Brăila (, also , ) is a city in
Muntenia
Muntenia (, also known in English as Greater Wallachia) is a historical region of Romania, part of Wallachia (also, sometimes considered Wallachia proper, as ''Muntenia'', ''Țara Românească'', and the rarely used ''Valahia'' are synonyms in Ro ...
, eastern
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
, a port on the
Danube
The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...
and the capital of
Brăila County
Brăila County () is a county (județ) of Romania, in Muntenia, with the capital city at Brăila.
Demographics
At the 2021 Romanian census, Brăila County had a population of 281,452 (172,533 people in urban areas and 108,919 people in rural ...
. The
''Sud-Est'' Regional Development Agency is located in Brăila.
According to the
2021 Romanian census
The 2021 Romanian census () was a census held in Romania between 1 February and 31 July 2022, with the reference day for the census data set at 1 December 2021. The census was supposed to be done in 2021, but it was postponed due to the COVID-19 ...
there were 154,686 people living within the city of Brăila,
making it the
11th-most populous city in Romania and the
9th-largest of all cities on the river Danube. The current
mayor of Brăila
The mayor of Brăila, officially the Mayor of the Municipality of Brăila (), is the head of the Brăila City Hall in Brăila, Romania. The current mayor of Brăila is PSD member , who was elected in the 2020 Romanian local elections
Local ...
is Viorel Marian Dragomir.
History
Origins
Before 14th century, a small village existed in the place of today's Brăila, probably inhabited by fishermen and small merchants.
[Rădvan, p.248] The village fell to the Mongols during the 1241
Mongol invasion of Europe
From the 1220s to the 1240s, the Mongol Empire, Mongols conquered the Turkic peoples, Turkic states of Volga Bulgaria, Cumania and Iranian peoples, Iranian state of Alania, and various principalities in Eastern Europe. Following this, they began ...
and it was under direct control of the rulers of
Argeș in mid-14th century.
A settlement called ''Drinago'' was found in several 14th century Catalan and Castillian
portolan chart
Portolan charts are nautical charts, first made in the 13th century in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean basin and later expanded to include other regions. The word ''portolan'' comes from the Italian language, Italian ''portolano'', meaning " ...
s (
Angelino de Dalorto, 1325/1330 and
Angelino Dulcert
Angelino Dulcert (floruit, fl. 1339), probably the same person known as Angelino de Dalorto (floruit, fl. 1320s), and whose real name was probably Angelino de Dulceto or Dulceti or possibly Angelí Dolcet, was an Italian people, Italian-Majorcan ca ...
, 1339), as well as in the ''
Book of Knowledge of All Kingdoms''. This may have been an erroneous transcription of ''Brillago'', a name which was later used in 15th century traveller's journals.
[Rădvan, p.249]
In
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
documents of roughly that time, the city is referred to as ''Proilabum'' or ''Proilava'', a Greek language adaptation of its
Slavic name, ''Brailov''. In
German language
German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western Europe, Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and Official language, official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switze ...
sources, it is mentioned as ''Uebereyl''. The origin and meaning of the name is unknown, but it is thought to be an
anthroponym
Anthroponymy (also anthroponymics or anthroponomastics, from Ancient Greek ἄνθρωπος ''anthrōpos'', 'human', and ὄνομα ''onoma'', 'name') is the study of ''anthroponyms'', the proper names of human beings, both individual and coll ...
.
The first certain document mentioning Brăila is a privilege act, given by
Vladislav I of Wallachia
Vladislav I of the Basarab dynasty, also known as Vlaicu or Vlaicu-Vodă, was the Voivode of Wallachia between 1364 and 1377. He was the son of Nicholas Alexander of Wallachia and Clara Dobokai.
In February 1369, Vladislav I subdued Vidin an ...
to German merchants of Brașov, who were exempt of customs duties when they followed the road from Brașov to the Danube ''via Braylan''.
[Rădvan, p.250]
Wallachian harbour
Following the fall of
Vicina, Brăila developed as the main harbour of
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...
,
gaining the town status around 1400.
In 1396,
Johann Schiltberger
Johann (Hans) Schiltberger (1380) was a German traveller and writer. He was born of a noble family, probably at Hollern near Lohhof halfway between Munich and Freising.
Travels
Schiltberger joined the suite of Lienhart Richartinger in 1394, ...
writes that Brăila was the place where ships docked, bringing "goods from heathen lands".
[Rădvan, p.252] Foreign merchants bringing goods were forced to unload their merchandise in Brăila, as it can be understood from a 1445 account of
Walerand de Wavrin.
A 1520 Ottoman account tells about the arrival of 70-80 ships in Brăila, bringing goods from
Asia Minor
Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...
and
Crimea
Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...
.
The town was also an important center of the fish trade: Polish merchants came to purchase it (1408) and this lucrative trade was taxed by the rulers following Vladislav I.
The town did have autonomy, being ruled by ''
pârgari'' and a ''
județ
A (, 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.
There are 41 in Romania, divided into municipii (municipalities), ''ora ...
''. We know little about the ethnic structure of the town, but it is expected it was quite diverse, having inhabitants from many backgrounds. One document from 1500 talks about ''Mihoci Latinețul'', a
Ragusan who had lived in Brăila for five years and was a member of the community.
[Rădvan, p.253]
In 1462,
Mehmed the Conqueror
Mehmed II (; , ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror (; ), was twice the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from August 1444 to September 1446 and then later from February 1451 to May 1481.
In Mehmed II's first reign, ...
's fleet of 25
trireme
A trireme ( ; ; cf. ) was an ancient navies and vessels, ancient vessel and a type of galley that was used by the ancient maritime civilizations of the Mediterranean Sea, especially the Phoenicians, ancient Greece, ancient Greeks and ancient R ...
s and 150 other ships burnt the city to the ground.
The city was also caught in the conflict between Wallachia and the
Moldavian prince
Stephen the Great
Stephen III, better known as Stephen the Great (; ; died 2 July 1504), was List of rulers of Moldavia, Voivode (or Prince) of Moldavia from 1457 to 1504. He was the son of and co-ruler with Bogdan II of Moldavia, Bogdan II, who was murdered in ...
, as the Moldavians destroyed the city during the retaliation campaign against
Wallachian prince
Radu the Fair.
An account of the Moldavian attack is found in ''
Cronica breviter scripta'':
The conflict was not just political, as the town of Brăila competed against Moldavian town of
Chilia.
[Rădvan, p.254] Nevertheless, Brăila recovered, soon becoming the gateway for
Levant
The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...
ine goods into Wallachia.
The town was burnt again by
Bogdan III of Moldavia
Bogdan III the One-Eyed () or Bogdan III the Blind (; 18 March 1479 – 20 April 1517) was Voivode of Moldavia from July 2, 1504, to 1517.
Family
Bogdan was born in Huși as the son of Voivode Stephen III (Stephen the Great) and his wife Mari ...
in 1512.
Ottoman harbour
Around 1538–1540, perhaps during the
Suleiman the Magnificent
Suleiman I (; , ; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the Western world and as Suleiman the Lawgiver () in his own realm, was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman sultan between 1520 a ...
's military expedition against
Petru Rareș
Petru Rareș (; – 3 September 1546) or Petru IV was twice voivode of Moldavia from 20 January 1527 to 18 September 1538 and from 19 February 1541 to 3 September 1546. He was an illegitimate child born (probably at Hârlău) to Stephen III of ...
, the city became a part of the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
, being organized as a
kaza
A kaza (, "judgment" or "jurisdiction") was an administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire, administrative division of the Ottoman Empire. It is also discussed in English under the names district, subdistrict, and juridical district. Kazas co ...
and forming part of the
Silistra Eyalet.
The town was part of the Empire's northern defensive network and the Ottomans built a stone stronghold in the town.
[Rădvan, p.255]
The Ottoman Empire ruled it from 1538–1540 until 1829; the Ottomans called it ''Ibrail'' or ''Ibraila''. It was briefly ruled by
Michael the Brave
Michael the Brave ( or ; 1558 – 9 August 1601), born as Mihai Pătrașcu, was the Prince of Wallachia (as Michael II, 1593–1601), Prince of Moldavia (1600) and ''de facto'' ruler of Principality of Transylvania (1570–1711), Transylvani ...
, prince of Wallachia (1595–1596) before it was recaptured by the Ottomans.
Modern history
In 1711, the city was besieged and conquered by a
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...
n-
Russian
Russian(s) may refer to:
*Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*A citizen of Russia
*Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages
*''The Russians'', a b ...
army during the
Pruth River Campaign. In 1828, the siege of Brăila took place. In 1829, it was granted to Wallachia by the
Akkerman Convention.
During the 19th century, the port became one of the three most important ports on the Danube in Wallachia, the other two being
Turnu and
Giurgiu
Giurgiu (; ; ) is a city in southern Romania. The seat of Giurgiu County, it lies in the historical region of Muntenia. It is situated amongst mud-flats and marshes on the left bank of the Danube facing the Bulgarian city of Ruse on the op ...
. The city's greatest period of prosperity was at the end of the 19th century and in the early 20th century, when it was an important port for most of the merchandise coming in and going out of Romania.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Brăila was captured on 28 August 1944 by
Soviet
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
troops of the
3rd Ukrainian Front in the course of the
Jassy–Kishinev Offensive.
After the
1989 Revolution, Brăila entered a period of economic decline.
Demographics
At the
2021 census, Brăila had a population of 154,686,
a decrease from the figure recorded at the
2011 census.
The ethnic makeup was as follows (as of 2011):
*
Romanians
Romanians (, ; dated Endonym and exonym, exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group and nation native to Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Sharing a Culture of Romania, ...
: 97.21%
*
Lipovans
The Lipovans or Lippovans are ethnic Russians, Russian Old Believers living in Romania, Ukraine, Moldova and Bulgaria who settled in the Principality of Moldavia, in the east of the Principality of Wallachia (Muntenia), and in the regions of D ...
: 1.14%
*
Roma: 0.97%
*
Greeks
Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...
: 0.1%
*
Other: 0.3%
Metropolitan area
Geography
Brăila is part of the strategically important
Focșani Gate.
Economy
Accessible to small and medium-sized oceangoing ships, Brăila has large grain-handling and warehousing facilities. It is also an important industrial center, with metalworking, textile, food-processing, and other factories. The naval industry is one of the focus of Brăila's revenue bringers.
Cityscape
Brăila has the following districts: Centru (Center), Viziru (1, 2, 3),
Călărași 4, Ansamblul Buzăului, Radu Negru, Obor, Hipodrom, Lacu Dulce, Dorobanți, 1 Mai, Comorofca, Calea Galați, Gării, Apollo, Siret, Pisc, Brăilița,
Vidin-Progresul, Islaz, and
Chercea.
Landmarks
Streets radiating from near the port towards Brăila's center are crossed at symmetrical intervals by concentric streets following the geometric design of the old Ottoman fortifications.
The old center of the city has many 19th-century buildings, some of them fully restored. The most important monuments are the
Greek Church, erected in 1863–1872 by the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
community; the
Church of the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel, former ''
jāmi
Nūr ad-Dīn 'Abd ar-Rahmān Jāmī (; 7 November 1414 – 9 November 1492), also known as Mawlanā Nūr al-Dīn 'Abd al-Rahmān or Abd-Al-Rahmān Nur-Al-Din Muhammad Dashti, or simply as Jami or Djāmī and in Turkey as Molla Cami, was a ...
'' during the Ottoman rule (until 1831) and oldest church in the city; the 19th-century
St. Nicholas Church; the
Maria Filotti Theatre
The Maria Filotti is a theatre in Brăila, Romania.
History
The theatre was built in 1896 as "Teatrul Rally". In 1919, it was renamed "Teatrul Comunal" ("The Communal Theatre"), in 1949, "Teatrul del Stat Brăila – Galați
Galați ( , , ; ...
; the Palace of Culture and its Art Museum; the History Museum; and the old Water Tower. The latter houses a restaurant and a rotation system (360° in one hour). Still, the city has some landmarks from the 20th century, such as the
Palace of Agriculture.
Another important site is the Public Garden, a park situated above the bank of the Danube with a view over the river and the
Măcin Mountains
The Măcin Mountains () is a mountain range in Tulcea County, Romania. Part of the Northern Dobruja Massif, they are located between Danube River to the north and west, Taița River and ''Culmea Niculițelului'' to the east and Casimcea Platea ...
. Early in 2006 the municipality received
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
funds to renovate the old center of the city, aiming to transform Brăila into a major tourist attraction of Muntenia.
The other important park of the city is the Monument Park, one of the largest urban parks in Romania, covering an area of up to . The park is home to the Natural Science permanent exhibition of Brăila Museum, hosting several dioramas that depict the flora and fauna of the region.
The city also hosts an Armenian Apostolic church from the 19th century, the
St. Mary Armenian Church.
Transportation
Brăila features one of the oldest electrical
tram
A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...
lines in Romania, inaugurated at the end of the 19th century and still in use. Brăila's bus system is operated by the town hall in cooperation with Braicar Company, with four primary bus configurations available servicing most of the city. Brăila also has
a railway station.
Culture
Local media
The city has several local newspapers, including ''Obiectiv-Vocea Brăilei'', ''
Monitorul de Brăila'', ''
Ziarul de Brăila'' and ''Arcașu.
Rivalry with Galați
Brăila has a deep rivalry with neighbouring Galați. This conflict has a long history and has reached the point of being studied by academics. In fact, a group of Romanian researchers have already published the book ''Galați – Brăila. Trecut. Actualitate. Perspective'' ("Galați – Brăila. Past. Present. Perspectives").
Notable people
*
Petre Andrei
*
Ana Aslan
*
Anton Bacalbașa
*
George Baronzi
*
Daniela Buruiană
*
Beatrice Câșlaru
*
Alexandru Chipciu
*
Georgia Crăciun
*
Anișoara Cușmir-Stanciu
*
Hariclea Darclée
*
Catrinel Dumitrescu
*
Constantin von Economo
*
Andreas Embirikos
*
Gabriela Enache
*
Maria Filotti
Maria Filotti (9 October 1883, Batogu, Brăila, Batogu, Brăila County, Romania – 5 November 1956, Bucharest, Romania) was a Romanian actress . She was described as one of the "prestigious actors of the great realistic school" and the "directres ...
*
Liviu Floda
*
Pnina Granirer
*
Paulică Ion
*
Nae Ionescu
Nae Ionescu (, born Nicolae C. Ionescu; – 15 March 1940) was a Romanian philosopher, logician, mathematician, professor, and journalist.
Life
Born in Brăila, Ionescu studied Letters at the University of Bucharest until 1912. Upon graduati ...
*
Panait Istrati
*
Joseph M. Juran
*
Antigone Kefala
*
Valentin Mavrodin
*
Manea Mănescu
Manea Mănescu (; 9August 191627February 2009) was a Romanian communist politician who served as Prime Minister for five years (27February 197429March 1979) during Nicolae Ceaușescu's Communist regime.
His father was a Communist Party veteran f ...
*
Ștefan Mihăilescu-Brăila
Ștefan Mihăilescu-Brăila (; 3 February 1925 – 19 September 1996) was a Romanian actor. He appeared in more than fifty films from 1959 to 1984.
Selected filmography
References
External links
*
1925 births
1996 deaths
Romanian ...
*
Gheorghe Mihoc
*
Mina Minovici
*
Diana Mocanu
*
Petru Mocanu
*
Jean Moscopol
*
Serge Moscovici
Serge Moscovici (; June 14, 1925 – November 15, 2014) born Srul Herş Moscovici, was a Romanian-born French social psychologist, director of the Laboratoire Européen de Psychologie Sociale ("European Laboratory of Social Psychology"), which ...
*
Valeriu Niculescu
*
Perpessicius
*
Alina Popa
*
Camelia Potec
*
Nicolae Rainea
Nicolae Rainea (19 November 1933 – 1 April 2015), nicknamed ''The Locomotive of the Carpathians'', was a Romanian football (soccer), football referee and Football player, player. Among the most highly regarded referees of his generation, he is ...
*
Johnny Răducanu
*
Eugen Schileru
*
Mihail Sebastian
*
Tudorel Stoica
Tudorel Stoica (born 7 September 1954, in Brăila, Brăila County, Romania) is a Romanian former footballer who played as a midfielder. He is the most capped player in the history of Steaua București.
He is one of the most famous and succe ...
*
Costică Toma
*
Christos Tsaganeas
*
Andrei Tudor
*
Mihai Tudose
Mihai Tudose (; born 6 March 1967) is a Romanian politician, jurist and academic, deputy in the Parliament of Romania, a former Minister of Economy in 2017 and a former Prime Minister of Romania in 2018. On 16 January, 2018 he resigned from his ...
*
Ida Verona
*
Ilarie Voronca
*
Eléna Wexler-Kreindler
*
Iannis Xenakis
Giannis Klearchou Xenakis (also spelled for professional purposes as Yannis or Iannis Xenakis; , ; 29 May 1922 – 4 February 2001) was a Romanian-born Greek-French avant-garde composer, music theorist, architect, performance director and enginee ...
*
Marius Zirra
International relations
Twin towns – sister cities
Brăila is
twinned with:
*
Pleven in Bulgaria.
*
Shumen
Shumen (, also Romanization of Bulgarian, romanized as ''Shoumen'' or ''Šumen'', ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, tenth-largest city in Bulgaria and the administrative and economic capital of Shumen Province.
Etymology
The city ...
in Bulgaria.
*
Calais
Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...
in France.
*
Argostoli
Argostoli (, Katharevousa: ) is a town and a municipality on the island of Kefalonia, Ionian Islands (region), Ionian Islands, Greece. Since the 2019 local government reform it is one of the three municipalities on the island. It has been the capi ...
in Greece.
*
Katerini
Katerini (, ''Kateríni'', ) is a city and municipality in northern Greece, the capital city of Regional Unit of Piera in Central Macedonia, Greece. It lies on the Pierian plain, between Mount Olympus and the Thermaikos Gulf, at an altitude ...
in Greece.
*
Bitola
Bitola (; ) is a city in the southwestern part of North Macedonia. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba, Nidže, and Kajmakčalan mountain ranges, north of the Medžitlija-Níki border crossing ...
in North Macedonia.
*
Kavadarci
Kavadarci ( ) is a town in the Tikveš region of North Macedonia. In the heart of North Macedonia's wine country, it is home to the largest winery in Southeast Europe, named after the Tikveš plain. The town of Kavadarci is the seat of Kavadarc ...
in North Macedonia.
*
Denizli
Denizli is a city in Aegean Region, Aegean Turkey, and seat of the province of Denizli Province, Denizli. The city forms the urban part of the districts Merkezefendi and Pamukkale, Denizli, Pamukkale, with a population of 691 783 in 2024.
Denizl ...
in Turkey.
*
Nilüfer in Turkey.
*
Beşiktaş
Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 18 km2 and its population is 175,190 (2022). It is located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and ...
in
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
.
Image gallery
File:Maria Filotti Braila.jpg
File:Spitalul Judetean de Urgenta Braila.jpg
File:Palatul Agriculturii, Braila.jpg
File:Braila - faleza (1).jpg
File:Braila - faleza (2).jpg
File:Braila - faleza (3).jpg
File:Braila - Mihai Eminescu street (1).jpg
File:Braila - Mihai Eminescu street (2).jpg
Notes
References
* Laurențiu Rădvan, ''At Europe's Borders: Medieval Towns in the Romanian Principalities'',
Brill
Brill may refer to:
Places
* Brielle (sometimes "Den Briel"), a town in the western Netherlands
* Brill, Buckinghamshire, a village in England
* Brill, Cornwall, a small village to the west of Constantine, Cornwall, UK
* Brill, Wisconsin, an un ...
, 2010,
{{DEFAULTSORT:Braila
Capitals of Romanian counties
Cities in Romania
Localities in Muntenia
Market towns in Wallachia
Populated places in Brăila County
Populated places on the Danube
Port cities and towns in Romania