Northern Dobruja ( or simply ; , ''Severna Dobrudzha'') is the part of

Dobruja Dobruja or Dobrudja (; or ''Dobrudža''; , or ; ; Dobrujan Tatar: ''Tomrîğa''; Ukrainian language, Ukrainian and ) is a Geography, geographical and historical region in Southeastern Europe that has been divided since the 19th century betw ...

within the borders of

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 lies between the lower

Danube River The Danube ( ; see also other names) is the second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest south into the Black Sea. A large and historically important riv ...

and the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

, bordered in the south by

Southern Dobruja Southern Dobruja or South Dobruja ( or simply , ; or , ), also the Quadrilateral (), is an area of north-eastern Bulgaria comprising Dobrich and Silistra provinces, part of the historical region of Dobruja. It has an area of 7,412 square km an ...

, which is a part of

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

History

Around 600 BC, the Greeks colonized the Black Sea shore and founded numerous fortresses: Tomis (today's Constanța), Callatis, Histria, Argamum, Heracleea, Aegysus. The Greeks engaged in trade with the Dacians who lived on the main land. Dobruja became a Roman province after the conquest of the Dacian Tribes. One of the best preserved remnants of this period is the Capidava citadel. Between the 7th and 14th century, Dobruja was part of the

First Bulgarian Empire The First Bulgarian Empire (; was a medieval state that existed in Southeastern Europe between the 7th and 11th centuries AD. It was founded in 680–681 after part of the Bulgars, led by Asparuh of Bulgaria, Asparuh, moved south to the northe ...

and the

Second Bulgarian Empire The Second Bulgarian Empire (; ) was a medieval Bulgarians, Bulgarian state that existed between 1185 and 1422. A successor to the First Bulgarian Empire, it reached the peak of its power under Tsars Kaloyan of Bulgaria, Kaloyan and Ivan Asen II ...

. For a long period in the 14–15th century, Dobruja became part of

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 ...

. The territory fell under Ottoman rule from the mid-15th century until 1878, when it was awarded to Romania for its role in the 1877-78 Russo-Turkish War, and as compensation for the transfer of a region partly overlapping

Southern Bessarabia Southern Bessarabia or South Bessarabia is a territory of Bessarabia which, as a result of the Crimean War, was returned to the Moldavian Principality in 1856. As a result of the unification of the latter with Wallachia, these lands became par ...

. Under the treaties of San Stefano and

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, Romania received Northern Dobruja while the newly restored Principality of Bulgaria received the smaller southern part of the region. After the

Second Balkan War The Second Balkan War was a conflict that broke out when Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia and Kingdom of Greece, Greece, on 1 ...

in 1913, Romania also annexed the Bulgarian Southern Dobruja, which it ruled until the signing of the 1940

Treaty of Craiova The Treaty of Craiova (; ) was signed on 7 September 1940 and ratified on 13 September 1940 by the Kingdom of Bulgaria and the Kingdom of Romania. Under its terms, Romania had to allow Bulgaria to retake Southern Dobruja, which Romania had gained ...

. The treaty was approved by

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

Vichy France Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the Battle of France, ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

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 ...

, the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It included a

population exchange Population transfer or resettlement is a type of mass migration that is often imposed by a state policy or international authority. Such mass migrations are most frequently spurred on the basis of ethnicity or religion, but they also occur d ...

which removed the Bulgarian minority from Northern Dobruja, which was evacuated to the southern part. At the same time, the Romanians (including

Aromanians The Aromanians () are an Ethnic groups in Europe, ethnic group native to the southern Balkans who speak Aromanian language, Aromanian, an Eastern Romance language. They traditionally live in central and southern Albania, south-western Bulgari ...

and

Megleno-Romanians The Megleno-Romanians, also known as Meglenites (), Moglenite Vlachs or simply Vlachs (), are an Eastern Romance ethnic group, originally inhabiting seven villages in the Moglena region spanning the Pella and Kilkis regional units of Central ...

) from Southern Dobruja were brought north of the border. There also is a Csángó Hungarian village in Northern Dobruja, in the Constanța County, known as

Oituz Oituz (formerly ''Grozești''; ) is a commune in Bacău County, Western Moldavia, Romania. It is composed of six villages: Călcâi (''Zöldlonka''), Ferestrău-Oituz (''Fűrészfalva''), Hârja (''Herzsa''), Marginea, Oituz and Poiana Sărată (' ...

Geography

The territory of Northern Dobruja now forms the

counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

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 ...

and

Tulcea Tulcea (; also known by #Names, alternative names) is a city in Northern Dobruja, Romania. It is the administrative center of Tulcea County, and had a population of 65,624 . One village, Tudor Vladimirescu, is administered by the city. It is one ...

, with a total area of 15,570 km² and a current population of slightly under 900,000.2011 census results per county, cities and towns

Cities

Medgidia Medgidia ( or ; historical Turkish names: ''Karasu'' or ''Carasu'', ''Mecidiye'' or ''Megidie'') is a city in Constanța County, Northern Dobruja, south-eastern Romania. History Archaeological findings show that Dobruja was inhabited since the ...

Mangalia Mangalia (, ), ancient Callatis (; other historical names: Pangalia, Panglicara, Tomisovara), is a city and a port on the coast of the Black Sea in the south-east of Constanța County, Northern Dobruja, Romania. The municipality of Mangalia als ...

Rivers

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 ...

Casimcea Casimcea is a commune in Tulcea County, Northern Dobruja, Romania. It is composed of six villages: Casimcea, Cișmeaua Nouă (historical name: ''Ramazanchioi''), Corugea, Haidar, Rahman, and Războieni (historical name: ''Alifacâ''). The comm ...

* Slava *

Taița The Taița is a river in Tulcea County, Romania. North of the town Babadag it discharges into Lake Babadag, which is connected with Lake Razim, a former lagoon of the Black Sea. Its length is and its basin size is . References

Rivers of ...

* Telița

Lakes

* Crapina Lake * Jijiei Lake * Traian Lake * Babadag Lake * Razim Lake * Zmeica Lake *

Sinoe Lake Lake Sinoe is a lagoon in Northern Dobruja, Romania, close to the Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the ...

* Tașaul Lake * Techirghiol Lake

Danube Delta

The

Danube Delta The Danube Delta (, ; , ) is the second largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta, and is the best preserved on the continent. Occurring where the Danube, Danube River empties into the Black Sea, most of the Danube Delta lies in Romania ...

consists of numerous lakes. The most important ones are: *Roșu *Isac *Gorgova *Furtuna *Ledeanca *Tatanir *Merhel *Matița *Uzlina *Dranov *Lumina *Puiu *Puiuleț

Demographics

Ethnic composition The table below shows Romanian statistics throughout the years: :¹According to the 1926–1938 Romanian administrative division (counties of

and

), which excluded a part of today's Romania (chiefly the communes of Ostrov and Lipnița, now part of

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 ...

) and included a part of today's Bulgaria (parts of

General Toshevo General Toshevo ( ; ) is a town in northeastern Bulgaria, part of Dobrich Province. Located in the historic region of Southern Dobruja, it is the administrative centre of the General Toshevo Municipality, homonymous municipality and was named af ...

and

Krushari Krushari (, ) is a village in northeastern Bulgaria, part of Dobrich Province. It is the administrative centre of Krushari Municipality, which lies in the northwestern part of the province. Krushari is located 32 kilometres from the provincial c ...

municipalities) :²Only Russians. (Russians and Lipovans counted separately)

Symbols

Northern Dobruja is represented by two

dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the cetacean clade Odontoceti (toothed whale). Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontopori ...

s in the

coat of arms of Romania The coat of arms of Romania was adopted in the Romanian Parliament on 10 September 1992 as a representative coat of arms for Romania. The current coat of arms is based on the lesser coat of arms of interwar Kingdom of Romania (used between 1922 ...

. Starting with 2015, Romania observes Dobruja Day on

November 14 Events Pre-1600 * 332 BC – Alexander the Great is crowned pharaoh of Egypt. 1601–1900 * 1680 – German astronomer Gottfried Kirch discovers the Great Comet of 1680, the first comet to be discovered by telescope. *1770 – Ja ...

, marking the 1878 incorporation of Northern Dobruja into the

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania () was a constitutional monarchy that existed from with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King of Romania, King Carol I of Romania, Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian royal family), until 1947 wit ...

after the Treaty of Berlin.

References

{{coord missing, Romania * Historical regions in Romania