Hîncești


Hîncești is a city and municipality in Moldova.
Hîncești is situated on the Cogîlnic River, southwest of the Moldovan capital, Chișinău. Since 2003 it has been the seat of Hîncești District.

History

Hîncești was established in 1500 AD as Dobreni.
Within the Russian Empire it was known under the Russified name Gincheshty, but in Romanian Hîncești. In 1940 the name was changed to Kotovskoe after Grigore Kotovski, who was born there. But from 1941 to 1944 it was again known as Hîncești.
Before WWII, the Jewish community was rather large, in 1930, there were 1.523 Jews living there. In July 1941, an Einsatzgruppen of Romanian gendarmes murdered more than 100 Jews in a mass execution perpetred in a trench outside the town.
From 1945 to 1965 it was called Kotovskoe, which in 1965 was changed to Kotovsk. Since 1990 it is again called Hîncești.

Demographics

In 1890 Hîncești had 3,098 people. By 1970 the population was 14.3 thousand, and by 1991, 19.3 thousand. At the 2006 census it had 19.5 thousand residents.

Education

There are four Lyceum in Hîncești:

Twin towns – Sister cities

Hîncești is twinned with: