Soroca

Soroca is a city and municipality<ref>LEGE Nr. 248 din 03.11.2016 pentru modificarea și completarea Legii nr. 764-XV din 27 decembrie 2001 privind organizarea administrativ-teritorială a Republicii Moldova Template:In lang</ref> in northern Moldova, situated on the Dniester River about Template:Cvt north of Chișinău. It is the administrative center of the Soroca District.

History

File:СорокиЗемство.jpg

Zemstva of Soroca, 18th-19th century

It is known for its well-preserved stronghold, established by the Moldavian prince Stephen the Great (Ștefan cel Mare in Romanian) in 1499.<ref name=Kaba/> The origins of the name Soroca are not fully known. Soroca (сорока) is the East Slavic word for magpie. Its location is only a few kilometers from the Moldova–Ukraine border.

The original wooden fort, which defended a ford over the Dniester, was an important link in the chain of fortifications which comprised four forts (e.g., Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi, then known as Akkerman, and Khotyn) on the Dniester, two forts on the Danube, and three forts on the north borders of medieval Moldavia. Between 1543 and 1546, under the rule of Peter IV Rareș, the fort was rebuilt in stone as a perfect circle with five bastions situated at equal distances.

During the Great Turkish War, John III Sobieski's forces successfully defended the fort against the Ottomans. It was of vital military importance during the Pruth River Campaign of Peter the Great in 1711. The stronghold was sacked by the Russians in the Austro-Russian–Turkish War (1735–39). The Soroca Fort is an important attraction in Soroca, having preserved cultures and kept the old Soroca to 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. During the Soviet period, the city became an important industrial center for northern Moldova.<ref>Tourist towns of Moldova Template:Webarchive</ref>,"

Soroca was known for producing grapes, wheat, maize, and tobacco in 1919.<ref name=Kaba>Template:Cite book</ref>

The overwhelming majority of the town's sizeable Jewish populated was killed in the Holocaust during World War II, both before and after the deportation of the Jews to Transnistria.<ref>Wolf Moskovich, "Soroca", in The YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe", at https://encyclopedia.yivo.org/article/942.</ref>

Climate

The climate in Soroca is a warm-summer subtype (Köppen: Dfb) of the humid continental climate.

Demographics

According to the 2024 census, 21,135 inhabitants lived in Soroca (making it the tenth largest city in Moldova), a decrease compared to the previous census in 2014, when 22,196 inhabitants were registered.<ref>Template:Cite web Template:In lang</ref><ref>Template:Cite web Template:In lang</ref>

The population was estimated at 35,000 in 1919. It consisted mainly of Jews. Romanians, Germans, and Russians also lived in the city.<ref name=Kaba/> Before the Holocaust, Soroca had a Jewish population of around 18,000, but there are only around 40 Jews living there today.

The city has a sizable Romani minority and is popularly known as the "Romani capital of Moldova".<ref>Steve Kokker, Cathryn Kemp (2004) "Romania and Moldova" (a travel guide), Template:ISBN p.322</ref>

Mayor

The Mayor of Soroca is head of the executive branch of Soroca City Council.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

List of mayors of Soroca
Name	From	Until	Party	Pool
Mihail Popovschi<ref name="newmayor2011">Template:Cite web</ref>	2003	2007	PCRM	2003
Victor Său	2007	2011	PNL	2007
Elena Bodnarenco	2011	2015	PCRM	2011
Victor Său	2015	2019	PLDM	2015
Lilia Pilipețchi	2019	Present	PSRM	2019

Media

• Observatorul de Nord, a newspaper from Soroca, founded in 1998<ref>Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, „Nici tu ploaie ca lumea, nici tu limpezirea apelor în domeniul politicii”</ref><ref>Reporter european Template:Webarchive</ref>
• Vocea Basarabiei, 67,69 and 103.1

Natives

• Samuel Bronfman (1889–1971), a Jewish-Canadian entrepreneur, former owner of Seagram
• Alexandru Cimbriciuc
• Arkady Gendler (1921–2017), Jewish-Ukrainian Yiddish Singer
• Sofia Imber, a Venezuelan journalist, founder of the Contemporary Art Museum of Caracas
• Isaac Kitrosser, French Jewish photojournalist
• Anna Mincovschi, mother of Robert Hossein
• Kira Muratova, a Soviet and Ukrainian film director, screenwriter and actress
• David Seltzer (1904–1994), New York Yiddish language Jewish writer, journalist and poet
• Marina Shafir, a Moldovan mixed martial arts and professional wrestler currently works for All Elite Wrestling.
• Nicolae Șoltuz, a member of Sfatul Țării
• Robert Steinberg, a Jewish-Canadian mathematician
• Leonte Tismăneanu, a Romanian communist activist
• Eugen Ţapu (1983–2009), a protester in the post-election riots in Chișinău who died while in police custody
• Gheorghe Ursu (1926–1985), a Romanian construction engineer and dissident
• Mark Tkaciuk, historian, politician

Gallery

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  Candle of Gratitude can be seen at night from Otaci and Camenca.
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  Soroca Fort
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  Museum
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  Rudi Monastery
• Mihai Eminescu
  Mihai Eminescu
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  Soroca 1898 local stamp

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Soroca is twinned with:

• Template:Flagicon Bryansk, Russia
• Template:Flagicon Flămânzi, Romania
• Template:Flagicon Suceava, Romania

See also

• History of the Jews in Bessarabia
• Romani people in Romania
• Armenians in Moldova

Further reading

• Soroki/Soroca (pp. 376–380) at Miriam Weiner's Routes to Roots Foundation

External links

• Template:JewishGen-LocalityPage