Giurgiulești () is a commune in the Cahul District of

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

. It is also a border crossing point to Romania, located from

Galați Galați ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names) is the capital city of Galați County in the historical region of Western Moldavia, in eastern Romania. Galați is a port town on the river Danube. and the sixth-larges ...

Geography

The locality is in the southernmost point of

, at the confluence of the river

Prut The Prut (also spelled in English as Pruth; , ) is a river in Eastern Europe. It is a left tributary of the Danube, and is long. Part of its course forms Romania's border with Moldova and Ukraine. Characteristics The Prut originates on the eas ...

with 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 ...

, on the border with

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 ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. The commune consists of one village, Giurgiulești.

Economy

Moldova has access to the Danube for only about . The Port of Giurgiulești is the only Moldovan port on the Danube. The building of an

oil terminal An oil terminal (also called a tank farm, tankfarm, oil installation or oil depot) is an industrial facility for the storage of oil, petroleum and petrochemical products, and from which these Petroleum product, products are transported to end u ...

started there in 1996, and was finished in 2006. As of 2015 there were no facilities in Giurgiulești for travellers or visiting crew members. The future international airport of the Lower Danube metropolitan area is located just from Giurgiulești.

Demographics

The commune has a population of 3,074. At the 2014 census, Giurgiulești had a population of 2,866, of which 2,434 (84.9%) are

Moldovans Moldovans, sometimes referred to as Moldavians (, , ), are an ethnic group native to Moldova, who mostly speak the Romanian language, also referred to locally as Moldovan language, Moldovan. Moldovans form significant communities in Romania, It ...

, 382 (13.33%)

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, ...

and 50 (2%) others, including Ukrainian, Gagauz, and Russian people. At the 1930 census, the village had a population of 1,944, of which 1,914 (98.5%) were Romanians and 30 (1.5%) others (4 Russians, 6 Gagauzians, 8 Bulgarians, 9 Gypsies, 1 Hungarian, and 2

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 ...

). At the time, it was part of ''Plasa Reni'' of Ismail County.

Archaeology

Prehistoric Giurgiulesti cemetery was discovered in 1991, when the local kurgans were being excavated. This monument belongs to Suvorovo-Novodanilovka culture group, and dates back to about 4200/4100 BC or even earlier. The local settlement formed a part of the Balkan-Carpathian cultural world, but also had strong connection to the migratory steppe herders. Suvorovo culture was a

Copper Age The Chalcolithic ( ) (also called the Copper Age and Eneolithic) was an archaeological period characterized by the increasing use of smelted copper. It followed the Neolithic and preceded the Bronze Age. It occurred at different periods in dif ...

culture that flourished on the northwest Pontic steppe and the lower Danube, and the Novodanilovka group spread at the same time along the lower Dnieper and the steppes of Ukraine. In Giurgiulesti, there are also links to the Cucuteni-Tripolie, and Gumelnita (Bolgrad-Aldeni variant) cultures. The grave inventory of the cemetery contains items made from flint, copper, and gold, in addition to the usual materials of the time such as bone, clay, shells, and leather. Three spiral bracelets made of copper, and other items dated 4500-4300 BC, that were found in Giurgiulesti, are exhibited in the Moldova National Museum.Charlie Finch 2010
A LOST WORLD, FOUND.
artnet.com Ancient DNA from Giurgiulesti is being analyzed by scientists.

Gallery

Image:Reni Moldova Border.jpg, Crossing border Giurgiulești – Reni Image:MoldawienDonau.jpg, Giurgiulești Oil Terminal Project

References

"Giurgiulești, Republica Moldova"
in Jurnalul Național, 14 October 2006

External links

giurgiulesti.atspace.com

Giurgiulesti International Free Port homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Giurgiulesti Communes of Cahul District Moldova–Romania border crossings Extreme points of Moldova Populated places on the Danube Populated places on the Prut