Silistra

Silistra, Bulgaria Силистра
View of the river Danube
Coat of arms
Silistra, Bulgaria Location of Silistra
Coordinates: 44°7′N 27°16′E / 44.117°N 27.267°E / 44.117; 27.267Coordinates: 44°7′N 27°16′E / 44.117°N 27.267°E / 44.117; 27.267
Country	Bulgaria
Province (Oblast)	Silistra
Government
• Mayor	Yulian Naydenov
Area
• City	27.159 km2 (10.486 sq mi)
Elevation	6 m (20 ft)
Population (2012)[1]
• City	35 230
• Urban	50 780
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Postal Code	7500
Area code(s)	086
Climate	Cfa
Website	Official website

Silistra (Bulgarian: Силистра, pronounced [siˈlistrɐ]) is a port city in northeastern Bulgaria. The city lies on the southern bank of the lower Danube river, and is also the part of the Romanian border where it stops following the Danube. Silistra is the administrative center of the Silistra Province and one of the important cities of the historical region of Southern Dobrudzha.

Silistra is a major cultural, industrial, transportation, and educational center of northeastern Bulgaria. There are many historical landmarks including a richly-decorated Late Roman tomb, remains of the Medieval fortress, an Ottoman fort, and an art gallery.

Etymology

The name Silistra is possibly derived from the root of the old Thracian name of the lower part of the Danube "Istrum". By another theory, the city's name comes from the Latin words "silo" and "stra", meaning "awl" and "strategy".

Geography

Silistra is in the northeastern part of Bulgaria on the southern bank of the Danube River. It is located in the Bulgarian part of Dobrudzha.

The municipality of Silistra covers an area of 516 km^2[2] and includes the city and 18 villages. The area of the city-proper is 27.159 km².^[3]

Silistra is 431 km from Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria; 141 km from Varna; and 119 km from Ruse.

History

Durostorum

The Romans built a fortress in AD 29 on the site of an earlier Thracian settlement and kept its name, Durostorum (or Dorostorum). The earliest saints of Bulgaria are Roman soldiers executed at Durostorum during the Diocletian Persecution (303–313), including St. Dasius and St. Julius the Veteran. Durostorum became an important military center of the Roman province of Moesia, and grew into a city at the time of Marcus Aurelius. In 388, Durostorum became the seat of a Christian bishopric and a center of Christianity in the region. Roman general Flavius Aëtius was born in the town in 396. After the Roman Empire split into the Eastern and Western empires, the town (known as Δουρόστολον, Durostolon in Byzantine Greek) became part of the Byzantine Empire. As part of the Bulgarian Empire Durostolon was known as Drastar in Medieval times.

The fort of Silistra

Silistra Historical Museum

Around the end of the 7th century, the town was incorporated into the First Bulgarian Empire and the bishop of Drastar (Дръстър in Bulgarian) was proclaimed the first patriarch of Bulgaria. In 895 (during the Bulgarian-Hungarian War of 894-896), the Hungarians, allies of the Byzantines, besieged the Bulgarian army under the personal command of Simeon I the Great in the fortress of the town but were repulsed.^[4] The next year the Hungarians were decisively defeated in the battle of Southern Buh.

The town was captured by the forces of Sviatoslav I of Kiev in 969, but two years later it was taken by the Byzantines during the Battle of Dorostolon. It was renamed Theodoropolis, after military saint Theodore Stratelates, who is said to have come to the aid of Emperor John I Tzimiskes during the battle. In 976, Tsar Samuel restored Bulgarian rule in the region until 1001, when it once again became part of the Byzantine Empire.

In 1186, after the Rebellion of Asen and Peter, the town became part of the Second Bulgarian Empire and renamed Drastar.

In 1279, under Emperor Ivailo, Drastar was attacked by the Mongols; but after a three-month-long siege the Bulgarians managed to break through.^[5] The town remained part of the Bulgarian Empire until the Ottoman conquest of the Balkans around 1400. Throughout the Middle Ages, Drastar (possibly known by the name Silistra too) was among Bulgaria's largest and most important cities.

During Ottoman rule, Silistra (Silistre in Ottoman Turkish) was part of Rumelia Province and was the administrative centre of the Silistra district (sanjak). This district was later upgraded to become the Silistra Province and stretched over most of the western Black Sea littoral.

The town was captured and recaptured by Russian forces numerous times during several Russo-Turkish Wars and was besieged between 14 April and 23 June 1854 during the Crimean War. Namık Kemal wrote his most famous play, Vatan Yahut Silistre ("Homeland or Silistre"), a drama about the siege of Silistra, in which he expounded on the ideas of patriotism and liberalism. The play was first staged on 1 April 1873 and led to his exile to Famagusta.

The Ottoman Silistra Province was reduced in size, as the districts of Özi and Hocabey and the region of Bessarabia were ceded to the Russian Empire at the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century. Edirne Province was created from its southern regions in 1830. Finally, Silistra Province merged with the provinces of Vidin and Niš in 1864 to form Danube Province. Silistra was downgraded to a kaza centre in Ruse district in this province in the same year.

Between 1819 and 1826, Eliezer Papo — a renowned Jewish scholar — was the rabbi of the community of Silistra, making this town famous among observant Jews. Up to the present, his grave is a focus of pilgrimage, some pilgrims flying from Israel and even from Latin America to Bulgaria for that purpose.^[6]

In 1878, following the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, Silistra was included in Bulgaria.

In May 1913, following the Second Balkan War and after unsuccessful Bulgarian-Romanian negotiations in London, the two countries accepted the mediation of the Great Powers, who awarded Silistra and the area in a 3 km radius around it to the Kingdom of Romania at the Saint Petersburg Conference. The 1913 Treaty of Bucharest ceded Silistra and the whole of Southern Dobruja to Romania. Silistra was renamed Dârstor by the Romanians. Bulgaria regained the town between 1916 and 1918 during World War I with the Treaty of Bucharest (1918), in which Romania surrendered to the Central Powers (including Bulgaria). The Treaty of Neuilly (1919) following World War I returned it to Romania. Silistra remained a part of Romania until the Axis-sponsored Treaty of Craiova in 1940, when the town once again became part of Bulgaria, a transfer confirmed by the Paris Peace Treaties in 1947. Between 1913 and 1938, Silistra was the capital of Durostor County, (except during Bulgarian rule). It became part of Ţinutul Mării between 1938-1940 during Romanian rule. Following the establishment of the People's Republic of Bulgaria, Silistra developed as a center of industry and agriculture in the region, comparable to Ruse (because of the strategic position on the Danube) and Dobrich (due to the abundant fertile lands). This led to a major population increase which continued until 1985. After that, the population slowly started to decrease. Following the collapse of the People's Republic in 1989, many of its inhabitants migrated to other parts of the country or emigrated outside Bulgaria.

A panorama of Silistra and the Danube (far in the back some buildings in Călărași, Romania) can be seen.

Climate

Silistra has a temperate climate, with cold snowy winters and hot summers.

Population

In January 2012, Silistra was inhabited by 35 230 people within the city limits, while the Silistra Municipality along with the legally affiliated adjacent villages had 50 780 inhabitants.^[1] The number of the residents of the city (not the municipality) reached its peak in the period 1986-1991, when it exceeded 70,000.^[7] The following table presents the change of the population after 1887.

Ethnic, linguistic and religious composition

According to the latest 2011 census data, the individuals declared their ethnic identity were distributed as follows:^[12][13]

• Bulgarians: 29,677 (88.3%)
• Turks: 3,458 (10.3%)
• Romani: 123 (0.4%)
• Others: 190 (0.6%)
• Indefinable: 180 (0.5%)
  • Undeclared: 1,979 (5.6%)

Total: 35,607

The ethnic composition of Silistra Municipality is 40707 Bulgarians, 6258 as Turks and 899 Roma among others.

Notable natives

• Flavius Aetius (396-454), a Roman general, defeated Attila the Hun
• Saint Dimitra of Kiev (b. 1810), a Bulgarian saint
• Parteniy Pavlovich - cleric, author of the first autobiography in South Slavic literature
• Yıldız İbrahimova - jazz singer
• Veselin Metodiev - former minister of culture

Honour

Silistra Knoll on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named after Silistra.

"Silistra" is also the name of a fictional planet in Janet Morris' book High Couch of Silistra (1977).

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Silistra.

• Official municipality website (in Bulgarian and English)
• News from UNESCO nature reserve in Silistra
• Awarded "EDEN - European Destinations of Excellence" non traditional tourist destination 2010

Cities and towns of Bulgaria (2011 census)
1,000,000+	Sofia (capital)
300,000+	Plovdiv Varna
200,000+	Burgas
100,000+	Pleven Ruse Stara Zagora
50,000+	Asenovgrad Blagoevgrad Dobrich Gabrovo Haskovo Pazardzhik Pernik Shumen Sliven Veliko Tarnovo Vratsa Yambol
20,000+	Aytos Botevgrad Dimitrovgrad Dupnitsa Gorna Oryahovitsa Kardzhali Karlovo Kazanlak Kyustendil Lom Lovech Montana Nova Zagora Petrich Razgrad Samokov Sandanski Sevlievo Silistra Smolyan Svishtov Targovishte Troyan Velingrad Vidin
10,000+	Balchik Bankya Berkovitsa Byala Slatina Cherven Bryag Chirpan Elhovo Etropole Gotse Delchev Harmanli Ihtiman Karnobat Kavarna Knezha Kostinbrod Kozloduy Mezdra Nesebar Novi Iskar Novi Pazar Panagyurishte Parvomay Pavlikeni Peshtera Pomorie Popovo Provadia Radnevo Radomir Rakovski Razlog Stamboliyski Svilengrad
5,000+	Aksakovo Bansko Belene Belogradchik Beloslav Bobov Dol Bozhurishte Byala, Ruse Province Chepelare Devin Devnya Dolni Chiflik Dryanovo Dulovo Elena Elin Pelin Galabovo General Toshevo Hisarya Isperih Kostenets Kotel Krichim Krumovgrad Kubrat Kuklen Levski Lukovit Lyaskovets Lyubimets Madan Momchilgrad Omurtag Oryahovo Perushtitsa Pirdop Rakitovo Saedinenie Septemvri Simeonovgrad Simitli Slivnitsa Sopot, Plovdiv Province Sredets Straldzha Svoge Tervel Teteven Topolovgrad Tryavna Tsarevo Tutrakan Tvarditsa Varshets Veliki Preslav Yakoruda Zlatitsa Zlatograd
2,000+	Aheloy Apriltsi Ardino Batak Batanovtsi Belitsa Belovo Borovo Bratsigovo Bregovo Breznik Byala Chernomorets Dalgopol Debelets Dobrinishte Dolna Banya Dolna Mitropoliya Dolna Oryahovitsa Dolni Dabnik Dospat Dragoman Dunavtsi Dve Mogili Dzhebel Glodzhevo Godech Gulyantsi Gurkovo Hadzhidimovo Ignatievo* Iskar Ivaylovgrad Kableshkovo Kalofer Kameno Kaspichan Kilifarevo Klisura Kocherinovo Koprivshtitsa Kostandovo Koynare Kresna Kran Krivodol Kula Laki Letnitsa Loznitsa Maglizh Malko Tarnovo Marten Мizia Nedelino Nikolaevo Nikopol Obzor Opaka Pavel Banya Polski Trambesh Pordim Pravets Primorsko Rila Roman Rudozem Sadovo Sapareva Banya Sarnitsa Shabla Shivachevo Slavyanovo Slivo Pole Smyadovo Sozopol Strazhitsa Strelcha Sungurlare Suvorovo Sveti Vlas Tran Trastenik Tsar Kaloyan Ugarchin Valchedram Valchi Dol Varbitsa Vetovo Vetren Yablanitsa Zavet Zlataritsa
1,000+	Ahtopol Alfatar Antonovo Balgarovo Boboshevo Bolyarovo Boychinovtsi Brusartsi Byala Cherkva Chiprovtsi Dimovo Glavinitsa Gramada Kaolinovo Kermen Merichleri Momin Prohod Plachkovtsi Senovo Shipka Suhindol Zemen
500+	Kiten Madzharovo Pliska
499-	Melnik
Notes	city status after the census of 01.02.2011: Ignatievo, Kran

Municipality of Silistra
Capital: Silistra
Villages	Aydemir Babuk Balgarka Bogorovo Bradvari Glavan Kalipetrovo Kazimir Polkovnik Lambrinovo Popkralevo Profesor Ishirkovo Sarpovo Smilets Sratsimir Srebarna Tsenovich Vetren Yordanovo
Landmarks	Srebarna Nature Reserve Silistra History Museum Roman Tomb
Culture	Battle of Silistra Siege of Dorostolon
Notable people	Flavius Aetius Mariya Kocheva Denislav Kalchev Veselin Metodiev Petre Borilă Pavel Tsvetkov