Tutrakan ( bg, Тутракан , ro, Тurtucaia, tr, Turtukaya) is a town in northeastern

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 Macedo ...

, an administrative centre of the homonymous municipality, part of Silistra Province. It is situated on the right bank of the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...

opposite the

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

n town of

Oltenița Oltenița () is a city in Călărași County, Muntenia, Romania, on the left bank of the river Argeș, where its waters flow into the Danube. Geography The city is located in the southwestern part of the county; it stands across the Danube fro ...

(to which it was linked through a ferry but the ferry does not work anymore), in the very west of

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 Silis ...

, 58 km east of

Rousse Ruse (also transliterated as Rousse, Russe; bg, Русе ) is the fifth largest city in Bulgaria. Ruse is in the northeastern part of the country, on the right bank of the Danube, opposite the Romanian city of Giurgiu, approximately south of ...

and 62 km west of Silistra.

History

The town was founded by the

Ancient Romans In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 ...

in the end of the first half of the 1st century under the name ''Transmarisca''. The settlement was part of the Roman military boundary in the 1st and 3rd century and reached its apogee in the 4th century, when, under the personal management of Diocletian, it was made one of the largest strongholds of the Danubian

limes Limes may refer to: * the plural form of lime (disambiguation) Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a ...

. The ancient town and fortress were destroyed in the beginning of the 7th century and the modern town carrying its present name emerged in the end of the century, remaining a military centre through the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

as part of the Bulgarian Empire, which was conquered by the Ottomans in the late 14th century. Tutrakan was liberated from

Ottoman rule Ottoman is the Turkish spelling of the Arabic masculine given name Uthman ( ar, عُثْمان, ‘uthmān). It may refer to: Governments and dynasties * Ottoman Caliphate, an Islamic caliphate from 1517 to 1924 * Ottoman Empire, in existence fro ...

during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78 by Russians to become part of 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 ...

. After the

Second Balkan War The Second Balkan War was a conflict which broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Serbia and Greece, on 16 ( O.S.) / 29 (N.S.) June 1913. Serbian and Greek armies r ...

, it was incorporated, along with all of Southern Dobruja, in Romania until 1940, when the pre-

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

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 ...

returned the territory to Bulgaria. During

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 ...

, the town, then part of Romania, was the site of the important

Battle of Tutrakan The Battle of Turtucaia ( ro, Bătălia de la Turtucaia; bg, Битка при Тутракан, ''Bitka pri Tutrakan''), also known as Tutrakan Epopee ( bg, Тутраканска епопея, ''Tutrakanska epopeya'') in Bulgaria, was the openi ...

during which Bulgarian and German

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in ...

forces defeated the Romanian forces. Today it remains a vibrant fishing village, and the historic Fisherman's Quarter continues to attract tourists, bicyclists, boaters and artists.

Geography

The town is 58 km east of

Ruse Ruse may refer to: Places *Ruse, Bulgaria, a major city of Bulgaria **Ruse Municipality ** Ruse Province ** 19th MMC – Ruse, a constituency *Ruše, a town and municipality in north-eastern Slovenia * Ruše, Žalec, a small settlement in east-ce ...

, 62 km west of Silistra and 74 km north of

Razgrad Razgrad ( bg, Разград ) is a city in Northeastern Bulgaria in the valley of the Beli Lom river that falls within the historical and geographical region of Ludogorie (Deliorman). It is an administrative center of Razgrad Province. Etymolog ...

. Its port facilitates communications and determines the significant place that Tutrakan has occupied and occupies in its historical development. The city is located at 26°36' east longitude and 44°03' north latitude. The altitude is 13 m from the river bank, and the plateau (the flat part of the city), located 500 m from the river, reaches 126 m.

Religion

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

community * Muslim community (Islam) *

Adventist Adventism is a branch of Protestant Christianity that believes in the imminent Second Coming (or the "Second Advent") of Jesus Christ. It originated in the 1830s in the United States during the Second Great Awakening when Baptist preacher Wil ...

community *

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

community

Notable people

* Angel Cheshmedzhiev * Dobri Nemirov * Nikola Mavrodinov (1904 – 1958), book publisher from XIX – XX c. * Petar Mavrodinov (1873 – 1948), teacher, book publisher and public figure * BASA-1271K-1-161-39-Dobri Nemirov

Tita, singer

Gallery

Image:Tutrakan-military-cemetery.jpg, 1764 Bulgarian soldiers rest in the military cemetery in Tutrakan Image:Monument_of_Panteley_Kiselov_in_Tutrakan,_Bulgaria.jpg, Monument of Bulgarian general

Panteley Kiselov Panteley Kiselov ( bg, Пантелей Киселов) (23 October 1863 – 14 October 1927) was a Bulgarian soldier and general who fought in the Serbo-Bulgarian War of 1885, the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913 and World War I. He is best kno ...

, who liberated a part of South Dobrudja during the First World War.

References

External links

Photo gallery of Tutrakan

Tutrakan municipal council website

Tutrakan museums website

Tutrakan Historical Museum website

Website of the Muslim board in Tutrakan

Kalimok-Brashlen Protected Site website
{{Authority control Towns in Bulgaria Populated places on the Danube Populated places in Silistra Province Bulgaria–Romania border crossings