Ungheni () is a city, municipality and the seat of Ungheni District in the Republic of Moldova.
There is a bridge across the Prut and a border checkpoint to Romania. There is another border town with the same name in Romania (Ungheni, IaÃÂi), on the other side of the Prut River.
The first historical mention of Ungheni dates to 20 August 1462. A railway between Ungheni and ChiÃÂinÃÂu was built in 1875 by Russia in preparation for the Russo-Turkish War of 1877âÂÂ1878. In the interwar period, the town formed part of Romania. During World War II, it was occupied by the Soviet Union from 1940, then recaptured by Romania in 1941, and then re-occupied by the Soviet Union in 1944, within which it formed part of the Moldavian SSR. After the war, the rail route through Ungheni became the main connection between the USSR and Romania.
In 1876, after the spring flooding of the river Prut, the railway bridge that linked Moldova and Romania was almost destroyed. The Railways Department invited Gustave Eiffel to Bessarabia (Moldova) to redesign and rebuild the bridge. Today, it remains a strategic structure under the supervision of border guards.
Th EU proposed in 2023 to lay a new rail 1435mm standard gauge line from Ungheni to Chisinau, alongside the existing 1520mm track, to avoid disruption to existing services.
Ungheni has a well-developed network of roads of both national and local importance, and serves as a key railway hub and customs border crossing that connects the domestic network with international routes.
Ungheni railway station is an international crossing point, handling both freight and passenger transport. It is the largest railway junction in the central Moldavia, with limited services to ChiÃÂinÃÂu and international services to Kyiv.
The construction of the UngheniâÂÂIaÃÂiâÂÂTârgu Mureàmotorway is planned, linking it to the Transylvania Motorway.
The municipality also has a river port on the Prut, managed by the State Enterprise âÂÂUngheni River PortâÂÂ. Ungheni River Port is one of the four river ports currently operating in the Republic of Moldova. In recent years, development works on the River Prut have continued. Recently, maintenance of the Ungheni technical sector has included dredging and straightening works along a 385âÂÂ405 km stretch of the riverbed.
According to the 2024 census, 26,457 inhabitants lived in Ungheni (making it the sixth largest city in Moldova), a decrease compared to the previous census in 2014, when 30,804 inhabitants were registered.
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Ungheni is twinned with: