Chilia Veche (Romanian pronunciation: /kiˈlija ˈveˈke/; meaning ''Old Chilia''; uk, Стара Кілія, translit=Stara Kiliia) is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

Tulcea County Tulcea County () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in the historical region Dobruja, with the capital city at Tulcea. It includes in its northeast corner the large and thinly-populated estuary of the Danube. Demographics In 2011, Tulcea Co ...

Northern Dobruja Northern Dobruja ( ro, Dobrogea de Nord or simply ; bg, Северна Добруджа, ''Severna Dobrudzha'') is the part of Dobruja within the borders of Romania. It lies between the lower Danube river and the Black Sea, bordered in the south ...

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

, in the

Danube Delta The Danube Delta ( ro, Delta Dunării, ; uk, Дельта Дунаю, Deľta Dunaju, ) is the second largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta, and is the best preserved on the continent. The greater part of the Danube Delta lies in Ro ...

. It gave its name to the

Chilia branch The Chilia branch (; ) is one of three main distributary channels of the river Danube that contributes to forming the Danube Delta. Lying at the northernmost area of the delta, the distributary creates a natural border between Romania and Ukrai ...

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 , pa ...

, which separates it from

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

. It is composed of four villages: Câșlița, Chilia Veche, Ostrovu Tătaru and Tatanir. Founded by the Greek Byzantines, it was given its name after the word for "granaries" - , ''kellia'', recorded earliest in 1241 in the works of Persian

chronicler A chronicle ( la, chronica, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and lo ...

Rashid al-Din. Some scholars consider the mediaeval Genoese trade centre known as ''Lycostomo'' () was also located here. A town on the other side of the

, now in

, known as '' Novo Kilia'' ( ro, Chilia Nouă) or "Newer Chilia", was built by Stephen the Great of

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...

in order to counteract the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

(that had taken control of the former town in the 15th century). Ostrovu Tătaru village, which has no permanent population, is located on

Tătaru Mare Island Tătaru Mare Island (Romanian: Insula Tătaru Mare/Ostrovul Tătaru) is a Romanian island in the northernmost branch of the Danube Delta. Characteristics The island has a surface area of and is of high importance to the local agriculture, its so ...

References

* for the commune * for the town Communes in Tulcea County Localities in Northern Dobruja Romania–Ukraine border crossings Byzantine sites in Romania Territories of the Republic of Genoa Place names of Greek origin in Romania {{Tulcea-geo-stub