Hârșova (also spelled ''Hîrșova''; ; ; , ''Harsovo'') is a town located on the right bank of 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 ...

, in

Constanța County Constanța () is a Counties of Romania, county (județ) of Romania on the Bulgaria–Romania border, border with Bulgaria, in the Dobruja region. Its capital city is also named Constanța. Demographics In 2021, it had a population of 655,997 ...

Northern Dobruja Northern Dobruja ( or simply ; , ''Severna Dobrudzha'') is the part of Dobruja within the borders of Romania. It lies between the lower Danube, Danube River and the Black Sea, bordered in the south by Southern Dobruja, which is a part of Bulgaria. ...

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 ...

. The village of Vadu Oii is administered by the town. The village is linked with Giurgeni commune over the Danube via the Giurgeni-Vadu Oii Bridge.

Etymology

The relationship between the current name of Hârșova and the ancient name of the city, ''Carsium'' has long been a matter of debate among historians and linguists. According to Iorgu Iordan the ancient name may have been kept under the influence of the Slavic word ''Круш'', cliff, rock. The current name may also derive from the ancient Slavic god Hârs (''Хърс'') and Slavic

suffix In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns and adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Suffixes can ca ...

" -ova" and it is still under debate whether it is in any way linked with the ancient name, or perhaps a common

proto-indo-european Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. No direct record of Proto-Indo-European exists; its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-Euro ...

root related to "ecstasy"/"desire", ultimately also related to the

vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed ...

rta RTA may refer to: Media * Radio and Television Arts, program at Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada * Radio Television Afghanistan ** RTA TV, an Afghan channel * Radiodiffusion Télévision Algérienne * Real time attack, a game speedrun Sci ...

and

avesta The Avesta (, Book Pahlavi: (), Persian language, Persian: ()) is the text corpus of Zoroastrian literature, religious literature of Zoroastrianism. All its texts are composed in the Avestan language and written in the Avestan alphabet. Mod ...

n arta.

History

In ancient times, a Roman settlement grew up on the site of the current town named '' Carsium'' around the Roman fort of the same name whose remains are still visible on the bank of the Danube. It was initially in

Moesia Moesia (; Latin: ''Moesia''; ) was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans south of the Danube River. As a Roman domain Moesia was administered at first by the governor of Noricum as 'Civitates of Moesia and Triballi ...

and later in Scythia Minor province. In 1570 ( Hijri 977) the castle town had 69 guards, 71 Muslim households and 84 Christian households and it was a "has" of Mehmet Bey, the

mirliva ''Mirliva'' or ''Mîr-i livâ'' was a military rank of the Ottoman Army and Navy. It corresponds to brigadier general ( modern Turkish: ''Tuğgeneral'') and division general ( modern Turkish: ''Tümgeneral'') in the modern Turkish Army. ''M ...

of Silistra. The Storming of Hirsovo took place in 1773. In 1853, ''The Times'' of London reported that "Hirsova"

is defended by a fortified castle, and has a
garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...
of about 2,000 men. This place was taken by the Russians in 1809 and 1828. Though small, it is of considerable importance from its position on the very spot where the Berchicha returns to the Danube. . . . It is in many parts inundated, but has good pasturage for the excellent horses which constitute the sole wealth of the
Tartars Tartary (Latin: ''Tartaria''; ; ; ) or Tatary () was a blanket term used in Western European literature and cartography for a vast part of Asia bounded by the Caspian Sea, the Ural Mountains, the Pacific Ocean, and the northern borders of China ...
who inhabit it."The Seat of War on the Danube," ''The Times,'' December 29, page 8
/ref>

Demographics

At the 2021 census, Hârșova had a population of 8,737; of those, 6,169 were

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, ...

(70.61%), 6

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

(0.07%), 499 Roma (5.71%), 510 Turks (5.84%), 10

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 ...

(0.11%), 102 others (1.17%), and 1,435 with undeclared ethnicity (16.42%). At the 2011 census, the town had 9,642 residents; of those, 7,476 were Romanians (84.47%), 6 Hungarians (0.07%), 490 Roma (5.54%), 829 Turks (9.37%), 9

Tatars Tatars ( )Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary are a group of Turkic peoples across Eas ...

(0.10%), 27 Lipovans (0.31%), 4 others (0.05%), and 9 with undeclared ethnicity (0.10%).

Natives

* Ionel Averian (born 1976), sprint canoer * Vasilică Cristocea (born 1980), footballer

Gallery

File:Carsium 01.jpg, Ruins of Carsium File:Carsium 02.jpg, Ruins of Carsium File:Lippovani church of Hirsova.JPG, Lipovan Church File:RO CT Harsova buildings.jpg, Residential buildings in Hârșova File:Maisons incendiées et démolies par les bulgares à Hârsova, région de Dobroudja - Hârsova - Médiathèque de l'architecture et du patrimoine - AP62T099833.jpg, Houses burned down by Bulgarian troops in 1916, during the Romanian Campaign of World War I

References

External links

Numele Carsium
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Harsova Towns in Romania Populated places in Constanța County Localities in Northern Dobruja Populated places on the Danube Roman Dacia Byzantine sites in Romania