Ia║i is one of the main cultural centres of the country. With its 350,000 inhabitants, Ia║i is the largest city in Moldova, whose capital it was between the 15th and the early 19th century. The city boasts of seven high education institutions with more than 45,000 students. It also has many libraries, cultural centres, memorial houses, theatres, museums, and historical monuments.
Many personalities of Romanian culture have contributed to the cultural and religious tradition of this city: the chroniclers Grigore Ureche (1590-1647), Miron Costin (1633-1691), and Ion Neculce (1672-1745); the prince-scholar Dimitrie Cantemir (1673-1723), who was also a member of the Berlin Academy; Dosoftei (1624-1693), the Metropolitan of Moldova and the first great editor and printer of books in the Romanian language; Gheorghe Asachi (1788-1869), one of the founders of the Romanian education system; the writers associated with the Junimea literary group, led by Titu Maiorescu (1840-1917); the famous writers Mihai Eminescu (who had contacts with the city only during 1884-1885), Ion Creangπ (1837-1889), and Vasile Alecsandri (1821-1890); etc.
Extending over 4,000 hectares, the city is situated in the hilly region of the Bahlui Valley, between the Moldova Plateau and the Moldova Plain. Also called ôThe city of the seven hills,ö Ia║i has had an interesting history ever since the ancient times, as testified by the archaeological vestiges preserved in the cityÆs museums. First mentioned as a town in a document dating from 1408, Ia║i flourished for the first time under Stephen the Great (1457-1504) in the 15th century, when it was both the seat of a princely residence and a customs checkpoint. In the 16th century, Ia║i became the capital of Moldova and developed greatly. Like most Romanian settlements in the Middle Ages, Ia║i was repeatedly subject to many Turk and Tartar invasions, later followed by Polish and Cossack invasions.
The reign of Prince Vasile Lupu (1634-1653) brought about many changes in the urbanism of the city. During his reign the first university in Moldova, the Academia Vasiliana, was founded. The university continued the tradition of the Latin school in Cotnari and the college functioning in the Three HierarchsÆ Church that had been active one century earlier.
