Bălţi

Bălți
Municipality of Bălţi (in red) in Moldova Municipality of Bălţi (in red) in Moldova
Country	Moldova
Municipality	Bălți
Communes	Sadovoe, Elizaveta
Founded	1421
City rights	1818
Government
• Type	Municipal Council
• Mayor	Vasile Panciuc, since 2011
Area
• City	Template:Infobox settlement/metric
• Urban	Template:Infobox settlement/metric
Elevation	Template:Infobox settlement/metric
Population  (2011)
• City	144,000
• Density	Template:Infobox settlement/metric
• Metro	148,900
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code	MD-3100
Area code(s)	+373 231 X-XX-XX
Licence plate	BL XX 000
Website	www.balti.md

Bălţi is the third-largest city in the country of Moldova. It is the major city in the northern part of the country. During the Russian Empire (1812-1917), and later the Soviet era (1940-1990) the name was also spelled Beltsy, from its form in Russian. The city is 135 km north of the capital Chişinău, on the small river Răut, a branch of the Dniester (Nistru). It is located on a hilly landscape that, in the Middle Ages, was covered with forest. This forest has since been almost entirely cut down.