[8] The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial centre, and is located in the middle of the country, on the river Bîc, a tributary of the Dniester.

Moldova has a history of winemaking dating back to at least 3,000 BCE, and as the capital city, Chișinău hosts the yearly national wine festival every October.

The city's central railway station boasts a Russian-Imperial architectural style, and maintains direct rail links to Romania.

[15][16] A third theory by Kiss Lajos linguist and slavist hold (as possible origin), that the name came from the cuman kešene ("grave", kurgan) and the karachayian "cemetery", and these came from the Persian kāšāne (house) word.

By 1834, an imperial townscape with broad and long roads had emerged as a result of a generous development plan, which divided Chișinău roughly into two areas: the old part of the town, with its irregular building structures, and a newer city centre and station.

The town played an important part in the war between Russia and the Ottoman Empire, as the main staging area of the Russian invasion.

[20] In the late 19th century, especially due to growing anti-Semitic sentiment in the Russian Empire and better economic conditions in Moldova, many Jews chose to settle in Chișinău.

The reactions to this incident included a petition to Tsar Nicholas II of Russia on behalf of the American people by US President Theodore Roosevelt in July 1903.

[24] Following the Russian October Revolution, Bessarabia declared independence from the crumbling empire, as the Moldavian Democratic Republic, before joining the Kingdom of Romania.

[26] As part of the policy of political repression of the potential opposition to the Communist power, tens of thousand members of native families were deported from Bessarabia to other regions of the USSR.

However, the Romanian and newly Moldovan sources assign most of the responsibility for the damage to Soviet NKVD destruction battalions, which operated in Chișinău until 17 July 1941, when it was captured by Axis forces.

[citation needed] There was rapid population growth in the 1950s, to which the Soviet administration responded by constructing large-scale housing and palaces in the style of Stalinist architecture.

[citation needed] The Intourist Hotel, a flagship property constructed by the Soviet state-owned travel monopoly of the same name, was completed in 1978.

It stands on Ierusalim Street, marking the site of the main entrance to the Chișinău ghetto, which was established in the lower part of the city in July 1941, shortly after the German and Romanian troops occupied the area.

Since Moldovan independence following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, many streets of Chișinău have been renamed after historic persons, places or events.

[40][41][42] On 23 November 2022, the Chișinău Court of Appeal ruled that Chișinău International Airport will return to state ownership, according to justice minister Sergiu Litvinenco, more than three months after an international court allowed Moldova to terminate a 49-year concession deal with airport operator Avia Invest.

[47] Later that month, Chișinău hosted a major international summit of the European Political Community organised to discuss the illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine as well as cybersecurity, migration and energy security, and regional issues in Azerbaijan, Armenia, and clashes in Kosovo.

Spring and autumn temperatures vary between 16 and 24 °C (61 and 75 °F), and precipitation during this time tends to be lower than in summer but with more frequent yet milder periods of rain.

The population, as of the 2014 Moldovan census,[7] is shown in brackets: Chișinău is governed by the City Council and the Mayor (Romanian: Primar), both elected once every four years.

Chișinău has the largest and most developed mass media sector in Moldova, and is home to several related companies ranging from leading television networks and radio stations to major newspapers.

The Chișinău State Circus, which used to be in a grand building in the Râșcani sector, has been inactive for several years due to a poorly funded renovation project.

There are many office and shopping complexes that are modern, renovated or newly built, including Kentford, SkyTower, and Unión Fenosa headquarters.

The city is home to 9 public and 8 private universities, the Academy of Sciences of Moldova, a number of institutions offering high school and 1–2 years of college education.

[62] The building was designed by the architect Vladimir Tsyganko in a distinctive Moorish architectural style with a signature frontal façade consisting of a triangular pediment supported by two Doric columns.

The events celebrate the autumn harvest and recognises the country's long history of winemaking, which dates back to at least 3,000 BCE.

"[68] The Daily Express in 2019 described the city as "Europe's latest hotspot" in which journalist Maisha Frost praised "its wines, monumental wineries and their epic tasting sessions.

Due to the simmering conflict between Moldova and the unrecognised Transnistria republic the rail traffic towards Ukraine is occasionally stopped.

[73] In Chișinău and its suburbs, privately operated minibuses known as "rutieras" generally follow the major bus and trolleybus routes and appear more frequently.

Zimbru Stadium, which opened in May 2006 with a seating capacity of 10,500, meets all the requirements for hosting official international matches and serves as the home venue for the Moldova national football team.

Chișinău is twinned with:[77] ... orașul nostru n-a avut niciodată un primar ca neîntrecutul Carol Schmidt.