Durostor County was a county (''

județ A ''județ'' (, plural ) is an administrative division in Romania, and was also used from 1940 to 1947 in the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic and from 1998 to 2003 in Moldova. ''Județ'' translates into English as "jurisdiction", but is com ...

'') of the

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania ( ro, Regatul României) was a constitutional monarchy that existed in Romania from 13 March ( O.S.) / 25 March 1881 with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian ...

, in

Southern Dobruja Southern Dobruja, South Dobruja or Quadrilateral (Bulgarian: Южна Добруджа, ''Yuzhna Dobrudzha'' or simply Добруджа, ''Dobrudzha''; ro, Dobrogea de Sud, or ) is an area of northeastern Bulgaria comprising Dobrich and Silistra ...

, with the seat at

Silistra Silistra ( bg, Силистра ; tr, Silistre; ro, Silistra) is a town in Northeastern Bulgaria. The town 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. Sil ...

. The county was located in the south-eastern part of

Greater Romania The term Greater Romania ( ro, România Mare) usually refers to the borders of the Kingdom of Romania in the interwar period, achieved after the Great Union. It also refers to a pan-nationalist idea. As a concept, its main goal is the creation ...

, in the southern Dobrogea region, known as

Cadrilater Southern Dobruja, South Dobruja or Quadrilateral ( Bulgarian: Южна Добруджа, ''Yuzhna Dobrudzha'' or simply Добруджа, ''Dobrudzha''; ro, Dobrogea de Sud, or ) is an area of northeastern Bulgaria comprising Dobrich and Silis ...

. Currently the territory of the former county is split between

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

and Romania; in Bulgaria, the former county's territory belongs to Silistra Province, the eastern part of the former county remained within territory of Romania constituting the territory around Ostrov in today's

Constanța County Constanța () is a county ( județ) of Romania on the border with Bulgaria, in the Dobruja region. Its capital city is also named Constanța. Demographics In 2011, it had a population of 684,082 and the population density was 96/km2. The deg ...

. The county consisted of 4 districts ('' plăși''): Accadânlar, Curtbunar,

, and

Turtucaia Tutrakan ( bg, Тутракан , ro, Тurtucaia, tr, Turtukaya) is a town in northeastern Bulgaria, an administrative centre of the homonymous municipality, part of Silistra Province. It is situated on the right bank of the Danube opposite ...

. The county was neighbored by the counties of

Ilfov Ilfov () is the Counties of Romania, county that surrounds Bucharest, the capital of Romania. It used to be largely rural, but, after the fall of Communism, many of the county's villages and communes developed into high-income commuter towns, wh ...

and Ialomița to the north, Caliacra and

Constanța Constanța (, ; ; rup, Custantsa; bg, Кюстенджа, Kyustendzha, or bg, Констанца, Konstantsa, label=none; el, Κωνστάντζα, Kōnstántza, or el, Κωνστάντια, Kōnstántia, label=none; tr, Köstence), histo ...

to the east, and the

Kingdom of Bulgaria The Tsardom of Bulgaria ( bg, Царство България, translit=Tsarstvo Balgariya), also referred to as the Third Bulgarian Tsardom ( bg, Трето Българско Царство, translit=Treto Balgarsko Tsarstvo, links=no), someti ...

to the south.

History

As a result of Romania's involvement in the Second Balkan War, the part of the Cadrilater north of the

–

Balcic Balchik ( bg, Балчик ; ro, Balcic) is a Black Sea coastal town and seaside resort in the Southern Dobruja area of northeastern Bulgaria. It is in Dobrich Province, 35 km southeast of Dobrich and 42 km northeast of Varna. It spra ...

line was annexed by Romania in 1913, despite criticism on the a part of the political opposition, e.g., the socialist

Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea (born Solomon Katz; 1855, village of Slavyanka near Yekaterinoslav (modern Dnipro), then in Imperial Russia – 1920, Bucharest) was a Romanian Marxist theorist, politician, sociologist, literary critic, and jour ...

, who appreciated that this act would create for Romania a new and fierce enemy over a frontier on its southern flank, in Bulgaria which had, until then, been a friendly country whose independence had been obtained simultaneously with Romania's.Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea - ''„Opere Complete”'' (Ed. Politică, 1976-1983, cited in Catherine Durandin: ''"Istoria Românilor"'', tranlation by L. Buruiană-Popovici, Ed. Institutului European, București, 1998) After the annexation of the Cadrilater to Romania, Durostor County, headquartered in Silistra, was established in the same year. Bulgaria managed to regain it between 1916 and 1918, but then lost it again after the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

(''see

Treaty of Neuilly The Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine (french: Traité de Neuilly-sur-Seine) required Bulgaria to cede various territories, after Bulgaria had been one of the Central Powers defeated in World War I. The treaty was signed on 27 November 1919 at Neuilly ...

''). Durostor County, together with the rest of the Cadrilater, remained with Romania until 1940, when the

Treaty of Craiova The Treaty of Craiova ( bg, Крайовска спогодба, Krayovska spogodba; ro, Tratatul de la Craiova) was signed on 7 September 1940 and ratified on 13 September 1940 by the Kingdom of Bulgaria and the Kingdom of Romania. Under its te ...

of September 7 returned to Bulgaria as an indirect consequence of

Nazi German Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

political pressure on the Romanian government.

Etymology

The county was named after the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

name of Silistra, ''Durostorum''.

Coat of arms

The Coat of Arms depicted

Mircea the Elder Mircea the Elder ( ro, Mircea cel Bătrân, ; c. 1355 – 31 January 1418) was the Voivode of Wallachia from 1386 until his death in 1418. He was the son of Radu I of Wallachia and brother of Dan I of Wallachia, after whose death he inherited t ...

Population

According to the Romanian census of 1930 the population of Durostor County was 211,433, of which 42.8% were ethnic

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...

, 34.2% ethnic

Bulgarians Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe. Etymology Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not completely understo ...

, 19.0% ethnic

Romanians The Romanians ( ro, români, ; dated exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group. Sharing a common Culture of Romania, Romanian culture and Cultural heritage, ancestry, and speaking the Romanian language, they l ...

, 1.4%

Romanies The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with si ...

, as well as other minorities.Recensământul general al populației României din 29 decemvrie 1930, Vol. II, pag. 186-187 Classified by religion: 54.0%

Orthodox Christian Orthodoxy (from Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Antiquity, but different Churche ...

, 45.1%

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

, as well as other minorities.Recensământul general al populației României din 29 decemvrie 1930, Vol. II, pag. 614 By 1937, the population was estimated to have risen to 230,309.

Administrative organization

The county's capital was the town of

(sometimes referred to by an antiquated

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language *** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language ** Romanian cuisine, tradition ...

name, Dârstor). Other urban centres were the towns of Ostrov and

. The territory of the county was divided into five districts ('' plăși''):Portretul României Interbelice - Județul Durostor
/ref> #Plasa Accadânlar, headquartered in Accadânlar (with 48 villages) #Plasa Curtbunar, headquartered in Curtbunar (with 41 villages) #Plasa Silistra, headquartered in

or Doimușlar (with 33 villages) #Plasa Turtucaia, headquartered in

(with 43 villages) #Plasa Ostrov, headquartered in Ostrov (with 30 villages)

After 1938

After the 1938 ''Administrative and Constitutional Reform'', the county was merged with the counties of Constanța, Caliacra, and Ialomița to form

Ținutul Mării Ținutul Mării was one of the ten ''ținuturi'' ("lands") of Romania, founded in 1938 after King of Romania, King Carol II of Romania, Carol II initiated an institutional reform by modifying the 1923 Constitution of Romania, 1923 Constitution and ...

. On September 7, 1940, the former county (except for the north-eastern corner comprising Ostrov and Lipnița communes) with the whole Southern Dobruja was returned to Bulgaria (''see

'').

References

External links

*
Durostor County on memoria.ro
{{coord missing, Romania Dobruja Former counties of Romania 1938 disestablishments in Romania 1913 establishments in Romania States and territories disestablished in 1938 States and territories established in 1913 Bulgaria–Romania border