Iași is the second largest city in Romania, located in the historical region of Moldavia. It has traditionally been an important center of Romanian culture and was the capital of Moldavia, the United Principalities, and Romania at various points in history. As the cultural capital of Romania, Iași is home to many important cultural and educational institutions such as the oldest university, library, and botanical garden in Romania. The city has a population of over 290,000 and its metropolitan area is the second most populous in the country.

1. Coat of arms

2. Nickname(s): The Cultural Capital of Romania, The City of Great Loves,
The City of the Famous Destinies, The City of Great Ideas, The City of the
Three Unions, The City on Seven Hills

3. Iași: is the second largest city in Romania, and
the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical
region of Moldavia, Iași has traditionally been a
centre of Romanian social, cultural, academic
and artistic life. The city was the capital of the
Principality of Moldavia from 1564 to 1859, then
of the United Principalities from 1859 to 1862,
and the capital of Romania from 1916 to 1918.

4. Known as The Cultural Capital of
Romania, Iași is a symbol in
Romanian history. Still referred to
as The Moldavian Capital, Iași is
the main economic and business
centre of the Moldavian region of
Romania. In December 2018, Iași
was officially declared Historical
capital of Romania.

5. At the 2011 census, the city proper
had a population of 290,422 (making it
the fourth most populous in Romania
at the time). With 474,035 residents
(as of 2015), the Iași urban area is the
second most populous in Romania
(after Bucharest), whereas more than
500,000 people live within its peri-
urban area.

6. The social and cultural life revolves around
the Vasile Alecsandri National Theater
(the oldest in Romania), the Moldova State
Philharmonic, the Opera House, the Iași
Athenaeum, a famous Botanical Garden
(the oldest and largest in Romania), the
Central University Library (the oldest in
Romania), the high quality cultural centres
and festivals, an array of museums,
memorial houses, religious and historical
monuments.

7. In 1641, the relics of
Saint Parascheva were
brought to Iași. Each
year, around 14
October, hundreds of
thousands of pilgrims
gather to commemorate
Saint Parascheva.

8. Ancient times
• Archaeological investigations attest to the presence of
human communities on the present territory of the city
and around it as far back as the prehistoric age.
• There is archaeological evidence of human settlements
in the area of Iași dating from the 6th to 7th centuries
(Curtea Domnească) and 7th to 10th centuries. Also,
many of the vessels (9th–11th centuries) found in Iași
had a cross, potentially indicating that the inhabitants
were Christians.

9. Around 1564, Prince Alexandru Lăpușneanu moved
the Moldavian capital from Suceava to Iași. Between
1561 and 1563, a school and a Lutheran church were
founded by the Greek adventurer Prince, Ioan Iacob
Heraclid.
Princely Court of Moldavia

10. In 1640, Vasile Lupu established the first
school in which the Romanian language
replaced Greek, and set up a printing press
in the Byzantine Trei Ierarhi Monastery
(built 1635–39).

11. Between 15 September - 27 October 1642,
the city hosted the Synod of Iasi.
The city was burned down by the Tatars in
1513, by the Ottomans in 1538, and by
Imperial Russian troops in 1686. In 1734, it
was hit by the plague.

12. It was through the Peace of Iași that the sixth
Russo-Turkish War was brought to a close in
1792. A Greek revolutionary maneuver and
occupation under Alexander Ypsilanti and the
Filiki Eteria (1821, at the beginning of the Greek
War of Independence) led to the storming of the
city by the Turks in 1822. In 1844 a severe fire
affected much of the city.

13. Between 1564 and 1859, the city was the
capital of Moldavia; then, between 1859 and
1862, both Iași and Bucharest were de facto
capitals of the United Principalities of
Moldavia and Wallachia.

14. In 1862, when the union of the two
principalities was recognised under the
name of Romania, the national capital was
established in Bucharest. For the loss
caused to the city, the constituent assembly
voted 148,150 lei to be paid in ten annual
instalments, but no payment was ever
made.

15. During World War I, Iași was the capital of a much
reduced Romania for two years. The capital was
returned to Bucharest after the defeat of Imperial
Germany and its allies in November 1918. In
November–December 1918 Iași hosted the Iasi
Conference.
Union Square

16. World War II: During the war, the Iași pogrom stood
as one of the known examples of Axis brutality toward
the Jews. The pogrom lasted from 29 June to 6 July
1941, and over 13,266 people, or one third of the
Jewish population, were massacred in the pogrom
itself or in its aftermath, and many were deported.

17. In May 1944, the Iași area became the
scene of ferocious fighting between
Romanian-German forces and the
advancing Soviet Red Army and the
city was partially destroyed. By 20
August, Iași had been taken by Soviet
forces.

18. Located in the North-East of Romania, the city lies on
the Bahlui River valley, amid vineyards and gardens,
partly on hills, partly in the in-between valley.
It is a common belief that Iași is built on seven hills:
Breazu, Bucium, Cetățuia, Copou, Galata, Repedea and
Șorogari, thus triggering comparisons with Rome.

20. The neo-Gothic Palace of Culture, built on
the old ruins of the mediaeval Princely
Court and on the foundations of the former
neoclassical Princely Palace of Moldavia

21. Grand Hotel Traian (Union Square),
designed and built by Gustave Eiffel

22. Communist era's Central Hall Square

23. Alexandru Ioan Cuza University main building
(1897), a mixture of the Neoclassical and
Baroque styles, houses the famous Hall of the
Lost Footsteps where one can admire the works
of the painter Sabin Bălașa;

24. "Vasile Alecsandri" National Theatre, built
between 1894 and 1896 in Neoclassic style with
Baroque and Rococo inspired painted and
sculpted ornaments. Also hosts, starting 1956,
the Iași Romanian National Opera

25. Dosoftei House, a building from the second half
of the 17th century in which in 1679, the
metropolitan bishop Dosoftei settled the second
typography in Moldavia. It houses the department
of old literature of the Romanian Literature
Museum.

26. Roznovanu Palace (The City Hall), second half of
the 18th century, rebuilt between 1830 and 1833,
during World War I, it hosted the Romanian
government.

27. Union Museum, 1806, Empire style, the palace
served as the royal residence of Prince Alexandru
Ioan Cuza between 1859 and 1862 and in 1917–
1918, during World War I, as the royal residence
of king Ferdinand.

28. Mihai Eminescu Central University Library
of Iași

29. Metropolitan
Cathedral
(1839/1886), the
largest Orthodox
church in Romania, a
late Renaissance
style, with Baroque
elements and
Gheorghe Tattarescu
paintings, it contains
the relics of Saint
Paracheva

30. Armenian Church, built in 1395, testifies
the existence of an important Armenian
community in these parts of Romania

31. Great Synagogue, in late Baroque style,
built in 1657–1671, is the oldest surviving
synagogue in Romania and one of the
oldest in Europe

32. Alecu Balș House, where Franz Liszt
performed in 1847, nowadays Moldova
State Philharmonic

33. The Theatre Museum, opened in 1976,
illustrates the development of the theatrical
phenomenon since the beginning, important
moments of the history of Iași National Theatre,
the foundation, in 1840, of the Philharmonic-
dramatic Conservatoire, prestigious figures that
have contributed to the development of the
Romanian theatre.

34. The Union Museum, includes
original pieces and documents
which belonged to prince Al. I. Cuza
and his family.

35. The Natural History Museum,
founded on 4 February 1834, is
the first museum of this kind in
Romania with over 300,000
items, the most valuable being
the collections of insects,
mollusk, amphibians, reptiles,
birds, plants and minerals.

36. Begun in 1833 by Prince Mihail Sturdza, Copou
Park was integrated into the city and marks one
of the first Romanian coordinated public parks.

37. The oldest monument
in Romania stands in
the middle of the park,
the Obelisk of Lions
(1834), dedicated to
the Regulamentul
Organic, the first law
on political,
administrative and
juridical organisation in
Romanian
Principalities.

38. Founded in 1856,
the Botanical
Garden of Iași, the
first botanical
garden in Romania,
has an area of over
100 hectares, and
more than 10,000
species of plants.

39. Eminescu's Linden
Tree is a 500-year-old
silver lime situated in
Copou Park. Mihai
Eminescu reportedly
wrote some of his best
works underneath this
lime, rendering the tree
one of Romania's most
important natural
monuments and a
notable Iași landmark.

40. The Ciric Park, located in the north-eastern
part of Iași, consists of parkland and four
lakes.