Grenoble, France

Grenoble is a city in France, the prefecture of the department of Isère, in the Rhône-Alpes region.

The third municipality in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, after Lyon and Saint-Étienne, Grenoble is the commune - the second largest city in this region after Lyon. With a population of approximately 670,000 inhabitants, it is also the largest metropolis of the Alps.

The industrial development of the city of Grenoble really begins in the eighteenth century with the manufacture of gloves and is accentuated in the second half of the nineteenth century, with the discovery of white coal.

But Grenoble is experiencing the fastest growth during the 1930s. The organization of the Winter Olympics (1968) symbolizes this period of great turmoil for the city. As Grenoble continues to grow, it is now an important European scientific center.

The official twinning agreement was signed on January 25, 1977, in the city of Grenoble, France, by Mr. Hubert Dubedou, Mayor of the city of Grenoble and Mr. Nicolae Guzun, Chairman of the Chisinau Executive Committee. It is the oldest collaboration agreement between the capital of Moldova and a city outside Soviet space.

The twinning relations between the two localities are marked by the activities and joint collaboration projects. Among them we can mention:

- An important street in Chisinau bears the name of the French city of Grenoble, name assigned since 29.03.1979;

- Exchange of experience in various fields through mutual visits of the delegations of the City Hall of Chisinau to Grenoble and of the management of the city of Grenoble in Chisinau;

- The chorus of the school no. 37 from Chisinau was visiting Grenoble, and the Choral Chapel of the Charles Munch College from Grenoble held a concert in Chisinau;

- In the cultural plan it is worth mentioning the participation of the Municipal Theater "Satiricus" in the International Theater Festival organized by the Union of Theaters in Grenoble;

- A fruitful collaboration was made in the scientific field: numerous doctoral students, heads of departments and higher education institutions in Chisinau appealed to the help of the International Relations Department of the Chisinau City Hall to obtain support from the authorities of Grenoble during their internships at the institutions in Grenoble;

- The delegation from the Chisinau City Hall participated in the work of the 21st Congress of CARNAQ, organized by the Neighborhood Union Committee of Grenoble;

- The 5th edition of the Rencontres Internationales de Musiciens event, DIVERCITIES, took place in Grenoble from 17 to 29 June 2014. The event brought together for a few days groups of young amateur musicians from the twin cities of Grenoble. On the part of Chisinau, the MEVV band offered a performance appreciated by the public. The musical project was combined with a European cultural-educational project "POLKA" of the European Program "Young people in action", where the young people had the opportunity to interact and to ensure a dialogue of the different cultures during the period of stay;

- Throughout the collaboration period, letters of invitation to various events and letters of congratulation on various occasions were addressed.