Cernavodă () is a town in

Constanța County Constanța () is a Counties of Romania, county (județ) of Romania on the Bulgaria–Romania border, border with Bulgaria, in the Dobruja region. Its capital city is also named Constanța. Demographics In 2021, it had a population of 655,997 ...

Northern Dobruja Northern Dobruja ( or simply ; , ''Severna Dobrudzha'') is the part of Dobruja within the borders of Romania. It lies between the lower Danube, Danube River and the Black Sea, bordered in the south by Southern Dobruja, which is a part of Bulgaria. ...

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 15,088 as of 2021. The town's name is derived from the Bulgarian ''černa voda'' ( in

Cyrillic The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking countries in Southeastern Europe, Ea ...

), meaning 'black water'. This name is regarded by some scholars as a

calque In linguistics, a calque () or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal word-for-word or root-for-root translation. When used as a verb, "to calque" means to borrow a word or phrase from another language ...

of the earlier

Thracian The Thracians (; ; ) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Southeast Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied the area that today is shared between north-eastern Greece, ...

name ''Axíopa'', from IE *''n̥ksei'' 'dark' and ''upā'' 'water' (cf.

Avestan Avestan ( ) is the liturgical language of Zoroastrianism. It belongs to the Iranian languages, Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family and was First language, originally spoken during the Avestan period, Old ...

''axšaēna-'' 'dark' and Lithuanian ''ùpė'' 'river, creek').

Economy

The town is a

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 ...

fluvial port. It houses the

Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant The Nuclear Power Plant in Cernavodă () is the only nuclear power plant in Romania. It produces around 20% of the country's electricity. It uses CANDU reactor technology from Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, AECL, using heavy water produced at ...

, consisting of two

CANDU The CANDU (CANada Deuterium Uranium) is a Canadian pressurized heavy-water reactor design used to generate electric power. The acronym refers to its deuterium oxide (heavy water) neutron moderator, moderator and its use of (originally, natural ...

reactors providing about 18% of Romania's electrical energy output. The second reactor was built through a joint venture between

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Atomic Energy of Canada Limited Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL, Énergie atomique du Canada limitée, EACL) is a Canadian Crown corporation and the largest nuclear science and technology laboratory in Canada. AECL developed the CANDU reactor technology starting in th ...

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

ANSALDO Ansaldo Energia S.p.A. is an Italian power engineering company based in Genoa, Italy. The original parent company, Gio. Ansaldo & C., was founded in 1853, and merged with Finmeccanica in 1993 (now Leonardo S.p.A.). In 2024, the company's share ...

and became fully functional in November 2007. The

Danube–Black Sea Canal The Danube–Black Sea Canal () is a navigable canal in Romania, which runs from Cernavodă on the Danube river, via two branches, to Constanța and Năvodari on the Black Sea. Administered from Agigea, it is an important part of the waterway li ...

, opened in 1984, runs from Cernavodă to

Agigea Agigea (; , ) is a commune in Constanța County, Northern Dobruja, Romania. The commune includes four settlements: , Lazu (Turkish: ''Laz-Mahale''), Sanatoriul Agigea and Stațiunea Zoologică Marină Agigea, the last two being special settlemen ...

and

Năvodari Năvodari (, historical names: ''Carachioi''; ''Caracoium'', ) is a town in Constanța County, region of Northern Dobruja, Romania, with a population of 34,398 as of 2021. The town formally includes a territorially distinct community, Social Grou ...

. The outskirts of Cernavodă host numerous

vineyard A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...

s, producers of

Chardonnay Chardonnay (, ; ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand. For new a ...

wine. The largest

winery A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the cultivation and production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feat ...

in the area is

Murfatlar Murfatlar () is a town in Constanța County, Northern Dobruja, Romania. It officially became a town in 1989, as a result of the Romanian rural systematization program. Etymology The name of the town originates from the Turkish word of Arabic or ...

History

Cernavodă was founded under the name '' Axiopolis'' by the ancient

Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...

in the 4th century BC as a trading post for contacts with local

Dacians The Dacians (; ; ) were the ancient Indo-European inhabitants of the cultural region of Dacia, located in the area near the Carpathian Mountains and west of the Black Sea. They are often considered a subgroup of the Thracians. This area include ...

. A Roman fort was built as part of the defensive frontier system of the

Moesian Limes The Moesian Limes () is the modern term given to a linked series of Roman forts on the northern frontier of the Roman province of Moesia along the Danube between the Black Sea shore and Pannonia (present-day Hungary) and dating from the 1st cent ...

along the Danube. The railroad from

Constanța Constanța (, , ) is a city in the Dobruja Historical regions of Romania, historical region of Romania. A port city, it is the capital of Constanța County and the country's Cities in Romania, fourth largest city and principal port on the Black ...

to Cernavodă was opened in 1860 by the Ottoman administration. Cernavodă was one of the capitals of the short-lived

Silistra Nouă County Silistra Nouă County was a county ('' județ'') of Romania, in Northern Dobruja, with its capital city first at Rasova, later at Cernavodă and finally at Medgidia. It was established on 13 November 1878 and abolished on 1 April 1879. After ...

(1878–1879). The town gives its name to the late

copper age The Chalcolithic ( ) (also called the Copper Age and Eneolithic) was an archaeological period characterized by the increasing use of smelted copper. It followed the Neolithic and preceded the Bronze Age. It occurred at different periods in dif ...

Cernavodă archaeological culture, ca.

4000 4000 or ''variation'', may refer to: * 4000 (number) * 4000 BCE, a year in the 4th millennium BC * A.D. 4000, the last year of the 4th millennium CE, a century leap year starting on Saturday * 4000s AD, a decade, century, millennium in the 5th mi ...

–

3200 3200 may refer to: In general * 3200, a century leap year in the 4th millennium CE * 3200 BC, a year in the 4th millennium BCE * 3200, a number in the 3000 (number) range Products * Atari 3200, a videogame console * CDC 3200, a minicomputer * Mot ...

BC.

Demographics

At the 2021 census Cernavodă had a population of 15,088 with a majority of

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, ...

(80.4%) and minorities of

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Turkey * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic lang ...

(2.23%),

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

(0.66%),

Lipovans The Lipovans or Lippovans are ethnic Russians, Russian Old Believers living in Romania, Ukraine, Moldova and Bulgaria who settled in the Principality of Moldavia, in the east of the Principality of Wallachia (Muntenia), and in the regions of D ...

(0.47%),

Tatars Tatars ( )Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary are a group of Turkic peoples across Eas ...

(0.15%),

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

(0.05%),

Bulgarians Bulgarians (, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and its neighbouring region, who share a common Bulgarian ancestry, culture, history and language. They form the majority of the population in Bulgaria, ...

(0.02%), others (0.7%) and unknown (15.32%). At the 2011 census Cernavodă had 16,129 inhabitants; of those, 14,969 were

(92.81%), 463

(2.87%), 374

(2.32%), 106

(0.66%), 40

Tatars Tatars ( )Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary are a group of Turkic peoples across Eas ...

(0.25%), 15

(0.09%), and 162 others.

Natives

Iulian Carabela Iulian Carabela (born 11 April 1996) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to st ...

(born 1996), footballer * Alexandru Claudian (1898–1962), sociologist, political figure, and poet *

Iosipos Moisiodax Iosipos Moisiodax or Moesiodax (; ; 1725–1800) was a Greek philosopher, an Eastern Orthodox deacon, and one of the greatest exponents of the modern Greek Enlightenment. He was also director of the Princely Academy of Iași. Biography Ioanni ...

(1725–1800), philosopher, deacon, and educator

References

External links