﻿MOLDAU. 



MOLDAVIA. 



SM 



tb* parpMidictiUr stvlr, and ii « haadtome adifioe. It oouUiiu soma 

 nod monntnaota, and in th« churohjard ii the grave of the painter 

 WiUoD. MetbodUta, Indapeodeota, Baptiata, aud other Dimntera 

 bare plaoea of worahip. There are National kHooU and a aarinsa 

 hank. A oounly hall, in which the aaaiiaa are held, haa been reoently 

 •reotad. A county lourt i« held in the town. A Urge market-bouaa 

 haa been lately biUlt ; the niarket-daya are Wedneaday and Saturday. 

 There am four annual (kin. A branch of the Cheater and Holyheaid 

 railway to Mold, IS milea long, quite the main line not far from 

 Cheater. 



MOLDAU. [Aiwrmu; Bobuiia.] 



MOLDA'VIA, one of the two Danubian prineipalitiea under the 

 aorareignty of Turkey and the protectorate of Russia, ia situated 

 bMwaao it' ii' and 48* IS' N. laL, 25' 10' and 28° 30' E. long. It ia 

 boand»i E. by the Ruiaian prorince of Beaaarabta, from which it ia 

 aeparated by the rirer Pruth; S. by the Danube and Wallachia; 

 W. by TranaylTaoia ; and N. by the Austrian erownlands of Buko- 

 wina and QsJIcia. Ita greatest length from south to north, between 

 the Pruth and the Danube, is about 200 milea ; its general breadth 

 batween the Pruth and the crest of the Carpathians ia about 90 miles, 

 bat to the north of 47* 30' the width hardly exoee<)B 60 miles. The 

 •na ia about 17,000 aqnare miles; and the population is stated at 

 1,254,447. 



The Danube, which touches only a small part of Moldavia, receives 

 within the limits of the principality the riven Sereth and Pruth. The 

 Smtlh rises in the Bukowina, to the south-east of Czernowicz, and runs 

 Brat eastward, then to the south, entering Moldavia on the north-west 

 in the district of Suchava. Thence the course of the river is towards 

 th« aouth, first between ridges of moimtaina and hills, and then for 

 nreral miles above its month in the Danube, through wide marshy 

 plains, into which many lateral valleys, some of them of considerable 

 •ztant, open. The Sereth receives the drainage of all the west and 

 centra of the principality. Its principal feeders are the Suchava, the 

 Moldava (from which the province is named), the Bistritz, the Trotua, 

 the MUkov (which flows past Pokshani, and separates Moldavia from 

 WalUohin), the Buzeo (which rises in the Busa Pass of the Carpathians, 

 and flowa entiraly within Wallachia, Brst towards the south-east, then 

 to the nortb-«sat to ita junctinc with the Sereth), aud the Birlat, 

 which carries into the Sereth the drainage of a long central valley 

 that commenoca to the west of Ja»y. The length of the Sereth is 

 about 200 miles. It is navigable for boats. Its valley ia the best corn 

 distriot in Moldavia. A long wooded ofEihoot of the Carpathians, 

 nailed the Stmnga Mountains (the ancient Bastamic Alps), extends all 

 throngh the principality, first south-eastward, aud then southward, 

 terminating in the plain above the junction of the Birlat with the 

 Sereth, and forming the watershed between the Sereth and the Pi-uth. 

 This Utter river forms part of the northern and the whole of the 

 eastern boundary of MoldavU ; ita basin comprises only a narrow 

 strip of land in Moldavia south of 47° N. Ut, but to the north of that 

 parallel, from the neighbourhood of Jassy, the level land and the 

 alopa of the Carpathians drained by the Pruth is of considerable 

 ezt«nt. A few miles above its junction with the Danube the Pruth 

 sends off an arm into Moldavia whiob forms the lake Pralitz. Between 

 thU lake and the Danube the town of Oalacz is situated. The Pruth 

 ii navigable ; its banka are in parts marshy and unhealthy. The 

 Danube tonelMa Moldavia only on the southern frontier for about 12 

 milea, batwsM the mouth of the Serath and the Bessanbian town of 

 RenL 



The Carpathians extend along the western frontier of Moldavia, 

 and separata the principality from Transylvania. Theae mouutaius 

 aeud oat offMta into the interior of Moldavia, which decline in 

 h'ight as they advano« to the t.anka of the Sereth and Pruth, where 

 thy terminate in bills covered with vineyanls. MoMavin ia divided 

 into U[iper MoHavio, or Tzara-de-Suas, which ia aub.livided into 8 

 diatricta, and Lower Moldavia, or Tzara-de-Sboas, which ia subdivided 

 inti 7 distriots. Each district u governed by an officer called 

 lapravnicka. The districts, with their chief towns and population in 

 18M, are given in the following teble :— 



IMstriets. 



IMal 



CtaUr Towaa. 



PUtrs 



Mlhallin 



Palliosnl 



BAnan . 



bobitbanl 



Jsasj 



Bakaou 



Fukatiaal 



CaUla 



Tuutal . 



Vaalol 



Burlata . 



Da 



PopuUtlon in 11(0. 



•0,219 

 •O.ili 

 ;i,0«4 

 (0,677 

 US,S<1 

 I2t,166 



iii,a44 



1>4,>17 

 07.20S 

 gO.SOi 

 t4,70l 

 (1,674 

 t(.7»| 



l,t(4,447 



The oUmaU of Moldavia i« mooh oolder in wintor than might be 

 •spectad ia a Utitude oorraapondlng with the north of luly : the 



riven are generally froim, and the ground oovered with anow for a 

 considerable time. The summrra an exceedingly hot. The country 

 U subject to earthquakes, but they are not very violent It possesaa* 

 much mineral weajth, of which however little advantage has be«n 

 taken, in conaaquenoe of the long unsettle<l stato of the country. 

 Then U an abondanoe of rook-salt in the vicinity of the CarpnthUn 

 Mountains; then are also some mineral-springs; aaphaltum of tivo 

 kinds, red and blaok, U found in several parts ; a great quantify of 

 saltpetra la also produced, chiefly in the northern part of the princi- 

 pality. The sand of the river Bistritz contains gold, but not in a Urge 

 quantity. The soil ia generally exceedingly fertile, and, nothwiUi- 

 standing a very inferior state of agriculture, produces every kind of 

 grain and vegetable in the greatest abundonoe. A ^reat numb-r of 

 horses, oattle, and sheep is fed on the rich mea'lows which Moldavia 

 contains, and the vast forests produce every kind of timber. 



Jaug, the capital of MoldavU, u situat«d on the Bachlei, or Baglui, 

 a small muddy stream which flows into the Pruth, in 47* (K N. Ut, 

 27° 80' E. long., and has about 60,000 inhabitants. It is the residence 

 of the Hospodar of Moldavia, of the principal authorities of the prin- 

 cipality, and of a Greek archbishop. The Hospodor's palace ia on an 

 eminence on the southern side of the town, and ia surrounded by a 

 waU. TbU wall is all that remains of the strong fortifications of the 

 town, which were destroyed by the Russians in 1788. Jassy occupies 

 a large apace of ground, most of the houses being separated from each 

 othi-r by courts and gardens and plantations of trees. It was almost 

 entirely destroyed by fire in 1827. The modem part of the town ia 

 tolerably well built; but the older part consists chiefly of wooden 

 buildings one story high, with wide spaces between vacant or filled 

 with ruins. The principal street, which U very broad, ia furnished 

 with shops on each aide ; the other streets are narrow and crooked ; 

 most of them are Uid with rough planks of oak ; in the rainy season 

 they ore covered wi(h wet mud, and in summer with a thick Uyer of 

 bUck dust, which the sUghteat wind raises in clouds. The number of 

 churchea'is about 40 : the moat remarkable of tbe>ie is the church of 

 the Three Saints, a richly ornamental Byzantine structure. The town 

 has also a Catholic and a Lutheran church, a great number of monas- 

 teries, an hospital, a bazaar, public baths, a college, and several printing- 

 offices. There are not many manufactures, but a considerable commerce 

 is carried on in agricultural produce, especially during the fain which 

 are held here. 



Oalaei, or OUati, in 46* 23' N. Ut, 28* 5' E. long., is situated on 

 the left bank of the Danube, about 8 miles E. from we mouth of the 

 Sereth and 10 miles W. from the junction of the Pruth with the 

 Danube. GUlati U the only port of Moldavia, so that it is the place 

 of export and import for the whole province. It bos been a free port 

 sinoe 1834, and steamers ply rrgularly to Vienna and Constantinople. 

 Qalatz is for the most part better built than the other towns of 

 Moldavia, having numerous houses of stone, several Oreek churches, 

 a convent, an- hospital, and a Urge bazaar always well filled with 

 merohandue, together with a great number of warehouses for grain 

 and other produce; the streets however are narrow and dirty. VesseU 

 of 300 tons burden can come dose up to the town. There is a large 

 export trade in corn and in preserved meats for ships. In 1847 there 

 were exporU'd from the porta of OaUtz aud Ibrail 1,836,647 quarten 

 of com (wheat,. moUe, and barley); in 1849, an ordinary year, the 

 quantity shipped at the two ports was 1,005,240 imperial quarters. 

 Other exports are tallow, timber, wool, bides, and skina The chief 

 imports are British and Austrian manufactures, colonial products, 

 olive-oil, hardware, Ac. The population is about 80,000. A British 

 vice-consul i-esides at OaUtz, and several Qreek and BritUh com- 

 meroial hounea are establiahed there. 



Pohan, or Fuhhani, \» built on the Mllkov, in 45*41' K. Ut, 27* 10' 

 B. loni;., partly in Moldavia, partly in Wallachia, and has about 25,000 

 iobabitanta. It was almost <lestroyed in 1789, during the war between 

 the Kuasiana and the Turks, but has been since rebuilt. It haa * 

 tolerable trude in hai-dware. It contains several Oreek churches and a 

 curious old convent Fokzany is about 45 milea W. from Galatz. Among 

 the other tuwna may be mentioned Bakeou, on the right bank of the 

 Sereth, about 100 milea N.N.W. from OaUtz, and 60 S.W. from Jassy : 

 population, 12,000. At Bakeou, Stanislas Lectynski, king of Poland, 

 was taken prisoner by Nicholas Mavrocordato, prince of Mold.ivia. 

 JUman, higher up the Sereth, here crossed by a wooden bridge, stands 

 in a fine oora country, and has about 8000 iuhabitants. 



A good Macadamised road runs up the valley of the Sereth to the 

 Bukowinn. Another road runs from Pokshani up the valley of the 

 Birlat to Jasay, whence it runs along the eastern base of the Strunga 

 Mountains, and joins the former road in the north of Moldavia. 

 There u a road from the valley of the Sereth to Jassr and the north- 

 east of the principality, which crosses the Strunga Mountains at the 

 town of TurgU'Formos (5000 inhabitants). 



Among the population of Moldavia are maay Wallachians, Armenians, 

 Oraeks, Jews, Gipsies, and Hungarians. The mass of the people pro- 

 fess the raliKion of the Russo-Oreek Chiurch ; but the Hungarian part 

 of the population U Catholic. The revenue of MoldavU u ststea to 

 be about 9,370,000 piastres. 



Moldavia has been subjected to great devastations by the several 

 hordes whiuh invaded the Byzantine empire, and a great number of 

 its inhabitants, descended from the Roman settlers, retired to the west 



