Corabia

Corabia () is a small Danube port located in Olt County, Oltenia, Romania, which used to be part of the now-dissolved Romanați County before World War II. Across the Danube from Corabia lies the Bulgarian village of Gigen.

History

Beneath Corabia, around the former village of Celei, lie the remains of Sucidava, an ancient Dacian and Daco-Roman town and fortress. Near the town, Emperor Constantine the Great built the longest European bridge over the Danube (). The bridge was destroyed during the Avar invasions, probably in the 7th century. The ruins also contain an old Roman bath and an old basilica. The name ''Corabia'' reflects the fact that the new settlement was built from the remains of a wrecked Genoan ship (''corabia'' is the Romanian language term for "sailing ship", specifically used for "galley"). It became a thriving port in the 1880s.

Under the communist regime, Corabia developed as a considerable manufacturing town, with a sugar mill, furniture factory, tannery, a fiber manufacturing plant, and various other facilities. However, in more recent times the town's population has dwindled. Many inhabitants have migrated to larger towns in the wake of the closure of many of Corabia's factories.

Geography

Corabia is located in the southern part of Olt County, on the left bank of the Danube, on the border with Bulgaria. It administers two villages, Tudor Vladimirescu and Vârtopu. The town houses a football club, several shops and bars, the remains of the Roman ''castrum'' '' Sucidava'', dating back to the Roman period and featuring the "Secret Fountain" (an unusual piece of engineering); the Holy Trinity Orthodox Cathedral (one of the largest buildings of its kind in Romania), as well a monumental statue in the middle of the town square commemorating the use of Corabia's facilities in the initial attack during the Romanian War of Independence of 1877. Corabia also has an important archaeological museum with, ''inter alia'', a remarkable collection of Roman pottery. From the town harbour one can make trips along the Danube, with stops at the nearby Băloi Island.

Natives

* Pavel Chihaia (1922–2019), novelist
* Theodor Danetti (1926–2016), stage and film actor
* Nicolae Dobrescu (1874–1914), church historian and theologian
* (1908–1995), jurist, member of the Romanian Academy
* Pola Illéry (1909–1993), Romanian-American actress and singer
* Șerban Ionescu (1950–2012), actor
* (1898–1990), chemical engineer, corresponding member of the Romanian Academy
* Virgil Mazilescu (1942–1984), poet, essayist, and translator
* Ion Oblemenco (1945–1996), footballer
* Ion Rîmaru (1946–1971), serial killer
* Robert Săceanu (born 1983), footballer
* Vladimir Screciu (born 2000), footballer
* Cristina Vărzaru (born 1979), handballer
* Ștefan Voitec (1900–1984), Marxist journalist and communist politician

Gallery

Image:Casa de cultura - Culture House and Corabia Museum.jpg, Culture House and Archaeological Museum
Image:Corabia.jpg, City center
Image:FalezaPark.jpg, Danube at Corabia
Image:Monument eroilor.jpg, 1877 Independence War Heroes Monument
Image:Str 1 Mai.jpg, 1 May Street
Image:Sucidava fantana.jpg, Sucidava's Secret Fountain
Image:Turnul cu ceas - Corabia Saint Trinity Cathedral.jpg, Holy Trinity Cathedral

References

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Towns in Romania
Populated places on the Danube
Populated places in Olt County
Localities in Oltenia
Port cities and towns in Romania