international traffic.

Air

The city also has two operational airports. One of them, Bălți International Airport, north of the city center (near the village of Corlăteni), was built in the 1980s, modern by Soviet standards, is officially certified. Large aircraft can land (one 2,200 meter runway), it operates both charter passenger and cargo flights. As of October 2007, it does not operate regular passenger flights. A second airport, for small aircraft, Bălți City Airport, is located on the Eastern outskirts of the city. It was the most important airport in the surrounding region during World War II, but currently is only used for municipal and regional

public services A public service or service of general (economic) interest is any service (economics), service intended to address the needs of aggregate members of a community, whether provided directly by a public sector agency, via public financing availab ...

, agriculture,

emergency service Emergency services and rescue services are organizations that ensure public safety, security, and health by addressing and resolving different emergencies. Some of these agencies exist solely for addressing certain types of emergencies, while oth ...

s and pilot training.Now, there are developing an industrial area.

Notable people

Boris Anisfeld Boris Izrailevich Anisfeld (1878–1973) was a Russian-American painter during the Modernist period, best known for his Symbolist stage designs. Biography 1878 – October 2. Boris Izrailevich (Srulevich) Anisfeld is born in Bieltsy, in th ...

, Russian-American painter and theater designer. * Mihai Volontir, awarded Moldovan actor *

Natalia Barbu Natalia Barbu (; born 22 August 1979) is a Moldovan singer and songwriter. She is best known for Moldova in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007, representing Moldova in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 with the song "Fight (Natalia Barbu song), Fig ...

, singer, represented Moldova at the 2007 Eurovision musical competition *

Gheorghe Briceag Gheorghe Briceag (15 April 1928 – 16 August 2008) was a Moldovan human rights activist notable for his opposition to Soviet rule. In the 1940s, Briceag was given a ten-year sentence in the gulag for distributing anti-communist flyers; he w ...

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although ...

, dissident, and

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

activist with the Helsinki Committee, recipient of the 2004 Homo Homini Award * Iosif Chișinevschi, communist politician * Eugenio Coșeriu, philologist, founder of the School of Linguistics at Tübingen University * Lia van Leer, founder and director of the International

Jerusalem Film Festival The Jerusalem Film Festival (, ) is an international film festival held annually in Jerusalem, It was established in 1984 by the Director of the Jerusalem Cinematheque and Israeli Film Archive, Lia van Leer, Lia Van Leer, and has since become th ...

* Marian Lupu, politician, speaker of the

since 2005 * Ion Pelivan, lawyer and politician, co-leader of the Moldavian National Party, minister of the exterior of the

Moldavian Democratic Republic The Moldavian Democratic Republic (MDR; , ), also known as the Moldavian Republic or Moldavian People's Republic, was a state proclaimed on by the ''Sfatul Țării'' (National Council) of Bessarabia, elected in October–November 1917 foll ...

, killed by NKVD * Ștefan Pirogan, mayor of Bălți (1923–1934) * Vadim Pirogan, political prisoner and dissident * Colea Răutu, Romanian movie star * Leonid Soybelman, musician * Nicolae Testemițanu, Moldovan physician, surgeon, hygienist, and politician * Nicolae Filip, academician * Vadim Vacarciuc, weight lifter, 1997 World Champion * Boris Sandler, novelist and editor of ''Forverts'' (

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

edition of the Jewish ''Forward'', published in New York). * Isa Kremer, soprano of Russian Jewish descent * Mikhaïl Faerman, Belgian-Russian classical pianist * Geta Burlacu, Singer, represented Moldova the 2008 Eurovision with the song: "A Century Of Love". * Riorita Paterău, politician

Trivia

* The famous Yiddish song ''Mein Shtetle Belz'' from 1932, written by Jacob Jacobs (theater) and composed by Alexander Olshanetsky for the play ''Ghetto Song'', makes a reference to the old Jewish city of Bălți. It had been a tribute to the famous singer Isa Kremer, born in Bălți, and who was probably also the first one to perform it.

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Bălți is twinned with: * Arad, Israel *

Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the List of cities and towns in Poland, tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Biał ...

, Poland * Botoșani, Romania *

Chernivtsi Chernivtsi (, ; , ;, , see also #Names, other names) is a city in southwestern Ukraine on the upper course of the Prut River. Formerly the capital of the historic region of Bukovina, which is now divided between Romania and Ukraine, Chernivt ...

, Ukraine * Comrat, Moldova * Gyula, Hungary *

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

, Turkey *

Jining Jining () is a former capital of Shandong. Is a prefecture-level city in southwestern Shandong province. It borders Heze to the southwest, Zaozhuang to the southeast, Tai'an to the northeast, and the provinces of Henan and Jiangsu to the no ...

, China * Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine * Lakeland, United States *

Larissa Larissa (; , , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 148,562 in the city proper, according to the 2021 census. It is also the capital of the Larissa ...

, Greece * Livny, Russia * Miercurea Ciuc, Romania * Mohyliv-Podilskyi, Ukraine *

Narva Narva is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in the Ida-Viru County, at the Extreme points of Estonia, eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva (river), Narva river which forms the Estonia–Russia border, E ...

, Estonia *

Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət, t=Lower Newtown; colloquially shortened to Nizhny) is a city and the administrative centre of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast an ...

, Russia *

Orsha Orsha (; , ; ) is a city in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It is situated on the fork of the Dnieper, Dnieper River and Arshytsa River, and it serves as the administrative center of Orsha District. As of 2025, it has a population of 101,662. History ...

, Belarus *

Płock Płock (pronounced ), officially the Ducal Capital City of Płock, is a city in central Poland, on the Vistula river, in the Masovian Voivodeship. According to the data provided by Central Statistical Office (Poland), GUS on 31 December 2021, the ...

, Poland *

Podolsk Podolsk ( rus, Подольск, p=pɐˈdolʲsk) is an industrial city, center of Podolsk Urban Okrug, Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Pakhra River (a tributary of the Moskva River). Population: History The first mentions of the vill ...

, Russia *

Polotsk Polotsk () or Polatsk () is a town in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It is situated on the Dvina River and serves as the administrative center of Polotsk District. Polotsk is served by Polotsk Airport and Borovitsy air base. As of 2025, it has a pop ...

, Belarus * Pushkin (Saint Petersburg), Russia * Rechytsa, Belarus *

Smolyan Smolyan () is a List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, town and ski resort in the south of Bulgaria near the border with Greece. It is the administrative and industrial centre of the Smolyan Province. The town is built along the narrow valley of t ...

, Bulgaria *

Stryi Stryi (, ; ) is a city in Lviv Oblast, western Ukraine. It is located in the left bank of the Stryi (river), Stryi River, approximately south of Lviv in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains. It serves as the administrative center of Stryi R ...

, Ukraine *

Suceava Suceava () is a Municipiu, city in northeastern Romania. The seat of Suceava County, it is situated in the Historical regions of Romania, historical regions of Bukovina and Western Moldavia, Moldavia, northeastern Romania. It is the largest urban ...

, Romania *

Vinnytsia Vinnytsia ( ; , ) is a city in west-central Ukraine, located on the banks of the Southern Bug. It serves as the administrative centre, administrative center of Vinnytsia Oblast. It is the largest city in the historic region of Podillia. It also s ...

, Ukraine *

Vitebsk Vitebsk or Vitsyebsk (, ; , ; ) is a city in northern Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Vitebsk Region and Vitebsk District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it has 358,927 inhabitants, m ...

, Belarus * Western Administrative Okrug (Moscow), Russia * Wuzhong, China * Zapadnoye Degunino District (Moscow), Russia

Consulates

* Consulate-General of

, address
51, Sfântul Nicolae Str.
* Consulate of

, address
143, Kiev Str.

Notes and references

External links

* *
The former Jewish Community of Bălți/Beltsy

Tourism in Bălți at ''www.tur.md''The Story of the Jewish Community in Bălți
- an online exhibition by Yad Vashem
Jewish Cemetery in Bălți

Interactive map of the city of Bălți

Autogarabalti.md
— Main information for Balti Bus Station. {{DEFAULTSORT:Balti Municipalities of Moldova 1620 establishments in Europe Beletsky Uyezd Bălți County (Romania) Capitals of the counties of Bessarabia Historic Jewish communities in Moldova Market towns in Moldavia Holocaust locations in Moldova

Name

History and symbols

Coat of arms

Flag

Geography

Neighbourhoods

Cityscape

Architecture

Climate

Seismology

Demographics

Religion

Social aspects

Pre-WWII Jewish Community

Culture and contemporary life

Entertainment and performing arts

Media

Radio stations

Civil society

Sports

Economy

Manufacturing

Shopping

Health facilities

Government

Politics

Elections

Military

Education

Primary and Secondary Education

Higher education

Historical monuments and architecture

Transport

Public transport

Road

Rail

Air

Notable people

Trivia

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Consulates

Notes and references

Further reading

External links