Leova is a city in Moldova, located 92 km southwest of the national capital, Chișinău. It is the administrative center of Leova District. The city is situated on the east bank of the river Prut bordering Romania.
Leova | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Flag  Seal | |
  Leova Location within Moldova | |
| Coordinates: 46°29′N 28°15′E / 46.483°N 28.250°E | |
| Country | Moldova |
| District | Leova |
| First attested | 13 March 1489 |
| Founded | 1495 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Alexandru Bujorean (LOC), since 4 November 2019 |
| Elevation | 45 m (148 ft) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 7,443 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Postal code | MD-6301 |
| Area code | +373 263 |
| Climate | Cfb |
| Website | http://primarialeova.md/ |
History edit
The city of Leova is attested as far back as the 15th century. The Leova market is attested on August 26, 1806 in a document from Constantin Moruzzi, the Moldovan prince. After 1812, Leova became a customs post and border checkpoint. In 1819 the old church was replaced by a new one, also wooden, dedicated to Saint Paraschiva. Between 1856 and 1878, Leova reentered the borders of the Principality of Moldavia and Romania. At the 1860 census, the fair was officially the 32nd urban location of Romanian Moldavia, by population (1,845 inhabitants). On October 7, 1878, after reannexation by Russia, Leova had 350 households, 5,682 desyatinas of arable land, 60 large orchards, a steam mill, and six windmills. The first school was opened in 1885, and in four years it had two classes in which 53 boys and 43 girls were taught. In 1904 the city had a town hall, police headquarters, a post office, a telegraph, a mixed school, a Jewish high school, three primary schools, an Orthodox church, and five synagogues. At the turn of the century over a thousand foreign merchants were active, and a German colony numbered 115. There were 1,073 houses and 307 monument buildings. In 1923 the city had 1,075 houses and 3,422 inhabitants, and in 1933 7,000. In the 1930s it was already a city.
In 1930 the Leova city census counted 2,326 Jewish inhabitants, about a third of the entire town population. In June 1940 the region was transferred from Romania to Soviet control as part of the secret Molotov–Ribbentrop non-aggression pact between Germany and the Soviet Union. The Soviets quickly started deporting citizens of their newly annexed territories to Siberia, including Zionist leaders and wealthy Jews. In June 1941 some Jews sensed war was coming and fled east to central Asia. Other able bodied men joined the fight against the Germans by enlisting in the Soviet Army. When the Germans occupied the city in June–July 1941, most captured Jewish men were immediately executed, while women and children were interned in Cahul Camp, a transit camp from which detainees were subject to a forced migration or "death march". The death march began in Leova in September 1941 and ending in Berezovka, Ukraine in early January 1942. Of the 525 people (389 from Leova) interned in Cahul Camp, most died of exposure and hunger along the way, or were executed when they were too weak to continue the journey or couldn't keep up. Only two young girls are known to have survived the Journey from Leova to Berezovka.[2]
Demographics edit
According to the 2014 census, the population of Leova amounted to 7,443 inhabitants, a decrease compared to the previous census in 2004, when 10,027 inhabitants were registered. Of these, 3,724 were men and 3,719 were women.[3]
Ethnic composition of Leova (2014)[4]
Footnotes:
* There is an ongoing controversy regarding the ethnic identification of Moldovans and Romanians.
* Moldovan language is one of the two local names for the Romanian language in Moldova. In 2013, the Constitutional Court of Moldova interpreted that Article 13 of the constitution is superseded by the Declaration of Independence,[6] thus giving official status to the name Romanian.[7][8]
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1930 | 6,539 | — |
| 1959 | 6,263 | −4.2% |
| 1970 | 8,929 | +42.6% |
| 1979 | 11,185 | +25.3% |
| 1989 | 12,203 | +9.1% |
| 2004 | 10,027 | −17.8% |
| 2014 | 7,443 | −25.8% |
Climate edit
| Climate data for Leova (1991–2020) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 0.7 (33.3) |
3.4 (38.1) |
9.6 (49.3) |
16.9 (62.4) |
22.8 (73.0) |
26.4 (79.5) |
28.6 (83.5) |
28.5 (83.3) |
22.8 (73.0) |
15.8 (60.4) |
8.5 (47.3) |
2.3 (36.1) |
15.5 (59.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −2.3 (27.9) |
−0.3 (31.5) |
4.5 (40.1) |
10.9 (51.6) |
16.6 (61.9) |
20.4 (68.7) |
22.5 (72.5) |
22.3 (72.1) |
16.9 (62.4) |
10.8 (51.4) |
4.8 (40.6) |
−0.6 (30.9) |
10.5 (50.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −4.7 (23.5) |
−3.3 (26.1) |
0.6 (33.1) |
6.0 (42.8) |
11.4 (52.5) |
15.3 (59.5) |
17.2 (63.0) |
16.9 (62.4) |
12.1 (53.8) |
6.9 (44.4) |
2.1 (35.8) |
−3.0 (26.6) |
6.5 (43.7) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 32 (1.3) |
26 (1.0) |
35 (1.4) |
39 (1.5) |
61 (2.4) |
64 (2.5) |
64 (2.5) |
55 (2.2) |
50 (2.0) |
44 (1.7) |
39 (1.5) |
40 (1.6) |
549 (21.6) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 6 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 73 |
| Source: NOAA[9] | |||||||||||||
Media edit
Notable people edit
- Rabbi Dov Ber Friedman (1822–1876)
- Idel Ianchelevici (1909–1994)
- Ion Aldea Teodorovici (1954–1992)
- Victor Toma (1922–2008)
International relations edit
Twin towns — Sister cities edit
Leova is twinned with:
References edit
- ^ Results of Population and Housing Census in the Republic of Moldova in 2014: "Characteristics - Population (population by communes, religion, citizenship)" (XLS). National Bureau of Statistics of the Republic of Moldova. 2017. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-12-06. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "2014 Moldova Census of Population and Housing". National Bureau of Statistics of the Republic of Moldova. (in Romanian, Russian, and English)
- ^ "2014 Moldova Census of Population and Housing". National Bureau of Statistics of the Republic of Moldova. (in Romanian, Russian, and English)
- ^ "2014 Moldova Census of Population and Housing". National Bureau of Statistics of the Republic of Moldova. (in Romanian, Russian, and English)
- ^ "Hotărâre Nr. 36 din 05.12.2013 privind interpretarea articolului 13 alin. (1) din Constituție în corelație cu Preambulul Constituției și Declarația de Independență a Republicii Moldova (Sesizările nr. 8b/2013 și 41b/2013)" (in Romanian). Constitutional Court of Moldova. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
124. ... Prin urmare, Curtea consideră că prevederea conținută în Declarația de Independență referitoare la limba română ca limbă de stat a Republicii Moldova prevalează asupra prevederii referitoare la limba moldovenească conținute în articolul 13 al Constituției.
[124. ... Therefore, the Court considers that the provision contained in the Declaration of Independence regarding the Romanian language as the state language of the Republic of Moldova prevails over the provision regarding the Moldovan language contained in Article 13 of the Constitution.] - ^ "Moldovan court rules official language is 'Romanian', replacing Soviet-flavored 'Moldovan'". Fox News. Associated Press. 2013-12-05. Archived from the original on 2013-12-09. Retrieved 2013-12-07.
- ^ "Chisinau Recognizes Romanian As Official Language". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 5 December 2013. Archived from the original on 23 September 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
- ^ "Leova Climate Normals 1991–2020". World Meteorological Organization Climatological Standard Normals (1991–2020). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on 21 August 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
External links edit
