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Zimnicea | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms | |
 Location in Teleorman County | |
  Zimnicea Location in Romania | |
| Coordinates:43°39′8″N25°22′5″E / 43.65222°N 25.36806°E /43.65222; 25.36806 | |
| Country | Romania |
| County | Teleorman |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2020–2024) | Petre Pîrvu[1] (PSD) |
Area | 131.31 km2 (50.70 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 48 m (157 ft) |
| Population (2021-12-01)[2] | 12,589 |
| • Density | 96/km2 (250/sq mi) |
| Time zone | EET/EEST (UTC+2/+3) |
| Postal code | 145400 |
| Vehicle reg. | TR |
| Website | orasulzimnicea |
Zimnicea (Romanian pronunciation:[ˈzimnit͡ʃe̯a]) is a town inTeleorman County,Romania (in the historic region ofMuntenia), a port on theDanube opposite theBulgarian city ofSvishtov.
Zimnicea is situated on the left bank of theDanube river. It is the southernmost place in Romania and a harbour on the Danube river. The distance between the Zimnicea andBucharest is 122 kilometres (76 miles), and the distance toAlexandria (capital of Teleorman County) is about 39 kilometres (24 mi).
Zimnicea is served around the clock by the Svishtov–Zimnicea ferry – a regularly scheduledRoll-on/roll-off ferry across the Danube between Zimnicea andSvishtov, Bulgaria. The ferry shortens the road path to and from Turkey to Central and Western Europe by 140 kilometres (87 miles) when compared to the traditional route over theDanube Bridge at Ruse-Giurgiu and allows a time gain of nearly four hours thus avoiding the traffic in and around the city of Bucharest.
Zimnicea developed near aGeto-Dacian fortress (about 1,200 metres (3,937 feet) west of town centre).[citation needed] Traditional agriculture, fishing, iron processing, carpentry, pottery, tissue exchange of products were the occupations of the people throughout the town's existence. The natives of Zimnicea sold grain, cattle, sheep, fish, butter, salt, honey, wax, timber and bought cloth, oriental fabric, carpets, and spices.
In 1838, the settlement Zimnicea was passed in the fairs,[clarification needed] with the general population census of that year 551 families and 3,046 inhabitants. In the years 1837–1839 Zimnicea became the capital of Teleorman County.
Near Zimnicea there are ruins of several ancient fortresses and fortifications from the 4th to the 1st century BC. The oldest are believed by some scholars[who?] to have been built to defend the town fromAlexander the Great's general,Lysimachus.
The name of the town was first mentioned in 1385 in the travel logs of Christian pilgrims on their way home from their trip toJerusalem. TheByzantines called itDemnitzikos and later onDzimnikes orDzimnikos.[citation needed] The town flourished as atrade post on the trade routes that linked Central Europe to theBalkans.
In 1835, it had 531 households, being the twelfth largest market town inWallachia. For a short time in 1837 to 1838, it was the capital of Teleorman County, but due to internal dissent between the landowners and merchants, it was replaced byAlexandria.[citation needed]
During theRomanian War of Independence of 1877–1878, Zimnicea was the headquarters of theRussian Empire troops fighting in Bulgaria against theOttoman Empire. DuringWorld War I,German Empire troops crossed the Danube in the Zimnicea sector, effectively bringing down the Romanian front inMuntenia.
During the1977 Vrancea earthquake, there were allegedly not many buildings destroyed by the earthquake itself.[3] Most of the destruction is said to have actually been done after the natural disaster by bulldozer, being ordered by local authorities, in order to receive financial allowances from the central government to create a new town from scratch on a new design. In the next period, a new town hall, the House of Culture, a new hospital (withAustrian funding), a new high school (with funds allocated by theSwiss government), and numerous blocks of flats were built, but many other projects remained abandoned after the fall of thecommunist regime, amid declining local industry, and by a subsequent decline in population.[4]
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(December 2014) |
The mayor of Zimnicea Municipality is Petre Pârvu, he is in his second mandate and is chosen from the list of the coalitionFor Zimnicea that includesPNL,PD-L,PC, andPSD.
During the communist era, Zimnicea underwent forced industrialization, and the new industries suffered a strong decline after thefall of the communist regime.
In Zimnicea there are 5 kindergartens, 4 elementary schools with primary and secondary education and one high school. The high school has 15 classrooms, a gym and a school workshop. Classes are attended by 511 students, with two shifts and evening school hours.Zimnicea High School has a library with 20,578 volumes and a science laboratory equipped with 30 computers.[citation needed]
School No.1,Miron Radu Paraschivescu has 15 classrooms, including 3 laboratories (physics, chemistry, biology), 5 cabinets teachers (mathematics, geography, design, religion, Romanian), a gym, a workshop school and a library.[citation needed]
The three elementary schools are:Miron Radu Paraschivescu Primary and Secondary School, School no. 2 and School no.3
Zimnicea does not have any artistic events held occasionally or permanently. The budget allocated for cultural activities is insufficient for a cultural life. Cultural institutions operating in Zimnicea are: the cultural centre and the town library.
The city library was founded in 1952 and after December 1989 received the name of a local poet,Miron Radu Paraschivescu.
The "Dunărica" children camp has a capacity of 200 accommodation places, with a football field and a tennis court, a kayak-canoe base and a cafeteria with 250 places.
"Zimtub SA" Zimnicea Hotel has a capacity of 48 rooms, a restaurant with 100 seats and a nightclub with 80 seats.
The amusement and recreation base "Disko - Hope" is situated on the Danube riverside and has a beach with, as well as an outdoor dancing club with a capacity of 1,200 places; There is also an amusement base at the beach from Cheson.
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1834 | 3,000 | — |
| 1912 | 7,563 | +152.1% |
| 1930 | 10,879 | +43.8% |
| 1948 | 11,056 | +1.6% |
| 1956 | 12,445 | +12.6% |
| 1966 | 13,231 | +6.3% |
| 1977 | 13,964 | +5.5% |
| 1992 | 17,128 | +22.7% |
| 2002 | 15,672 | −8.5% |
| 2011 | 14,058 | −10.3% |
| 2021 | 12,589 | −10.4% |
| Source: Census data | ||
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