Călărași (), the capital of

Călărași County Călărași () is a county (județ) of Romania on the border with Bulgaria, in Muntenia, with the county seat at Călărași. Demographics In 2011, it had a population of 285,050 and a population density of 56.02/km2. * Romanians – 95% ...

in the Muntenia region, is situated in south-east

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

, on the banks of the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...

Borcea Borcea is a commune situated in the eastern part of Călărași County, Muntenia, Romania. It is one of the most populous communes in the county and it is situated on the west bank of the Borcea branch (a section of the Danube). The commune was ...

branch, at about from the

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

n border and from

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

. The city is an industrial centre for lumber and paper, food processing, glass manufacturing, textiles, medical equipment production, and

heavy industry Heavy industry is an industry that involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities (such as heavy equipment, large machine tools, huge buildings and large-scale infrastructure); o ...

, the last one represented by the Călărași steel works. The city is known colloquially as "Capșa provinciei" (the Capșa from the provinces).

History

The site of a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

village, called ''Lichirești'' from the time of

Michael the Brave Michael the Brave ( ro, Mihai Viteazul or ; 1558 – 9 August 1601), born as Mihai Pătrașcu, was the Prince of Wallachia (as Michael II, 1593 – 1601), Prince of Moldavia (1600) and ''de facto'' ruler of Transylvania (1599 – 1600). ...

. Călărași appeared for the first time in 1700 on a map drawn by Constantin Cantacuzino. It got its name after it was made by the Wallachian princes, in the 17th century, a station of "mounted couriers' service" on the route from

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

. The service was operated by horseback riders (the călărași). It expanded into a small town, and in 1834 became the surrounding county's capital.

Transportation

Călărași is connected by National Roads DN3, DN21, DN31, and DN3B. Also A2 ("The Sun's Motorway") has 3 exits for Călărași, at

Lehliu Gară Lehliu Gară is a small town in the middle of the Bărăgan region in Călărași County, Muntenia, Romania, with a railway station and a national road linking the seaside Constanța and the county capital, Călărași. Also, the new A2 free- ...

(about NW), Dragalina (about N) and

Fetești Fetești () is a city in Ialomița County, Muntenia, Romania. It is located in the Bărăgan plain, on the Borcea branch of the Danube. Fetești has the second largest population in Ialomița, after Slobozia. In 1895, the King Carol I railway ...

(about NE). The city lies on the seventh pan-European corridor of transport (the

river) and is next to the fourth pan-European transport corridor (

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

– Constanța) at . The Călărași train station serves the CFR Line 802. The nearest major cities are:

, Constanța , and

Varna Varna may refer to: Places Europe *Varna, Bulgaria, a city in Bulgaria **Varna Province **Varna Municipality ** Gulf of Varna **Lake Varna **Varna Necropolis *Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy *Varniai, a city in Lithuania * Varna (Šaba ...

Education

The city features seven middle schools and several high schools, includingSchools
at the Călărași County Schools Inspectorate site * Barbu Știrbei National College * Mihai Eminescu Theoretical High School * Ștefan Bănulescu Technical High School * Danubius High School * Sandu Aldea Agricultural College * Călărași Economics College

Sports

The city is currently represented by

Dunărea Călărași Dunărea may refer to: * Dunărea, the Romanian name for the river Danube in Central Europe * Dunărea (river), a tributary of the Danube in Constanța County, Romania * Dunărea, a village in the commune Seimeni, Constanța County, Romania See ...

in the Romanian

Liga II The Liga 2, most often spelled as Liga II, is the second level of the Romanian football league system. The league changed its name from Divizia B just before the start of the 2006–07. It is currently sponsored by Casa Pariurilor, a betting c ...

football league.

Natives

* Ștefan Bănică Sr. (1933–1995), actor, singer * Daniel Bogdan (b. 1971), footballer * Mircea Ciumara (1943–2012), politician * Vladimir Constantinescu (1895–1965), general * Maria Cuțarida-Crătunescu (1857–1919), first female doctor in Romania *

Daniel Florea Daniel Florea may refer to: * Daniel Florea (politician) *Daniel Florea (footballer, born 1975) Daniel Florea (born 18 December 1975 in Vaslui) is a Romanian football coach and former player. International career Daniel Florea played 3 match ...

(b. 1972), politician * Petre V. Haneș (1879–1966), literary historian * (1911–2008), engineer, titular member of the

Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ro, Academia Română ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life. According to its byl ...

* Marius Mocanu (b. 1986), handballer * Barbu Nemțeanu (1887–1919), poet * Gabriel Popa (b. 1985), footballer * Dragoș Protopopescu (1892–1948), writer, poet * Gabriel Simion (b. 1991), footballer

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Călărași is twinned with:

Climate

The climate is

continental Continental may refer to: Places * Continent, the major landmasses of Earth * Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US * Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US Arts and entertainment * ''Continental'' ( ...

with a year average temperature of . The lowest temperature ever recorded in Călărași was on January 9, 1938, and the highest was on August 10, 1957.

Population

In 2011, Călărași had a population of 65,181, with 95.05% of them declaring themselves as being

Romanians The Romanians ( ro, români, ; dated exonym '' Vlachs'') are a Romance-speaking ethnic group. Sharing a common Romanian culture and ancestry, and speaking the Romanian language, they live primarily in Romania and Moldova. The 2011 Roman ...

and 3.59% Roma. The surrounding communes ( Modelu, Ostrov, Roseți, Grădiștea, Cuza-Vodă, and Ștefan Vodă) together with Călărași number almost 100,000 inhabitants.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Calarasi Populated places on the Danube Port cities and towns in Romania Bulgaria–Romania border crossings Cities in Romania Capitals of Romanian counties Populated places in Călărași County Localities in Muntenia