Moldova
Updated: Sep 26, 2022
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Country Name
Moldova or officially the Republic of Moldova.
Location
Moldova is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south.
Capital
Chișinău.
Reason for Naming
The name Moldova is derived from the Moldova River; the valley of this river served as a political center at the time of the foundation of the Principality of Moldavia in 1359.
The origin of the name of the river remains unclear. According to a legend recounted by Moldavian chroniclers Dimitrie Cantemir and Grigore Ureche, Prince Dragoș named the river after hunting an aurochs: following the chase, the prince's exhausted hound Molda drowned in the river. The dog's name, given to the river, extended to the Principality.
Flag
The flag of Moldova was adopted on 6 November 1990. The flag consists of a vertical stripes tricolor of blue, yellow, and red; charged with the Coat of Arms centered on the yellow stripes, and features a dark golden eagle holding an Orthodox Christian cross in its beak, instead of a sword, the eagle is holding an olive branch, symbolizing peace. The eagle is borrowed from the old Romanian coat of arms. The blue color represents liberty, the yellow color represents justice and the red color represents fraternity. The colors are similar to the national colors of Romanians symbolizing common origin. The blue, red, and yellow tricolor of Moldova is identical to the flag of Romania, The olive branch on the court of arms represents sovereignty and peace while the blue and red shield on the eagle’s chest is the traditional symbol of Moldova. the auroch head represents the strength, pride, and independence of The Republic of Moldova. The cross has Christian meaning and is believed to be an Orthodox Christian church cross.
* Flag facts:
- The flags of Chad, Romania, Andorra, and Moldova all share a very similar color scheme of blue, yellow, and red in the design. - The difference between the four flags is that the two flags of Moldova and Andorra feature their coat of arms in the middle of the yellow stripe.
Language
The official language of Moldova is Romanian, a Romance language related to Italian, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. The term “Moldovan” is also used to refer to the official language of the country. Romanian/ Moldovan is taught in schools across the country.
Several minority languages of Moldova with a significant population of speakers are also assigned an official status. These include Gagauz, Russian, and Ukrainian.
There are also Foreign Languages Spoken In Moldova as English, which is taught as a foreign language in many schools across the country. It is thus growing in popularity among the Moldovan youth. However, a sound knowledge of advanced English is lacking among the majority in Moldova.
Other foreign languages spoken in Moldova include French, Spanish, Italian, and other European languages. These languages are mostly spoken by Moldovan migrants or ex-pats in Moldova
Religion
Eastern Orthodox Christianity is the vast majority religion in the country. More than 2.0% of the population is Protestant including a growing number of Jehovah's Witnesses, 0.9% belong to other religions, 1.0% are non-religious, 0.4% are atheists, and 2.2% did not answer the religion question at the census. There is a minority of Moldova’s population is Catholic Christians. Other denominations of Christianity or other religions with a minor presence in the country include Baptists, Pentecostals, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jews, Muslims, Hare Krishnas, Lutherans, etc.
Currency
Leu (MDL).
Time Zone
+03:00 GMT. (Summer Time)
+02:00 GMT.
Government Regime
Unitary parliamentary constitutional republic.
Climate
Moldova's climate is continental, with cold, snowy winters and mild summers. Because Moldova is a tiny nation, the climate is very similar, with minor variances; yet, it can snow in the north and not in the south at times.
Winter in Moldova is cold, with an average temperature of -1.5 °C (29 °F) in January. Mild and moist air masses from the Mediterranean can sometimes increase the temperature above freezing (0 °C or 32 °F) and melt the snow, while cold air masses from the Arctic or Russia can reduce the temperature to approximately -20 °C (-4 °F) or even lower.
Cold records range from -35°C (-31°F) to -30°C (-22°F).
Summer in Moldova is warm: the average minimum temperature in the two hottest months (July and August) is about 15/16 °C (59/61 °F) in the north and 16/17 °C (61/63 °F) in the center-south, while the maximum temperature is around 26 °C (79 °F) in the north and 27/28 °C (81/82 °F) in the south.
The sun shines extremely regularly; from June to August, there are around 9/9.5 hours of sunshine each day. Spring and fall are brief but pleasant: between May and September, the lowest and maximum temperatures are roughly 12 °C and 22 °C (53.5 °C and 72 °F), respectively.
Moldova is best visited between May and September when temperatures are typically nice with mild evenings.
International Phone Code
+373
Internet Code
.md