Moldova Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

SOROCA URBAN DEVELOPMENT IN THE INTER-WAR PERIOD.
Vitalie Iațiuc.
From 1918 until 1944, the town of Soroca was a part of the Kingdom of Romania, except the period from July 1940 to July 1941, when it was part of the Soviet Union. The population of the city reached up to 22,450 people, and an area of 650 ha. During the difficult economic situation after the First World War, the Romanian state and society reacted with caution and wisdom to the problems existing in the newly adhered to the Romanian state, Bessarabia. In the 1920s, many publications related the economic problems of Bessarabia. The analysis of the situation in Soroca was mandatorily present in these papers.
Changes in the city center landscaping began on October 10, 1921, when the monument of General Poetaș, who fell in battle in January 1919, was built in the center of the commercial market, between the "old" and "new" cities. The place was renamed Union Square. Until 1930, all shops were moved to another new commercial market. Union Square was set up as a park and planted with trees.
The construction of the new cathedral in neo Romanian architectural style - St. Paraskeva Pious, designed possibly by architect Valentin A. Voițehovski, began in this park in 1936. Building dimensions were approximately 32.5 х 22.0 m. The spacious interior could accommodate from 700 to 900 parishioners. The construction was interrupted by the Second World War, when the walls were built up to the dome. In such unfinished state, without dome, the cathedral existed for 20 years, and in 1962 it was blown up.
In the second half of the 1930s, it was decided to allocate special funds to create a modern engineering urban infrastructure: new power electrical network and city water supply system. Along the bank of the Dniester, the dam was built with a boardwalk and a well-arranged public beach, and special funds were allocated from the budget for its maintenance. For „A. D. Xenopol” Lyceum a new 2-storey building was constructed in 1934-1936. Civil architecture of new apartments buildings, from that period, is represented by 2-storey residential buildings in the constructivist style. Several public buildings were built the city center in eclectic style with elements of Art Nouveau.
The Romanian city administration actively began the reconstruction of the whole locality, upon their return in July,1941. A detailed report regarding the reconstruction and development of the city for a period of 25-30 years with a budget of 114.225 million lei was sent to the governor of Bessarabia on April 18, 1942. The City Hall's budget allocated for the reconstruction of Soroca for the period 1942-1943 was estimated at 11,803 million lei. Unfortunately, the Second World War, stopped the achievement of these plans.
Keywords: Bessarabia, Soroca, Poetaș, Voițehovski, St. Paraskeva Pious, A. D. Xenopol, interwar period.