Orhei

Orhei
Flag Coat of arms
Orhei Location within Moldova
Coordinates: 47°23′N 28°49′E / 47.383°N 28.817°E / 47.383; 28.817
Country	Moldova
County	Orhei District
Government
- Mayor	Ion Stratulat
Population (2004)
- Total	25,680
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
- Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)

Orhei (Yiddish: Uriv - אוריװ, Russian Orgeyev - Оргеев) is a city and the administrative centre of Orhei District with a population of 25,680. Prior to 2003, Orhei was a Judeţ, a large administrative region, but the country was divided further in Raion, or districts. Most people speak Romanian and Russian. There is one school that is taught in Russian.

The St. Dumitru Church built by Vasile Lupu is located in this town. Orhei is approximately 50 kilometers north of the capital, Chişinău. Orhei gets its name from Orhei Vechi, an active monastery near the village of Ivancea.

The name "Orhei" is, according to one theory, derived from the Hungarian word Őrhely, meaning "fortress", dating from the 13th century, when Hungarian forces built a series of defences in the area.^[1]

Orhei was home to many Jews prior to WWII, and has a large Jewish cemetery[1]. There is only one active synagogue left in the community. The main churches are Russian Orthodox. Also in the area are Baptist, a Seventh-day Adventist Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, The Salvation Army and Jehovah's Witnesses.

International Relations

Twin towns - sister cities

Orhei is twinned with:

• Piatra Neamţ, Romania^[2]

Notes

• Russian poet and member of French Resistance Dovid Knut (Fiksman; 1900-1955) was born in Orhei.

• Romanian painter Natalia Vîrlan was born in this town.

1. ^ Nándor Bárdi, László Diószegi, András Gyertyánfy, "Hungarians in Moldavia", Magyar Kisebbség 1-2 (7-8), 1997 (III), pp. 370-390.
2. ^ "Piatra Neamţ - Twin Towns". © 2007-2008 Piatra-Neamt.net. http://www.piatra-neamt.net/en/twin_towns.php. Retrieved 2009-09-27. 

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Coordinates: 47°23′N 28°49′E / 47.383°N 28.817°E / 47.383; 28.817

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