Străşeni (Romanian pronunciation: [strəˈʃenʲ]) is a city of about 20,000 inhabitants in central Moldova, the administrative center of Străşeni District. The city administers one village, Făgureni. There are several legends about its name. One tells that the name of the region is derived from straşnic, a Romanian adjective that can mean "terrible", "frightening", and the story goes that in former times this region was covered by a fearsome forest.