Soroca
Encyclopedia
Soroca is a Moldova
n city situated on the Nistru (Dniester) river about 160 km north of Chişinău
. It is the administrative center of Soroca District.
n Prince
Stephen the Great (Ştefan cel Mare in Romanian
) in 1499. Its name is derived from the Slavic word for magpie
.
The original wooden fort, which defended a ford over the Dniester/Nistru, was an important link in the chain of fortifications which comprised four forts (e.g. Akkerman and Khotin) on the Dniester, two forts on the Danube and three forts on the north border of medieval Moldova
. Between 1543 and 1546 under the rule of Petru Rareş
, the fortress was rebuilt in stone as a perfect circle with five bastions situated at equal distances.
During the Great Turkish War
, John Sobieski's forces successfully defended the fortress against the Ottomans. It was of vital military importance during the Pruth Campaign of Peter the Great in 1711. The stronghold was sacked by the Russians in the Russo-Turkish War (1735–1739). The Soroca fortress is an important attraction in Soroca, having preserved cultures and kept the old Soroca in the present day.
The locality was greatly extended in the 19th century, during a period of relative prosperity. Soroca became a regional center featuring large squares, modernized streets, hospitals, grammar schools and conventionalized churches. In the Soviet period the town became an important industrial center for northern Moldova.
(1979), 15,351 (1897)
The town has a sizable Romani (Gypsy) minority and is popularly known as the "Romani capital of Moldova."
Other related person:
with:
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
n city situated on the Nistru (Dniester) river about 160 km north of Chişinău
Chisinau
Chișinău is the capital and largest municipality of Moldova. It is also its main industrial and commercial centre and is located in the middle of the country, on the river Bîc...
. It is the administrative center of Soroca District.
History
The city has its origin in the medieval Genoese trade post of Olchionia, or Alchona. It is known for its well-preserved stronghold, established by the MoldaviaMoldavia
Moldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...
n Prince
Rulers of Moldavia
This is a List of rulers of Moldavia, from the first mention of the medieval polity east of the Carpathians and until its disestablishment in 1862, when it united with Wallachia, the other Danubian Principality, to form the modern-day state of Romania.-Notes:...
Stephen the Great (Ştefan cel Mare in Romanian
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
) in 1499. Its name is derived from the Slavic word for magpie
Magpie
Magpies are passerine birds of the crow family, Corvidae.In Europe, "magpie" is often used by English speakers as a synonym for the European Magpie, as there are no other magpies in Europe outside Iberia...
.
The original wooden fort, which defended a ford over the Dniester/Nistru, was an important link in the chain of fortifications which comprised four forts (e.g. Akkerman and Khotin) on the Dniester, two forts on the Danube and three forts on the north border of medieval Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
. Between 1543 and 1546 under the rule of Petru Rareş
Petru Rares
Peter IV Rareș was twice voievod of Moldavia: 20 January 1527 to 18 September 1538 and 19 February 1541 to 3 September 1546. He was an illegitimate child born to Ștefan cel Mare...
, the fortress was rebuilt in stone as a perfect circle with five bastions situated at equal distances.
During the Great Turkish War
Great Turkish War
The Great Turkish War refers to a series of conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and contemporary European powers, then joined into a Holy League, during the second half of the 17th century.-1667–1683:...
, John Sobieski's forces successfully defended the fortress against the Ottomans. It was of vital military importance during the Pruth Campaign of Peter the Great in 1711. The stronghold was sacked by the Russians in the Russo-Turkish War (1735–1739). The Soroca fortress is an important attraction in Soroca, having preserved cultures and kept the old Soroca in the present day.
The locality was greatly extended in the 19th century, during a period of relative prosperity. Soroca became a regional center featuring large squares, modernized streets, hospitals, grammar schools and conventionalized churches. In the Soviet period the town became an important industrial center for northern Moldova.
Demographics
Population: 28,362 (2004); 42,225 (1989); 31,831(1979), 15,351 (1897)
The town has a sizable Romani (Gypsy) minority and is popularly known as the "Romani capital of Moldova."
People from Soroca
- Samuel BronfmanSamuel BronfmanSamuel Bronfman, was a Canadian business magnate and philanthropist. He founded Distillers Corporation Limited, and is a member of the Canadian Jewish family dynasty, the Bronfman family.-Early life:...
(1889–1971), a Canadian entrepreneur, former owner of SeagramSeagramThe Seagram Company Ltd. was a large corporation headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada that was the largest distiller of alcoholic beverages in the world. Toward the end of its independent existence it also controlled various entertainment and other business ventures... - Gheorghe UrsuGheorghe UrsuGheorghe Emil Ursu was a Romanian construction engineer, poet, diarist and dissident. A left-wing activist and avant-garde intellectual who joined the Romanian Communist Party as a youth, he was soon after disillusioned with the Communist regime, and became one of its most outspoken critics...
(1926–1985), a Romanian construction engineer - Eugen Ţapu, (1983–2009), a protestor in the post-election riots2009 Moldova civil unrestThe 2009 civil unrest in Moldova began on April 7, 2009, in major cities of Moldova before the results of the 2009 Moldovan parliamentary election were announced...
in ChişinăuChisinauChișinău is the capital and largest municipality of Moldova. It is also its main industrial and commercial centre and is located in the middle of the country, on the river Bîc...
who died while in police custody - Arkadiy (Avrum) Gendler (1921), Yiddish singer
- Robert SteinbergRobert SteinbergRobert Steinberg is a mathematician at the University of California, Los Angeles who invented the Steinberg representation, the Steinberg group in algebraic K-theory, and the Steinberg groups in Lie theory that yield finite simple groups over finite fields. He received his Ph.D...
, a Canadian mathematician - Israel GohbergIsrael GohbergIsrael Gohberg was a Bessarabian-born Soviet and Israeli mathematician, most known for his work in operator theory and functional analysis, in particular linear operators and integral equations...
, Israeli mathematician - Leonte TismăneanuLeonte TismaneanuLeonte Tismăneanu was a Romanian communist activist and propagandist.Born into a Jewish family in Soroca, Bessarabia, Russian Empire , he joined the Romanian Communist Party in the early 1930s. He engaged in illegal communist activities in Bucharest, Galaţi, Brăila and Soroca...
, a Romanian communist activist - Kira MuratovaKira MuratovaKira Muratova is a Soviet and Ukrainian film director, screenwriter and actress. She was born in 1934 in Soroca, Bessarabia, Romania . She was born to a Romanian mother and a Russian father. Muratova is known for her unusual and original directorial style...
, a Soviet and Ukrainian film director, screenwriter and actress - Nicolae SoltuzNicolae Soltuz- Bibliography :*Gheorghe E. Cojocaru, Sfatul ţării: itinerar, Civitas, Chişinău, 1998, ISBN 9975-936-20-2*Mihai Taşcă, Sfatul Ţării şi actualele autorităţi locale, "Timpul de dimineaţă", no. 114 , June 27, 2008 - External links :* *...
, a member of Sfatul Ţării - Constantin StereConstantin StereConstantin G. Stere or Constantin Sterea was a Romanian writer, jurist, politician, ideologue of the Poporanist trend, and, in March 1906, co-founder Constantin G. Stere or Constantin Sterea (Romanian; , Konstantin Yegorovich Stere or Константин Георгиевич Стере, Konstantin Georgiyevich Stere;...
, born near here - Alexandru CimbriciucAlexandru Cimbriciuc- External links :* * -References:...
- Victor SăuVictor SăuVictor Său is a politician from the Republic of Moldova. He serves as mayor of Soroca He is the leader of Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova in Soroca....
Other related person:
- Alexandru AverescuAlexandru AverescuAlexandru Averescu was a Romanian marshal and populist politician. A Romanian Armed Forces Commander during World War I, he served as Prime Minister of three separate cabinets . He first rose to prominence during the peasant's revolt of 1907, which he helped repress in violence...
- Ştefan ForişStefan ForisŞtefan Foriş was a Romanian communist activist and journalist who served as general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party between 1940 and 1944....
- Petru RareşPetru RaresPeter IV Rareș was twice voievod of Moldavia: 20 January 1527 to 18 September 1538 and 19 February 1541 to 3 September 1546. He was an illegitimate child born to Ștefan cel Mare...
Twin towns — Sister cities
Soroca is twinnedTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with:
See also
- Romanian architectureRomanian architecture-Pre-Modern styles:During the middle ages in Romania there were two types of construction that developed in parallel and different in point of both materials and technique...
- Bessarabian JewsBessarabian Jews-Early history:Jews are mentioned from very early in the Principality of Moldavia, but they did not represent a significant number. Their main activity in Moldavia was commerce, but they could not compete with Greeks and Armenians, who had the knowledge of the Levantine commerce and relationships...
- Roma in Romania
- Armenians in MoldovaArmenians in MoldovaArmenians in Moldova are the ethnic Armenians that live in Moldova. They settled in the Principality of Moldavia since the Late Middle Ages, and were well-known as a merchant community. They prospered, and built a number of Armenian churches. Since the 18th century, however, their numbers decreased...