Orșova (; ; ; ) is a port
city
A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
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 ...
river in southwestern
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 ...
's
Mehedinți County
Mehedinți County () is a county () of Romania on the border with Serbia and Bulgaria. It is mostly located in the historical province of Oltenia, with one municipality (Orșova) and three communes (Dubova, Mehedinți, Dubova, Eșelnița, and Svi ...
. It is one of four localities in the
Banat
Banat ( , ; ; ; ) is a geographical and Historical regions of Central Europe, historical region located in the Pannonian Basin that straddles Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. It is divided among three countries: the eastern part lie ...
historical region situated just above the
Iron Gates where the
Cerna River meets the Danube.
History
* The locality was the site of a
Roman port in
Dacia Malvensis, and the site of the Roman city and
fort
A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...
of
Dierna
* In 1925, a confusion by the scholar
Nándor Fettich misplaced the important Magyar burial site discovered at Cheglevici into the Orșova region. Later, the location of that discovery, testifying to the presence of the Magyars since the early 10th century, was clarified for the archeological community.
* King
Ladislaus I of Hungary
Ladislaus I (, , , ; 1040 – 29 July 1095), also known as Saint Ladislas, was King of Hungary from 1077 and King of Croatia from 1091. He was the second son of King Béla I of Hungary and Richeza of Poland, Queen of Hungary, Richeza (or Adela ...
decisively defeated the
Cumans
The Cumans or Kumans were a Turkic people, Turkic nomadic people from Central Asia comprising the western branch of the Cumania, Cuman–Kipchak confederation who spoke the Cuman language. They are referred to as Polovtsians (''Polovtsy'') in Ru ...
near Orșova in 1091.
* It was a major border fortification in the Middle Ages.
* The city was captured by
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 ...
in 1522.
* Orșova became part of the
Habsburg monarchy
The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...
in 1687 at the start of an
Ottoman-Habsburg War, but Ottoman forces recaptured it in 1690. The
Treaty of Passarowitz gave the city back to the
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...
in 1718. The
Treaty of Belgrade gave the city back to 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 ...
in 1739. Finally, The
Treaty of Sistova gave the city back to the Kingdom of Hungary in 1791. The city remained in Hungary until the end of
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, when it became part of Romania. It was included in the Mehedinți county during the administrative reform of 1968.
* The Hungarian
Crown of Saint Stephen was buried near Orșova from 1848 till 1853.
* During the works at the Iron Gates, the old center of the town was flooded and Orșova was developed (1966–1971) on higher ground, including the southern side of the Almăj Mountain and the villages of Jupalnic, Tufari, and Coramnic. Also flooded then was the neighboring
Ada Kaleh, with the scattering of the mostly Turkish community of the Danube island.
Ada Kaleh and its inhabitants, as well as the ancient city, are still present in the memory of its surviving locals.
Economy
The town is a center for the extraction of
bentonite
Bentonite ( ) is an Absorption (chemistry), absorbent swelling clay consisting mostly of montmorillonite (a type of smectite) which can either be Na-montmorillonite or Ca-montmorillonite. Na-montmorillonite has a considerably greater swelli ...
,
chromium
Chromium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in Group 6 element, group 6. It is a steely-grey, Luster (mineralogy), lustrous, hard, and brittle transition metal.
Chromium ...
, and
granite
Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...
. The
industry is centered on energy production (the
hydroelectric plant), shipbuilding and engine manufacturing, assembly parts for electricity production, textiles, and the processing of
feldspar
Feldspar ( ; sometimes spelled felspar) is a group of rock-forming aluminium tectosilicate minerals, also containing other cations such as sodium, calcium, potassium, or barium. The most common members of the feldspar group are the ''plagiocl ...
,
asbestos
Asbestos ( ) is a group of naturally occurring, Toxicity, toxic, carcinogenic and fibrous silicate minerals. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous Crystal habit, crystals, each fibre (particulate with length su ...
,
quartz
Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The Atom, atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen Tetrahedral molecular geometry, tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tet ...
,
talc
Talc, or talcum, is a clay mineral composed of hydrated magnesium silicate, with the chemical formula . Talc in powdered form, often combined with corn starch, is used as baby powder. This mineral is used as a thickening agent and lubricant ...
, wood, etc.
The Orșova shipyard was constructed in 1890 and like a small reparation shop for the vessels which participated to the navigable channel from Iron Gate Romania-
Sip Yugoslavia and had a continuously development a long time. After the year 1991 the name was changed and also the organizational profile.
A
wind farm
A wind farm, also called a wind park or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundred wind turbines covering an exten ...
is being developed in the city territory, on a hill nearby (at 4.5 km from the agglomeration); the first turbines became active there in 2009.
Natives
*
Ignat Bednarik (1882–1963), painter
*
Alexandru Fölker (born 1956),
handball
Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...
player
*
Stefan Fröhlich (1889–1978), Luftwaffe general
*
Gabriel Fulga (born 2004),
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
player
*
Teodora Gîdoiu (born 1986), rowing
cox
*
Adrian Moescu (born 2001), football player
*
Adrian Munteanu (born 1997), rower
*
Eduard Radaslavescu (born 2004), football player
Image gallery
File:Orszawa.jpg, Winter view of Orșova
File:Katholische Kirche Orșova.JPG, Roman Catholic church
File:Orsova, 1978.JPG, Orșova in 1978
File:Orsova Noua.jpg, Danube in Orșova
File:RO MH Orsova 4.jpg, Danube in Orșova
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orsova
Populated places in Mehedinți County
Cities in Romania
Populated places on the Danube
Port cities and towns in Romania
Czech communities in Romania
Romania–Serbia border crossings
Localities in Romanian Banat