Strehaia () is a town in
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 ...
,
Oltenia
Oltenia (), also called Lesser Wallachia in antiquated versions – with the alternative Latin names , , and between 1718 and 1739 – is a historical province and geographical region of Romania in western Wallachia. It is situated between the Da ...
,
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 ...
. It is situated on the
Motru River
The Motru is a right tributary of the river Jiu (river), Jiu in Southwestern Romania. It discharges into the Jiu in Gura Motrului, near the town Filiași. Its length is and its hydrological basin size is .
Towns and villages
The following tow ...
valley, in the eastern part of the county. Nine villages are administered by the town: Ciochiuța, Comanda, Hurducești, Lunca Banului, Menți, Motruleni, Slătinicu Mare, Slătinicu Mic, and Stăncești.
Geography
The town is located east of the county seat,
Drobeta-Turnu Severin
Drobeta-Turnu Severin (), colloquially Severin, is a city in Mehedinți County, Oltenia, Romania, on the northern bank of the Danube, close to the Iron Gates. It is one of six Romanian county seats List of cities and towns on the river Danube, lyin ...
, on
national road
The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and was a main tran ...
DN6 (part of the
European route E70). It lies on the border with
Gorj County
Gorj County () is a county () of Romania, in Oltenia, with its capital city at Târgu Jiu. ''Gorj'' comes from the Slavic ''Gornji'' Jiu (“upper Jiu”), in contrast with Dolnji (“lower Jiu”).
Demographics
At the 2011 census, the count ...
, west of
Filiași and southeast of
Motru
Motru () is a municipiu, city in Romania, Gorj County. It is situated on the river Motru (river), Motru and its tributary, the river Ploștina (river), Ploștina, in western Oltenia. The county capital Târgu Jiu is located about northeast. The ...
.
Forests in the vicinity are home to the largest
Hermann's tortoise colonies in Oltenia.
Demographics
At the
2011 census, the town had a population of 9,837. Of these, 88.79% 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, ...
and 11.11%
Roma; 99.4% were
Romanian Orthodox. By the
2021 census, Strehaia's population had decreased to 9,059 inhabitants; of those, 72.26% were Romanians and 14.28% Roma.
History
Strehaia was first mentioned in documents of the 15th century. As an alternative location for the residence of Oltenian
Bans during the early
Craiovești
The House of Craiovești (), later House of Brâncovenești (), was a boyar family in Wallachia who gave the country several of its Princes and held the title of Ban of Oltenia (whether of Strehaia or Craiova) for ca. 60 years.
History
The fir ...
rules, the town still features the foundation of the Banate estate house; it had replaced
Severin due to frequent
Ottoman attacks, and was in turn replaced by
Craiova
Craiova (, also , ) is the largest city in southwestern Romania, List of Romanian cities, the seventh largest city in the country and the capital of Dolj County, situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia.
It i ...
, remaining a largely rural locality.
The Monastery of Strehaia was built by
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...
n
Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
Matei Basarab
Matei Basarab (; 1588, Brâncoveni, Olt – 9 April 1654, Bucharest) was the voivode (prince) of Wallachia from 1632 to 1654.
Reign
Much of Matei's reign was spent fighting off incursions from Moldavia, which he successfully accomplished in 1 ...
in 1645. In 1671, a cattle
fair
A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Fairs showcase a wide range of go ...
was organized in the town, a regular event which contributed to the town's development. Strehaia was the site of
skirmish
Skirmishers are light infantry or light cavalry soldiers deployed as a vanguard, flank guard or rearguard to Screening (tactical), screen a tactical position or a larger body of friendly troops from enemy advances. They may be deployed in a sk ...
es between the
Pandurs of
Tudor Vladimirescu
Tudor Vladimirescu (; c. 1780 – ) was a Romanian revolutionary hero, the leader of the Wallachian uprising of 1821 and of the Pandur militia. He is also known as Tudor din Vladimiri (''Tudor from Vladimiri'') or, occasionally, as Domnul Tudor ...
and troops loyal to
Scarlat Callimachi, during the
Wallachian uprising of 1821
The uprising of 1821 was a social and political rebellion in Wallachia, which was at the time a Vassal and tributary states of the Ottoman Empire, tributary state of the Ottoman Empire. It originated as a movement against the Phanariotes, Phana ...
.
The estates of Prince
Antoine Bibesco were located near Strehaia.
Natives
*
Rodion Cămătaru (born 1958), footballer
*
Adrian Pigulea
Adrian Pigulea (born 12 May 1968) is a retired Romanian football striker.
Club career
Adrian Pigulea was born on 12 May 1968 in Strehaia, Romania, starting to play junior level football at local club, Armătura. He started to play senior footba ...
(born 1968), footballer
*
Nicolae Popescu (1937–2010), mathematician
References
{{Mehedinți County
Towns in Romania
Populated places in Mehedinți County
Localities in Oltenia