Bălți

Bălți (ˈbəltsj) is a city in Moldova. It is the second largest city in terms of population, area and economic importance, after Chișinău. The city holds the status of municipiu. Sometimes called "the northern capital", it is a major industrial, cultural and commercial centre and transportation hub in the north of the country. It is situated north of the capital Chișinău, and is located on the river Răut, a tributary of the Dniester, on a hilly landscape in the Bălți steppe. The word "bălți" (pl. of Romanian sing. "baltă") in direct translation means "puddle". It is believed that the city had been named thus because it was founded on a hill dominating the wetland formed where the creek Răuțel ("Little Răut") falls into the river Răut. In addition to the official name Bălți and the Russian name Бельцы (), between 1940 and 1989 in Moldovan Cyrillic alphabet, and after 1989 in Russian, the name was/is also rendered in Cyrillic as Бэлць (ˈbɛɫts). The current coat of arms and flag of Bălți, elaborated by Silviu Tabac from the Moldovan State Commission for Heraldry, were adopted by the Municipal Council in April 2006. A shield, with alternating six silvery strips (symbolizing water), and six blue strips (symbolizing earth), form the background (symbolizing the name of the city). The central element of the shield is an archer in red clothes, in the military outfit (yellow) of Stephen III of Moldavia (Romanian: Ștefan cel Mare) times (15th century). The archer represents the medieval military recruitment, formed by local free peasants. On top of the shield is a silver crown in the shape of a fortress wall with seven towers. (The crown represents the fact that the locality is a city. Apart from Bălți, only the capital Chișinău, and Tiraspol are allowed to have seven towers, while other cities must limit this number to three or five.) The shield is supported by two rearing silver horses (the white horse is the traditional symbol of the region, which was part of Iași County before 1812).