Silistra was one of the first cities in Bulgaria to have its own museum. The town’s History Museum opened on 11 January 1899. Silistra is one of the country’s oldest towns. It is located on the Danube River’s bank, 430 kilometers northeast of Sofia and 140 kilometers northwest of Varna. The first historical documents attesting to the settlement of Durostorum come from the early second century AD.
The Museum consists of two displays — one archaeological and one ethnographic – spread over numerous locations. The ethnographic display has a 300-square-meter space. It has exhibits that depict the way of life and culture of the Dobrudzha people of the Silistra Region during the mid-19th and early twentieth centuries. Among them are original tools, indigenous clothing, mummers’ masks, and brezaya masks, which are used during a winter fertility and wellness rite.
The archaeological show spans 400 square meters and is located in a typical early twentieth-century structure. It includes monuments from the prehistoric, ancient, and medieval periods. Among the exhibits are a Roman stone sundial, a Roman sports helmet-mask depicting griffins, grave finds, a chariot belonging to a renowned Roman magistrate from the late third century, a column inscribed with Khan Omurtag’s name, and one of the largest collections of medieval crosses from the tenth to thirteenth centuries.
The History Museum also has a location at the 4th century AD wall-painted Roman tomb found in 1942. According to historians and archaeologists, the tomb was the resting place of a famous Roman pagan. The lavish decorations and the pictured diploma from the Emperor attest to his social rank.
The museum also includes the Durostorum – Drastar – Silistra Archaeological Reserve. Today, tourists may see the ruins of a Roman urban villa dating from the second to fourth century, as well as a bishop’s palace and a basilica dating from the late fourth to early sixth centuries.
The Turkish Fort of Abdul Medjidi (Medjidi tabia) is also a museum site. It is Bulgaria’s only fortification with a totally restored Ottoman interior and exterior. It was constructed in the run-up to the Crimean War (1853–1856).
Another important tourist site in Silistra is the Kurshumlu Mosque. It was constructed by Ottoman architects in the early decades of the 17th century. Its name is derived from the lead sheets that surround its dome. It is renowned for its ornately painted walls and ceilings, as well as the colored stones used in the masonry around the windows and doorways.
Around 10 kilometers southeast of Silistra, between the settlements of Strelkovo, V. Levski, Pop Rusanovo, and Kutlovitsa, is a Thracian sacred rock complex comprised of four rock shrines. Badzhaliyata, the primary sanctuary, is set in a lovely canyon. The stone temple is located inside a vast cave that may be accessed by a tunnel carved into the rock. Next to it is a large arched altar niche that has been painstakingly sculpted. Underneath is the platform that functioned as a focal point for the cult’s secrets. The sanctuary is accessible by an asphalt road.
A cave cloister colony is situated southeast of Silistra, in the Silistra Region, near the Suha River (Dry River), south of Golesh Village. It consists of seven monasteries with several churches, crypts, cells, and chapels that are set in a picturesque location unspoilt by human hands and have retained its late Antiquity interiors and exteriors (4th – 6th centuries/. These are the country’s oldest cave monasteries.
Silistra’s climate is moderate, with freezing snowy winters and scorching summers.
Population of Silistra
In January 2012, Silistra had a population of 35 230 inside the city boundaries and 50 780 throughout the Silistra Municipality and its legally linked surrounding communities. The city’s population (not the municipality’s) peaked in the period 1986–1991, when it topped 70,000. The following table summarizes the population change since 1887.
According to the most recent 2011 census statistics, those who indicated their ethnic identification were divided into the following categories:
Bulgarians: 29,677 (88.3%)
Turks: 3,458 (10.3%)
Romani: 123 (0.4%)
Others: 190 (0.6%)
Indefinable: 180 (0.5%)
Undeclared: 1,979 (5.6%)
Geography of Silistra
Silistra is located in northeastern Bulgaria on the Danube River’s southern bank. It is situated in Bulgaria’s Dobrudzha region.
Silistra municipality has an area of 516 km2 and consists of the town and 18 settlements. The city proper has an area of 27.159 km2.
Silistra is located 431 kilometers from Sofia, Bulgaria’s capital; 141 kilometers from Varna; and 119 kilometers from Ruse.
How To Travel To Silistra
There are bus services from Ruse, Varna, Shumen, Dobrich, Veliko Turnovo, Razgrad, and Sofia. There is also a train connection between Sofia and Silistra, however it is not recommended in my view. Main highways to Ruse are 120 kilometers, Razgrad 90 kilometers, Shumen 130 kilometers, and Dobrich 80 kilometers. Varna is 135 kilometers from Dobrich. Constanta /Romania/ is 130 kilometers away. The roads are in decent shape, although might be a bit tricky in the winter when it snows. Winds sweep snow over the road, creating big drifts in the low areas /Dobroudja is a hilly area/. Never drive alone in the winter, whether or not it is daylight! The closest airports are at Bucharest OTP, Varna WAR, and Constanta /this is in Romania/. The town has a border crossing point with Romania, and from there one may board a ferry to the other side of the Danube river; from there, one can continue on foot to Calarasi, the Romanian town across. Another alternative is to take a watertaxi from the Drustar hotel, however this service is only available during the summer. The departure point in Calarasi is in the canal near the municipal park.
How To Travel Around Silistra
Silistra is not a large city and can easily explored on foot. The Gallery of Fine Arts is located in the heart of the city, as are the hotels, retail area, town park along the river, cafés, and restaurants. If you need transportation, hail a cab – just wave at the free one /green lamp/; it will cost you about 1-2 EUR in town. Numerous residents commute on bicycle.
Sights & Landmarks In Silistra
The castle of Medjidi Tabia is the only surviving Ottoman bastion after the Russo-Turkish wars. Inside is a modest museum with a one-euro entry fee.
The town’s Danube park is one of the country’s oldest. An ancient oak tree and the most spectacular sunset across the river. Near the Drustar Hotel are public swimming pools and tennis facilities. Museum of archaeology has a 5-star rating and a Roman tomb. Silistra is 2000 years old, and the roman commander Flavius Aetius / the Last Good Roman, who is credited with defeating Attila the Hun, was born and nurtured in Silistra, then known as Durrostorum/. The town served as the seat of the Church throughout the Middle Ages, when a diverse range of peoples – from Byzantines to Celtic, Gothic, Avar, Alan, Russian, Turkish, and, of course, Slavic and proto-Bulgarian – resided or went through. Ruins from the past are scattered throughout.
The Fine Arts Gallery Ex-military school in Romania, a lovely structure filled with great artifacts.
Srebarna Nature Reserve is located near the settlement of Srebarna (18km west of Silistra, 2 km south of banks of Danube). The nature reserve is surrounded by a rather shallow lake (3m at its deepest point), which serves as a significant stopover for migrating birds. Since 1985, the reserve has been a UNESCO World Heritage site. It also has a museum with stuffed animals indigenous to the region. Since 1977, this Important Birding Area (IBA) has been a protected area under the Ramsar treaty and since the 1940s under the Ramsar convention.
History of Silistra
The Romans constructed a stronghold on the site of an ancient Thracian village in AD 29 and retained the name Durostorum (or Dorostorum). Bulgaria’s first saints are St. Dasius and St. Julius the Veteran, who were killed in Durostorum during the Diocletian Persecution (303–313). Durostorum developed as a significant military headquarters for the Roman province of Moesia under the reign of Marcus Aurelius. Durostorum developed became the seat of a Christian bishopric and a regional hub of Christianity. Auxentius fled Durostorum in 383, after Theodosius’s order depriving Arian bishops, and sought asylum in Milan, where he got entangled in a disagreement with St Ambrose. Flavius Atius, a Roman commander, was born in the town in 396. When the Roman Empire was divided into Eastern and Western empires, the town (called in Byzantine Greek as v, Durostolon) became a part of the Eastern (Byzantine) Empire. Durostolon was known as Drastar in Medieval times as a component of the Bulgarian Empire.
Around the end of the seventh century, the town was annexed by the First Bulgarian Empire, with the bishop of Drastar being declared the country’s first patriarch. In 895 (during the Bulgarian–Hungarian War of 894–896), the Hungarians, allies of the Byzantines, besieged Simeon I the Great’s Bulgarian army in the town’s stronghold but were defeated. The next year, at the battle of Southern Buh, the Hungarians were severely crushed.
The town was seized by Sviatoslav I of Kiev’s troops in 969, but was captured by the Byzantines two years later at the Battle of Dorostolon. It was renamed Theodoropolis in honor of military saint Theodore Stratelates, who is credited with rescuing Emperor John I Tzimiskes during the war. Tsar Samuel reestablished Bulgarian authority in the area in 976, and it remained so until 1001, when it reverted to the Byzantine Empire.
In 1186, after the Asen and Peter Rebellion, the town was annexed by the Second Bulgarian Empire and renamed Drastar.
Drastar was assaulted by the Mongols in 1279, under the reign of Emperor Ivailo; however after a three-month siege, the Bulgarians broke through. The town remained a part of the Bulgarian Empire until circa 1400, when the Ottomans conquered the Balkans. Drastar (perhaps also known as Silistra) was one of Bulgaria’s biggest and most prominent cities during the Middle Ages.
Silistra (Ottoman Turkish: Silistre) was a town in Rumelia Province and served as the administrative center of the Silistra district under Ottoman administration (sanjak). This region was eventually elevated to the province of Silistra and included the majority of the western Black Sea coast.
The town was seized and reclaimed multiple times by Russian troops during the Russo-Turkish Wars, and was besieged during the Crimean War between 14 April and 23 June 1854. Namk Kemal is well known for his play Vatan Yahut Silistre („Homeland or Silistre“), a drama on the siege of Silistra in which he discussed patriotism and liberalism. The drama premiered on 1 April 1873, and it resulted in his banishment to Famagusta.
At the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries, the Ottoman Silistra Province was decreased in size when the districts of Zi and Hocabey, as well as the province of Bessarabia, were transferred to the Russian Empire. In 1830, Edirne Province was formed from its southern parts. Finally, in 1864, Silistra Province was combined with Vidin and Ni Provinces to establish Danube Province. Silistra was reduced to a kaza center in this province’s Ruse region the following year.
Between 1819 to 1826, Eliezer Papo, a distinguished Jewish scholar, served as rabbi of Silistra, establishing the town’s reputation among devout Jews. His cemetery has remained a focal point of devotion to the current day, with some pilgrims travelling to Bulgaria from Israel and even Latin America.
Silistra was annexed by Bulgaria in 1878, after the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878. Romania objected to this, claiming ownership of the city and establishing the ill-fated Silistra Nouă County, which was disbanded a year later.
In May 1913, after the Second Balkan War and failing Bulgarian-Romanian discussions in London, the two nations accepted the intervention of the Great Powers, who at the Saint Petersburg Conference gave Romania Silistra and the land within a 3-kilometer radius around it. Silistra and the whole of Southern Dobruja were surrendered to Romania by the 1913 Treaty of Bucharest. Bulgaria reclaimed the town during World War I in 1916. This was completed in 1918 with the Treaty of Bucharest, after Romania’s capitulation to the Central Powers (of which Bulgaria was a part). Following World War I, the Treaty of Neuilly (1919) restored it to Romania. Silistra remained a part of Romania until the Axis-sponsored Treaty of Craiova in 1940, when it was transferred to Bulgaria once again, a move confirmed by the 1947 Paris Peace Treaties. Silistra served as the county seat of Durostor County from 1913 until 1938. (except during Bulgarian rule). Between 1938 and 1940, under Romanian control, it became a part of inutul Mării („Sea District“). Silistra grew as a regional industrial and agricultural powerhouse similar to Ruse (due to its strategic location on the Danube) and Dobrich after the founding of the People’s Republic of Bulgaria (due to the abundant fertile lands). This resulted in a significant population rise that lasted until 1985. Following then, the population began to decline gradually. Following the fall of the People’s Republic in 1989, a large number of its citizens relocated inside the nation or moved abroad.
Silistra
Silistra
Silistra was one of the first cities in Bulgaria to have its own museum. The town’s History Museum opened on 11 January 1899. Silistra is one of the country’s oldest towns. It is located on the Danube River’s bank, 430 kilometers northeast of Sofia and 140 kilometers northwest of Varna. The first historical documents attesting to the settlement of Durostorum come from the early second century AD.
The Museum consists of two displays — one archaeological and one ethnographic – spread over numerous locations. The ethnographic display has a 300-square-meter space. It has exhibits that depict the way of life and culture of the Dobrudzha people of the Silistra Region during the mid-19th and early twentieth centuries. Among them are original tools, indigenous clothing, mummers’ masks, and brezaya masks, which are used during a winter fertility and wellness rite.
The archaeological show spans 400 square meters and is located in a typical early twentieth-century structure. It includes monuments from the prehistoric, ancient, and medieval periods. Among the exhibits are a Roman stone sundial, a Roman sports helmet-mask depicting griffins, grave finds, a chariot belonging to a renowned Roman magistrate from the late third century, a column inscribed with Khan Omurtag’s name, and one of the largest collections of medieval crosses from the tenth to thirteenth centuries.
The History Museum also has a location at the 4th century AD wall-painted Roman tomb found in 1942. According to historians and archaeologists, the tomb was the resting place of a famous Roman pagan. The lavish decorations and the pictured diploma from the Emperor attest to his social rank.
The museum also includes the Durostorum – Drastar – Silistra Archaeological Reserve. Today, tourists may see the ruins of a Roman urban villa dating from the second to fourth century, as well as a bishop’s palace and a basilica dating from the late fourth to early sixth centuries.
The Turkish Fort of Abdul Medjidi (Medjidi tabia) is also a museum site. It is Bulgaria’s only fortification with a totally restored Ottoman interior and exterior. It was constructed in the run-up to the Crimean War (1853–1856).
Another important tourist site in Silistra is the Kurshumlu Mosque. It was constructed by Ottoman architects in the early decades of the 17th century. Its name is derived from the lead sheets that surround its dome. It is renowned for its ornately painted walls and ceilings, as well as the colored stones used in the masonry around the windows and doorways.
Around 10 kilometers southeast of Silistra, between the settlements of Strelkovo, V. Levski, Pop Rusanovo, and Kutlovitsa, is a Thracian sacred rock complex comprised of four rock shrines. Badzhaliyata, the primary sanctuary, is set in a lovely canyon. The stone temple is located inside a vast cave that may be accessed by a tunnel carved into the rock. Next to it is a large arched altar niche that has been painstakingly sculpted. Underneath is the platform that functioned as a focal point for the cult’s secrets. The sanctuary is accessible by an asphalt road.
A cave cloister colony is situated southeast of Silistra, in the Silistra Region, near the Suha River (Dry River), south of Golesh Village. It consists of seven monasteries with several churches, crypts, cells, and chapels that are set in a picturesque location unspoilt by human hands and have retained its late Antiquity interiors and exteriors (4th – 6th centuries/. These are the country’s oldest cave monasteries.
Silistra’s climate is moderate, with freezing snowy winters and scorching summers.
Population of Silistra
In January 2012, Silistra had a population of 35 230 inside the city boundaries and 50 780 throughout the Silistra Municipality and its legally linked surrounding communities. The city’s population (not the municipality’s) peaked in the period 1986–1991, when it topped 70,000. The following table summarizes the population change since 1887.
According to the most recent 2011 census statistics, those who indicated their ethnic identification were divided into the following categories:
Geography of Silistra
Silistra is located in northeastern Bulgaria on the Danube River’s southern bank. It is situated in Bulgaria’s Dobrudzha region.
Silistra municipality has an area of 516 km2 and consists of the town and 18 settlements. The city proper has an area of 27.159 km2.
Silistra is located 431 kilometers from Sofia, Bulgaria’s capital; 141 kilometers from Varna; and 119 kilometers from Ruse.
How To Travel To Silistra
There are bus services from Ruse, Varna, Shumen, Dobrich, Veliko Turnovo, Razgrad, and Sofia. There is also a train connection between Sofia and Silistra, however it is not recommended in my view. Main highways to Ruse are 120 kilometers, Razgrad 90 kilometers, Shumen 130 kilometers, and Dobrich 80 kilometers. Varna is 135 kilometers from Dobrich. Constanta /Romania/ is 130 kilometers away. The roads are in decent shape, although might be a bit tricky in the winter when it snows. Winds sweep snow over the road, creating big drifts in the low areas /Dobroudja is a hilly area/. Never drive alone in the winter, whether or not it is daylight! The closest airports are at Bucharest OTP, Varna WAR, and Constanta /this is in Romania/. The town has a border crossing point with Romania, and from there one may board a ferry to the other side of the Danube river; from there, one can continue on foot to Calarasi, the Romanian town across. Another alternative is to take a watertaxi from the Drustar hotel, however this service is only available during the summer. The departure point in Calarasi is in the canal near the municipal park.
How To Travel Around Silistra
Silistra is not a large city and can easily explored on foot. The Gallery of Fine Arts is located in the heart of the city, as are the hotels, retail area, town park along the river, cafés, and restaurants. If you need transportation, hail a cab – just wave at the free one /green lamp/; it will cost you about 1-2 EUR in town. Numerous residents commute on bicycle.
Sights & Landmarks In Silistra
The castle of Medjidi Tabia is the only surviving Ottoman bastion after the Russo-Turkish wars. Inside is a modest museum with a one-euro entry fee.
The town’s Danube park is one of the country’s oldest. An ancient oak tree and the most spectacular sunset across the river. Near the Drustar Hotel are public swimming pools and tennis facilities. Museum of archaeology has a 5-star rating and a Roman tomb. Silistra is 2000 years old, and the roman commander Flavius Aetius / the Last Good Roman, who is credited with defeating Attila the Hun, was born and nurtured in Silistra, then known as Durrostorum/. The town served as the seat of the Church throughout the Middle Ages, when a diverse range of peoples – from Byzantines to Celtic, Gothic, Avar, Alan, Russian, Turkish, and, of course, Slavic and proto-Bulgarian – resided or went through. Ruins from the past are scattered throughout.
The Fine Arts Gallery Ex-military school in Romania, a lovely structure filled with great artifacts.
Srebarna Nature Reserve is located near the settlement of Srebarna (18km west of Silistra, 2 km south of banks of Danube). The nature reserve is surrounded by a rather shallow lake (3m at its deepest point), which serves as a significant stopover for migrating birds. Since 1985, the reserve has been a UNESCO World Heritage site. It also has a museum with stuffed animals indigenous to the region. Since 1977, this Important Birding Area (IBA) has been a protected area under the Ramsar treaty and since the 1940s under the Ramsar convention.
History of Silistra
The Romans constructed a stronghold on the site of an ancient Thracian village in AD 29 and retained the name Durostorum (or Dorostorum). Bulgaria’s first saints are St. Dasius and St. Julius the Veteran, who were killed in Durostorum during the Diocletian Persecution (303–313). Durostorum developed as a significant military headquarters for the Roman province of Moesia under the reign of Marcus Aurelius. Durostorum developed became the seat of a Christian bishopric and a regional hub of Christianity. Auxentius fled Durostorum in 383, after Theodosius’s order depriving Arian bishops, and sought asylum in Milan, where he got entangled in a disagreement with St Ambrose. Flavius Atius, a Roman commander, was born in the town in 396. When the Roman Empire was divided into Eastern and Western empires, the town (called in Byzantine Greek as v, Durostolon) became a part of the Eastern (Byzantine) Empire. Durostolon was known as Drastar in Medieval times as a component of the Bulgarian Empire.
Around the end of the seventh century, the town was annexed by the First Bulgarian Empire, with the bishop of Drastar being declared the country’s first patriarch. In 895 (during the Bulgarian–Hungarian War of 894–896), the Hungarians, allies of the Byzantines, besieged Simeon I the Great’s Bulgarian army in the town’s stronghold but were defeated. The next year, at the battle of Southern Buh, the Hungarians were severely crushed.
The town was seized by Sviatoslav I of Kiev’s troops in 969, but was captured by the Byzantines two years later at the Battle of Dorostolon. It was renamed Theodoropolis in honor of military saint Theodore Stratelates, who is credited with rescuing Emperor John I Tzimiskes during the war. Tsar Samuel reestablished Bulgarian authority in the area in 976, and it remained so until 1001, when it reverted to the Byzantine Empire.
In 1186, after the Asen and Peter Rebellion, the town was annexed by the Second Bulgarian Empire and renamed Drastar.
Drastar was assaulted by the Mongols in 1279, under the reign of Emperor Ivailo; however after a three-month siege, the Bulgarians broke through. The town remained a part of the Bulgarian Empire until circa 1400, when the Ottomans conquered the Balkans. Drastar (perhaps also known as Silistra) was one of Bulgaria’s biggest and most prominent cities during the Middle Ages.
Silistra (Ottoman Turkish: Silistre) was a town in Rumelia Province and served as the administrative center of the Silistra district under Ottoman administration (sanjak). This region was eventually elevated to the province of Silistra and included the majority of the western Black Sea coast.
The town was seized and reclaimed multiple times by Russian troops during the Russo-Turkish Wars, and was besieged during the Crimean War between 14 April and 23 June 1854. Namk Kemal is well known for his play Vatan Yahut Silistre („Homeland or Silistre“), a drama on the siege of Silistra in which he discussed patriotism and liberalism. The drama premiered on 1 April 1873, and it resulted in his banishment to Famagusta.
At the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries, the Ottoman Silistra Province was decreased in size when the districts of Zi and Hocabey, as well as the province of Bessarabia, were transferred to the Russian Empire. In 1830, Edirne Province was formed from its southern parts. Finally, in 1864, Silistra Province was combined with Vidin and Ni Provinces to establish Danube Province. Silistra was reduced to a kaza center in this province’s Ruse region the following year.
Between 1819 to 1826, Eliezer Papo, a distinguished Jewish scholar, served as rabbi of Silistra, establishing the town’s reputation among devout Jews. His cemetery has remained a focal point of devotion to the current day, with some pilgrims travelling to Bulgaria from Israel and even Latin America.
Silistra was annexed by Bulgaria in 1878, after the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878. Romania objected to this, claiming ownership of the city and establishing the ill-fated Silistra Nouă County, which was disbanded a year later.
In May 1913, after the Second Balkan War and failing Bulgarian-Romanian discussions in London, the two nations accepted the intervention of the Great Powers, who at the Saint Petersburg Conference gave Romania Silistra and the land within a 3-kilometer radius around it. Silistra and the whole of Southern Dobruja were surrendered to Romania by the 1913 Treaty of Bucharest. Bulgaria reclaimed the town during World War I in 1916. This was completed in 1918 with the Treaty of Bucharest, after Romania’s capitulation to the Central Powers (of which Bulgaria was a part). Following World War I, the Treaty of Neuilly (1919) restored it to Romania. Silistra remained a part of Romania until the Axis-sponsored Treaty of Craiova in 1940, when it was transferred to Bulgaria once again, a move confirmed by the 1947 Paris Peace Treaties. Silistra served as the county seat of Durostor County from 1913 until 1938. (except during Bulgarian rule). Between 1938 and 1940, under Romanian control, it became a part of inutul Mării („Sea District“). Silistra grew as a regional industrial and agricultural powerhouse similar to Ruse (due to its strategic location on the Danube) and Dobrich after the founding of the People’s Republic of Bulgaria (due to the abundant fertile lands). This resulted in a significant population rise that lasted until 1985. Following then, the population began to decline gradually. Following the fall of the People’s Republic in 1989, a large number of its citizens relocated inside the nation or moved abroad.
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