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 Silistra Province ( bg, Област Силистра, transliterated ''Oblast Silistra'', former name Silistra okrug) is a province of Bulgaria, named after its main city - Silistra. It is divided into seven municipalities with a total popula ...

. 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 , pa ...

opposite the

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 ...

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 A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water ta ...

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 and 62 km west of

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. Si ...

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 (753–50 ...

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 Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...

, it was made one of the largest strongholds of the Danubian limes. 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 In the medieval history of Europe, Bulgaria's status as the Bulgarian Empire ( bg, Българско царство, ''Balgarsko tsarstvo'' ) occurred in two distinct periods: between the seventh and the eleventh centuries and again between the ...

, which was conquered by the

Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

in the late 14th century. Tutrakan was liberated from Ottoman rule during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78 by Russians to become part of the Kingdom of Bulgaria. 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 ...

, 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Treaty of Craiova returned the territory to Bulgaria. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, the town, then part of Romania, was the site of the important Battle of Tutrakan 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 W ...

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-cen ...

, 62 km west of

and 74 km north of Razgrad. 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 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 W ...

community *

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

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, 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