Silistra
Silistra (
Bulgarian:
Силистра , historically Bulgarian
"ръстър (
Drastar, and Romanian
Dârstor) is a
port city of northeastern
Bulgaria, lying on the southern side of the lower
Danube at the country's border with
Romania. Silistra is the administrative centre of
Silistra Province and one of the important cities of the historical region of
Southern Dobruja.
Founded as a
Roman fortress named
Durostorum (or
Dorostorum) in
AD 29, the settlement became an important military centre 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 centre of Christianity in the region, and Roman general
Flavius Aëtius was born in the town in
396. After the Roman Empire was split, the town (known as
"ουρόστολον, Durostolon in Byzantine Greek) became part of the
Byzantine Empire.
|
Silistra Art Gallery building |
Around the end of the
7th century, the town was incorporated in the
First Bulgarian Empire and the bishop of Drastar was proclaimed the first
patriarch of Bulgaria. The town was captured by the forces of
Sviatoslav I of Kiev in
969, before being seized by the
Byzantines in
972 for a brief period until
976, when Tsar
Samuil restored Bulgarian rule in the region until
1001, when it was once again incorporated within the bounds of the Byzantine Empire.
In
1186, after the
Vlach-Bulgarian Rebellion, the town became part of the
Second Bulgarian Empire until the Ottoman conquest of Bulgaria in
1396.
During
Ottoman rule, Silistra (
Silistre in
Ottoman Turkish) was part of
Rumelia Province and was the administrative centre of the Silistra
sanjak. This sanjak was later upgraded to become the
Silistra Province (
eyalet) that stretched over most of the western
Black Sea littoral. The town was captured by
Russian forces numerous times during the
Russo-Turkish Wars.
In
1878, following the
Russo-Turkish War of 1877"1878, Silistra was included in the newly autonomous
Principality of Bulgaria, which became the
Kingdom of Bulgaria in
1908.
Following the
Second Balkan War, the
Treaty of Bucharest (
1913) granted Silistra and the whole of
Southern Dobruja to
Romania. Although Bulgaria regained the town 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 of
1940, when the town once again became part of Bulgaria, a transfer confirmed by the
Paris Peace Treaties of
1947.
|
A panorama of Silistra and the Danube |
*
Official municipality website (in Bulgarian and English)
*
Silistra article at Pictures Of Bulgaria*
Silistra district - Guide to cities and villages in region (population, codes, sizes, etc.)*
Silistra at Port.bg*
Domino.bg page about Silistra*
forum @ Silistra (in Bulgarian)
*
Silistra Online Guide (in Bulgarian)
*
Virtual Silistra
