Calafat | |
|---|---|
 The monument commemorating the soldiers who fought in the War of Independence in 1877 | |
 Coat of arms | |
  Calafat Location in Romania | |
| Coordinates:43°59′09″N22°57′27″E / 43.98583°N 22.95750°E /43.98583; 22.95750 | |
| Country | Romania |
| County | Dolj |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2020–2024) | Dorel Mitulețu[2] (PNL) |
Area | 103.59 km2 (40.00 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 35 m (115 ft) |
| Population (2021-12-01)[1] | 13,807 |
| • Density | 133.29/km2 (345.21/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+02:00 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+03:00 (EEST) |
| Postal code | 205200 |
| Vehicle reg. | DJ |
| Website | municipiulcalafat |
Calafat (Romanian pronunciation:[kalaˈfat]ⓘ) is acity inDolj County, southernRomania, in the region ofOltenia. It lies on the riverDanube, opposite the Bulgarian city ofVidin, to which it is linked by theCalafat-Vidin Bridge, opened in 2013. After the destruction of the bridges of late antiquity, for centuries Calafat was connected with the southern bank of the Danube by boat, and later by ferryboat.
The city administers three villages: Basarabi, Golenți, and Ciupercenii Vechi.
According to historianNicolae Iorga, the toponym "Calafatis" comes from theByzantines and means "place where ships are tarred".[3]
It was founded in the 14th century byGenoese colonists.[citation needed] These colonists generally employed large numbers of workmen in repairing ships.
In January 1854, during theCrimean War, whenRussian forces were headed up the Danube,Ahmed Pasha, commanding theTurkish forces at Calafat, madea surprise attack on the temporary Russian garrison nearbyCetate, which was under the command of ColonelAlexander Baumgarten [ru;de].[4] This diverted the initial Russian attack and allowed Ahmed Pasha to consolidate his forces in Calafat. On 28 January, the Russians under the command of GeneralJoseph Carl von Anrep, reached Calafat and began thesiege which lasted until May. Riddled by disease and unable to take the town, Anrep withdrew.[5]
There used to be a smallGreek community in Calafat since theLate Middle Ages, numbering about 165 people at the end of the 19th century.[3] The Greek presence in the city was continued bypolitical refugees, who arrived there afterWorld War II.[3] The community was re-established on 27 October 1996 by descendants of its old members and currently has approximately 80 official members.[3] There is also a Greek Church in Calafat dedicated toLife-giving Spring since 1880s and there used to be aGreek language school.[3][6]
Calafat was declared amunicipiu in 1997.[7]
| Climate data for Calafat | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 3 (37) | 5 (41) | 12 (54) | 18 (64) | 23 (73) | 27 (81) | 29 (84) | 29 (84) | 24 (75) | 17 (63) | 10 (50) | 4 (39) | 17 (62) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −1 (30) | 2 (36) | 6 (43) | 12 (54) | 18 (64) | 21 (70) | 23 (73) | 23 (73) | 18 (64) | 12 (54) | 6 (43) | 1 (34) | 12 (53) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −4 (25) | −3 (27) | 1 (34) | 6 (43) | 11 (52) | 15 (59) | 17 (63) | 16 (61) | 11 (52) | 7 (45) | 3 (37) | −3 (27) | 6 (44) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 38.1 (1.50) | 43.2 (1.70) | 45.7 (1.80) | 48.3 (1.90) | 58.4 (2.30) | 66.0 (2.60) | 40.6 (1.60) | 33.0 (1.30) | 33.0 (1.30) | 38.1 (1.50) | 50.8 (2.00) | 48.3 (1.90) | 543.5 (21.4) |
| Source: weather.com[8] | |||||||||||||
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 7,113 | — |
| 1912 | 7,608 | +7.0% |
| 1930 | 7,633 | +0.3% |
| 1948 | 8,251 | +8.1% |
| 1956 | 8,069 | −2.2% |
| 1966 | 9,483 | +17.5% |
| 1977 | 15,568 | +64.2% |
| 1992 | 20,445 | +31.3% |
| 2002 | 21,227 | +3.8% |
| 2011 | 16,247 | −23.5% |
| 2021 | 13,807 | −15.0% |
| Source: Census data | ||
Calafat lies on the river corridor VII-Danube and thepan-European corridor IV, which starts in Germany and ends inIstanbul andThessaloniki. The city is at the crossroads ofNational Roads DN56, DN56A, and DN55A andEuropean route E79. The city of Calafat and its neighbour, Vidin (Bulgaria), are linked by a bridge over the Danube in the area called Bașcov (Danube Bridge 2), built by the Spanish companyFCC. The project of constructing a Danubian bridge in the area of Calafat–Vidin dates back to 1925. Road traffic between Vidin and Calafat was doubling every year, so it became necessary to construct a bridge with four lanes of road traffic, a railway line, a lane two meters wide for bikes and a pavement for pedestrians. The bridge has a total length of 1,971 m (6,467 ft) and its cost is estimated atUS$200 million. It was officially opened on 14 June 2013.[9]
Calafat has several city newspapers. One of them is calledZiarul De Calafat,[10] which is also maintained online; another one isCalafat Live.
Calafat istwinned with:
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| Geographic | |
