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ABOUT
Silistra
AREA |
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The town of Silistra (population: 42 153; 20 m above sea-level) is situated on
the right (Bulgarian) bank of the river Danube, on 375th kilometres away from
the river mouth, at the point where the river enters the territory of Romania
and the terrestrial boundary between Bulgaria and Romania begins. It is 442 km
and 122 km north-east of Sofia and Rousse respectively, 108 km north-east of
Razgrad, 113 km north of Silistra, and 92 km and 143 km north-west of Dobrich
and Varna respectively. A district centre.
There are very few Bulgarian towns that can compete with Silistra in richness
of historical past. The town is the successor of the Roman Durostorum (translated
as “solid fortress”, built by Emperor Trayan). It was first mentioned in 105.
In 169 during the reign of emperor Marcus Aurelius Durostorum became a
municipal – an independent town (in 1969 people celebrated 1800th anniversary
of the town) that domineered as a centre of the Roman province of Dolna Mizia.
The town was one of the early centres, which promoted Christianity. In 303 the
soldier Dazius was beheaded, and the local inhabitant Emilian perished on the
stake; both of them were partisans of the new Christian faith. They were
declared saints and included in the catholic calendar.
The great commander Flavius Aecius was born here; he was the one who defeated
Atila, the Huns’ leader whom the inhabitants of Rome had considered a real
horror. The successor of Rome, i.e. Byzantium, restored the ruins of the town
during the reign of emperor Justinian in 6th century and gave it the name of
Dorostol. Until 600 it had been an episcopal centre.
The Bulgarians called it Drustur and after the adoption of Christianity it
became the main religious centre in the country. Under the Byzantine rule it
was a main town in the region of Podounavie. In 1074 a rebellion against the
Byzantine under the leadership of Nestor broke off. The town was an important
fortress of the Bulgarian kingdom in 13th-14th centuries. In 1388 the Romanian
leader Mircha Stari conquered the town, and after 1413 it was within the
territory of the Ottoman Empire.
The town received its present day name during the Turkish rule as a result of
the preceding Diristur and Dristra. The poet Partenius Pavlovich was born in
Silistra in 1695. During the Russian-Turkish wars at the end of 18th century
and the first half of 19th century the great Russian generals Roumyantsev,
Souvorov, Bagration, Kou-tou-zov, Dibich Zabalkanski took part in battles near
the fortress of Silistra (in fact there were two fortresses - Medgeditabia and
Arabtabia on both hills above the town) which later on became part of the
defensive rectangular of the Turkish empire (Rouschouk - Silistra - Varna -
Silistra).
In 1958 the inhabitants of Silistra received as a present the key to the
fortress of Silistra which had been seized as a trophy on 12 June 1810 by
generals Kamenski and Koutouzov, and kept in Sanct Petersburg. Between 1828
and 1835 Silistra was a free town as a result of its conquest by the Russian
army with captain Georgi Mamarchev at the lead (a Bulgarian in Russian service).
The great writer Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy took part in the Russian siege in
1854. In 1812 a monastery school was established, and in 1891 - a pedagogical
school, in Silistra. The Swiss Louie Aier spent some time teaching physical
education (his name was associated with popularising a number of sports in
Bulgaria) in the town (as well as in Rousse and Lom) and died as an officer in
World War I near Doyran. From 1913 till 1940 the town was within the
boundaries of Romania. |
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