Romania

Capital of Giurgiu county, southern Romania. It is situated on the left (north) bank
of the Danube, 40 miles (65 km) south of Bucharest.

Three small islands face the city, and a larger one shelters its port, Smarda.
The rich corn-growing land to the north is traversed by a railway to Bucharest,
the first line opened in Romania, which was built in 1869 and afterwards extended to Smarda.
Giurgiu is one of the most important Romanian Danube ports with a favourable geographic location.

Major industries on Giurgiu include electric and thermal energy, ships and river boatbuilding and
repairing, chemical substances and products, textile products, food and beverages and construction
materials. Following a Government decision a Free Trade Zone was set up in Giurgiu in 1996.

The city of Giurgiu was probably established in the 14th century as a port on the Danube by the Genoese
merchant adventurers, who established a bank, and a trade in silks and velvets. They called the city,
after the patron saint of Genoa, San Giorgio (St George); and hence comes its present name. It was first
mentioned in Codex Latinus Parisinus, in 1395 during the reign of Mircea cel Bătrân and was conquered by
the Ottomans in 1420 as a way to control the Danube traffic.

As a fortified city, Giurgiu figured often in the wars for the conquest of the lower Danube; especially
in the struggle of Mihai Viteazul (1593–1601) against the Turks, and in the later Russo-Turkish Wars.
It was burned in 1659. In 1829, its fortifications were finally razed, the only defence left being a
castle on the island of Slobozia, united to the shore by a bridge.

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2007-06-09 21:40:21 created by admin