Jassy, or JASHI, the capital of Moldavia, the northern division of Roumania, stands 5 miles W. of the Pruth, 205 miles by rail NW. of Odessa, and 289 NNE. of Bucharest. The town was almost destroyed by fire in 1827, after which it was rebuilt. The streets are broad, and are paved with asphalt, and the houses mostly one-storied and built of wood. There are more than forty Greek churches and close upon sixty Jewish synagogues. The most noticeable secular buildings are the palaces of the boyars or Roumanian nobles, both in the city and in its environs. The town has a university with about 40 teachers and 170 students. The industry is unimportant; but there is an active trade in corn, spirits, and wine, mostly with Galatz on the Danube. Pop. 70,000, of whom half are Jews, besides Armenians, Russians, Gypsies, &c. Jassy was the residence of the Moldavian princes from 1565. Here peace was concluded between Russia and Turkey in 1792. During Ypsilanti's insurrection the town was almost destroyed by the Turkish Janizaries (1822).
On a height close to the town is the residence of the former woiwodes or governors of Moldavia.