Chisinau, << `kee` shee NUH oo >> (pop. 676,000), is the capital and largest city of Moldova. The city lies in central Moldova along the Byk River. The older section of the city borders the river, and the newer section extends to the surrounding hills.
Chisinau is a major industrial center. Businesses in the city produce processed foods, building materials, machinery, plastics, rubber, and textiles.
Chisinau was founded near a monastery about 1420. Control over Moldova switched several times between the Ottoman Empire, Romania, and Russia during the next 500 years. In 1940, the Soviets seized Moldova and made it part of the Soviet Union. The Soviets called Moldova the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic. Chisinau, which they called Kishinev, was the capital. Over half the buildings in the city were destroyed in World War II (1939-1945), but Chisinau was rebuilt after the war. In 1991, Moldova declared its independence from the Soviet Union.
