Municipiu facts for kids

Municipii (municipalities) of Romania
     Municipalities      County seat municipalities      Bucharest

A municipiu (say "moo-nee-CHEE-pyoo") is a special kind of city in countries like Romania and Moldova. Think of it as a really important or big city. It's similar to how some English-speaking countries use the word municipality. These cities are usually bigger and have more services than regular towns.

What is a Municipiu?

In Romania, a city gets the "municipiu" title if it's large and has lots of modern buildings and services. Right now, Romania has 103 such cities. There isn't a super strict rule for this title. But generally, a city needs a population of over 15,000 people. It also needs good city services like hospitals, schools, and public transport.

If a place doesn't meet these guidelines, it's just called a town (an oraș). If it's a countryside area, it's called a commune (a comună).

How are these cities managed?

Cities with "municipiu" status are run by a mayor and a local council. These are like the city's leaders and decision-makers. Most cities don't have official smaller parts. But people often talk about unofficial neighborhoods called cartiere.

Bucharest, the capital city, is a special case. It's so big and important that it's treated almost like its own county. Bucharest is officially divided into six administrative sectors.

Municipii in Moldova

Moldova also has cities called municipii. There are thirteen of them. A law from 2002 says that this status is given to cities that are very important. This means they play a big role in the country's economy, culture, science, and government.

List of Municipii

Romania's Important Cities

Here is a list of the municipii in Romania. They are grouped by their county. The cities in bold are the main cities of their county.

† means the city lost its status in 1938.

Some cities that were municipii in 1925 are no longer part of Romania. These include Cernăuți, Cetatea Albă, and Chișinău. Also, Bălți became a municipiu in 1929 but lost the title in 1938. The title was not used between 1950 and 1968. So, cities that lost it in 1950 got it back in 1968. The newest municipii were created in 2003.

Moldova's Important Cities

Here is a list of the municipii in Moldova:

Chișinău, Tiraspol, Bălți, and Tighina have been municipii since 1995. Comrat has held the status since 1998. Some cities like Cahul, Edineț, Hîncești, Orhei, Soroca, and Ungheni had the status from 1998 to 2002, then got it back in 2016. Other cities like Căușeni, Taraclia, Dubăsari, and Rîbnița were municipii from 1998 to 2002.