Băilești () is a

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 ...

Dolj County Dolj County (; originally meant ''Dol(no)-Jiu River, Jiu'', "lower Jiu", as opposed to ''Gorj'' (''upper Jiu'')) is a county (județ) of Romania on the border with Bulgaria, in Oltenia, with the capital city at Craiova. Demographics In 2011, ...

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 ...

, with a population of 15,928 in 2021. One village, Balasan, is administered by the city.

Geography

The city lies in the western part of the

Wallachian Plain The Romanian Plain () is located in southern Romania and the easternmost tip of Serbia, where it is known as the Wallachian Plain (). It is part of the larger Eurasian Steppe. It is located in the historical region of Wallachia, and bordered by ...

, on the banks of the Balasan River, which flows into 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 ...

some to the south. Băilești is located in the southern half of Dolj County, southwest of the county seat,

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 ...

and northeast of

Calafat Calafat () is a city in Dolj County, southern Romania, in the region of Oltenia. It lies on the river Danube, opposite the Bulgarian city of Vidin, to which it is linked by the Calafat-Vidin Bridge, opened in 2013. After the destruction of the b ...

, a port city on the Danube.

History

The first documentary attestation of the town dates from January 4, 1536, during the reign of Prince

Radu Paisie Radu VII Paisie, officially Radul (Old Church Slavonic in Romania, Church Slavonic: Радул воєвода; ), also known as Radu vodă Măjescul, Radu vodă Călugărul, Petru I, and Petru de la Argeș ( 1500Gheonea, p. 50 – after 1545), wa ...

; the document recalls that the town existed since the time of Voivode

Mircea the Elder Mircea the Elder (, ; 1355 – 31 January 1418) was the Voivode of Wallachia from 1386 until his death in 1418. He was the son of Radu I of Wallachia and brother of Dan I of Wallachia, after whose death he inherited the throne. After the dea ...

. During

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 ...

, 156 people from Băilești died on the battlefield; in 1924 sculptor constructed the Monument of the Băilești Heroes in their honor. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 108 citizens of Băilești died on the battlefield. In 2001, Băilești was declared a municipality. The city has been expanding during the past few years; several commercial centers have been built, while banks and old buildings have been restored.

Natives

* Ștefan Baiaram (born 2002), footballer *

Augustin Botescu Augustin Botescu was a Romanian football manager who coached Romania at the 1960 European Nations' Cup qualifiers and Romania's Olympic team at the 1960 Summer Olympics qualifiers, failing to qualify for both tournaments. He has a total of 7 g ...

, football manager * Georgiana Ciuciulete (born 1987), handballer * Valerică Găman (born 1989), footballer *

Marcel Iureș Marcel Iureș (; born 2 August 1951) is a Romanian actor. He is one of Romania's most acclaimed stage and film actors. He has acted in films and on stage both in Romania and internationally, and has played at least ten roles on Romanian and Briti ...

(born 1951), stage and film actor *

Florea Martinovici Florea Martinovici (19 April 1940 – 16 June 2011) was a Romanian footballer who played as a winger. International career Florea Martinovici was the first Universitatea Craiova player that played for Romania's national team. He scored at his ...

(1940–2011), footballer * Adriana Nechita (born 1983), handballer *

Amza Pellea Amza Pellea (; 7 April 1931 – 12 December 1983) was a Romanian actor noted for playing Romanian national heroes on film. He was born in Băilești, Oltenia, and attended the Carol I High School in Craiova. He later played at the Craiova Th ...

(1931–1983), actor * Joseph Schubert (1889–1952), Canadian politician * Simona Staicu (born 1971), long-distance and marathon runner

References

Populated places in Dolj County Localities in Oltenia Cities in Romania {{Dolj-geo-stub