Chiajna () is a commune in the south-west of

Ilfov County Ilfov () is the Counties of Romania, county that surrounds Bucharest, the capital of Romania. It used to be largely rural, but, after the fall of communism, many of the county's villages and communes developed into high-income commuter towns, whi ...

Muntenia Muntenia (, also known in English as Greater Wallachia) is a historical region of Romania, part of Wallachia (also, sometimes considered Wallachia proper, as ''Muntenia'', ''Țara Românească'', and the rarely used ''Valahia'' are synonyms in Ro ...

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 ...

, immediately west of the capital,

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

. It is composed of three villages: Chiajna, Dudu, and Roșu. The mayor of Chiajna is currently Mircea Minea ( Social Democratic Party).

Etymology

Chiajna is a Romanian female name, being a feminine version of "cneaz" (

Knyaz A , also , ''knjaz'' or (), is a historical Slavs, Slavic title, used both as a royal and noble title in different times. It is usually translated into English language, English as 'prince', 'king' or 'duke', depending on specific historical c ...

). In one version Chiajna was named after the wife of Cernica Știrbey, a

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...

n '' vornic'' who owned the area where people from

Cernavodă Cernavodă () is a town in Constanța County, Northern Dobruja, Romania with a population of 15,088 as of 2021. The town's name is derived from the Bulgarian ''černa voda'' ( in Cyrillic), meaning 'black water'. This name is regarded by some s ...

settled and founded the village. Another story says that Lady Chiajna ( 1525–1588,

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

) was the daughter of

Petru Rareș Petru Rareș (; – 3 September 1546) or Petru IV was twice voivode of Moldavia from 20 January 1527 to 18 September 1538 and from 19 February 1541 to 3 September 1546. He was an illegitimate child born (probably at Hârlău) to Stephen III of ...

, the voievod of

Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...

, an illegitimate child of Ștefan cel Mare. Lady Chiajna was the wife of Wallachian prince Mircea V Ciobanul. In Romanian literature (e.g., the novella ''Doamna Chiajna'', published in 1860 by author Alexandru Odobescu), she is a famous and frightening female character, similar to Lady Macbeth.

Demographics

Chiajna is one of the fastest growing localities in Romania. Its population increased from 29,329 people in 2011 to 43,588 people in 2022, according to the Romanian population census.

Features of the commune

The commune is home to the Lady Chiajna Technological High School, which has a Tourism and Public Alimentation specialization and a Sports specialization. The commune is host to the

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 ...

team Concordia Chiajna. The team is in

Liga II The Liga 2, most commonly spelled as Liga II, is the second level of the Romanian football league system. The league changed its name from Divizia B just before the start of the 2006–07 Liga II, 2006–07 football season. It is currently Sponso ...

, and plays its home matches on Stadionul Concordia. Since the 2010s, Chiajna has been the site of new residential developments collectively known as "Militari Residence", which have become notorious for their poor urban planning and construction practices.

References

Communes in Ilfov County Localities in Muntenia {{Ilfov-geo-stub

Etymology

Demographics

Features of the commune

See also

References