JASSY, the capital of Moldavia, situated on the left bank of the Baghiu, a tributary of the Pruth, about 200 miles N.N.E. of Bucharest, and 130 miles N. of Galatz, in N. Lat. 47.3., and E. Long. 27.92. It stands partly on a plain and partly on a hillside, in the midst of a country rich in agricultural produce. The area of the town is very extensive, and quite out of proportion to the number of houses. All the public buildings, and most of the private dwellings, have pleasure-grounds attached to them which occupy at least one-sixth of the area comprised within the walls. The principal street is broad, and would be handsome were its appearance not disfigured by the booths which line its sides. The other streets are tortuous, narrow, and dirty, while most of the houses are built of wood. The pavement consists of oaken planks thrown across the streets, which are so ill compacted that when the river is in flood, the drainage of the city is forced through them and spreads stench and disease around. Like all wooden-built towns it has suffered frequently from conflagrations. The fire of 1827, which was one of the most destructive, reduced half the town to ashes; but the houses destroyed were replaced by others of more substantial and elegant structure, and at present they are the best and cleanest in the city. The principal public buildings are the prince's palace, the church of the "Three Saints," and the monastery of Formosa. Besides these there are 42 Greek churches, 1 Roman Catholic, and 1 English chapel, with 25 religious houses, an hospital attached to the convent of Spiridon, a college, an academy, a scientific institution, and printing press, the only one in Moldavia. The manufactures are confined to the fabrication of canvas for the Turkish markets, and of carpentry; while the trade of the place, dependent as it is on the agricultural products of the country, fluctuates according to the season of the year.

Jassy is the residence of the hospodar, of the foreign consuls, and of most of the boyards of the principality. It is also the see of a Greek archbishopric. The history of the town dates as far back as the time of the Romans, when it bore the name of Jassiorum municipium. It was once occupied by a Roman legion. Perhaps there is no European town that has changed masters so often as Jassy; for, placed as it is on the great military highway of the East, and protected by no natural defence, it has become the prey and the camp of every invading host. Between the years 1853 and 1856 it was in the hands of Russians, Turks, and Austrians respectively; and, as always happens in such circumstances, the inhabitants were oppressed and trade extinguished. The population of this town fluctuates from the same cause. Before the Russo-Turkish war of 1853 to 1856 it was computed at 50,000, while in 1856 it was estimated at about 30,000, of whom one-eighth were Jews.