Calafat is a city in Dolj County

Dolj County

Dolj -Jiu, "lower Jiu", toward Gorj ) is a county of Romania, in Oltenia, with the capital city at Craiova .- Demographics :In 2002, it had a population of 734,231 and a population density of 99/km²....

, Romania

Romania

Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

, on the river Danube

Danube

The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....

, opposite the Bulgarian city of Vidin

Vidin

Vidin is a port town on the southern bank of the Danube in northwestern Bulgaria. It is close to the borders with Serbia and Romania, and is also the administrative centre of Vidin Province, as well as of the Metropolitan of Vidin...

, to which it is linked by ferryboat. The construction of the Calafat-Vidin Bridge

Calafat-Vidin Bridge

The Vidin-Calafat Bridge is a road and rail bridge between the cities of Calafat, Romania and Vidin, Bulgaria. It will be the second bridge on the shared section of the Danube between Romania and Bulgaria...

 is planned between the two cities.

The city administers three villages: Basarabi, Ciupercenii Vechi and Golenţi.

History

It was founded in the 14th century by Genoese

Genoa

Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....

 colonists, who employed large numbers of workmen (Calfats) in repairing ships. This industry gave the town its name.

In January 1854, during the Crimean War

Crimean War

The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...

, when Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n forces were headed up the Danube, Ahmed Pasha, commanding the Turkish

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 forces at Calafat, made a surprise attack

Battle of Cetate

The Battle of Cetate was fought during the Crimean War. In this battle an Ottoman force under Ahmed Pasha attempted to capture the town of Cetate in Wallachia, but were unsuccessful.-Background:...

 on the Russian garrison at nearby Cetate

Cetate, Dolj

Cetate is a commune in Dolj County, Romania with a population of 6,000 people. It is composed of two villages, Cetate and Moreni.In January 1854, during the Crimean War, Cetate was the scene of a battle between a Russian garrison there and a Turkish army based in Kalafat. The battle was...

, which was under the command of Colonel Alexander Baumgarten. This diverted the initial Russian attack and allowed Ahmed Pasha to consolidate his forces in Calafat. On 28 January the Russians under the command of General Iosif Romanovich Anrep reached Calafat and began the siege which lasted until May. Riddled by disease and unable to take the town, Anrep withdrew.

Transport

Calafat lies on the river corridor VII-Danube and the pan-European corridor IV which starts in Germany and ends in Istanbul and Thessaloniki http://www.unece.org/trans/main/ter/Countries/Corridors/corr4.jpg. The city is at crossroads of DN56, DN56A, DN55A and E79. Between the city of Calafat and neighbour, Vidin (Bulgaria), stands links made by specially equipped vessels (tanks), and there are plans to build a bridge over the Danube in the area called Başcov (whose construction will be completed in 2010) by the Spanish company FCC. The project of constructing a bridge in the area Calafat-Vidin dates from the year 1925. Road traffic between Vidin and Calafat doubles every year, so it has become necessary to construct a bridge that will have four lanes of traffic road, a railway line, a lane two meters wide for bikes and a pavement for pedestrians. The bridge will have a total length of 1,971 m and it will cost over 100 million euros.

Newspaper

Calafat has several city newspapers. One of them is called Ziarul De Calafat, which is also maintained online; another is Calafat Live. It has useful daily information about the city of Calafat and the area around it.

Twin towns — Sister cities

Calafat is twinned

Town twinning

Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...

 with: Vidin

Vidin

Vidin is a port town on the southern bank of the Danube in northwestern Bulgaria. It is close to the borders with Serbia and Romania, and is also the administrative centre of Vidin Province, as well as of the Metropolitan of Vidin...

, Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

 Zaječar

Zajecar

Zaječar is a city and municipality in the eastern part of Serbia. According to the 2011 census the town has a population of 36,830, and its coordinates are 43.91° North, 22.30° East...

, Serbia

Serbia

Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

 Duiven

Duiven

' is a municipality and a town in the eastern Netherlands. Duiven's name can be translated into English to mean "pigeons" or "doves". Although the coat of arms and logo of the municipality feature pigeons, the name is etymologically related to "dunes"...

, Nederlands

External links

• Official website
• Hellenic Community of Calafat, elen-calafat.com
• Ziarul de Calafat, Ziarul de Calafat.ro
• Calafatul.ro, Calafatul.ro