Galaţi

Galaţi or Galatz, city (1990 pop. 326,139), E Romania, on the lower Danube. It is a regional administrative and economic center and a major inland port, home of the Romanian Danube flotilla. Grain and timber are the chief exports. The city is also an important rail junction and has a large iron and steel plant and the nation's largest shipyard. Of medieval origin, Galaţi became an international trading center in the 18th cent. and was a free port from 1834 to 1883. It was the seat (1856-1939) of the European Danube Navigation Commission. In 1944, German troops devastated the town and killed more than half the population. Galaţi is the see of an Orthodox bishop and is a cultural center. An agricultural college and a technical institute are in the city. The 17th-century Cathedral of St. George contains the tomb of Ivan Mazeppa.

Galaţi (Kalas; Galatz; Gałacz) is a city in eastern Romania (Moldavia), the capital city of Galaţi County on the banks of the Danube, very close to Brăila forming with it the Cantemir metropolitan area. In 2006, according to the official Romanian census, the city had a population of 295,000 people, making it Romania's 7th largest city.

Name

The name of the city appears to have derived from Cuman galat, which was borrowed from the Arabic qal'at (fortress). Also other etymologies were suggested, such as the Serbian galac; however the galat root appears in several nearby toponyms, some of which show clearly a Cuman origin, for example Gălăţui Lake, which has the typical Cuman -ui suffix for "water". A derivation from Galatia (Gaul), suggesting a Celtic origin, is possible, but unlikely.

History

The first mention of the city dates from 1445bc. In 1789, during the Russo-Turkish War, Galaţi was burnt down by the Russian forces led by general Mikhail Kamensky.

A peasant revolt took place in and around the city in 1907, but eventually it was crushed by the Romanian Army.

Tourist sights

Galaţi has a fine 20th century Romanian Orthodox cathedral - St. George (Sfântu Gheorghe) and another particularly striking fortified church (that of St. Mary - Sf. Precista) on the banks of the Danube, which was built in 1647 (legend has it that a tunnel was dug from the church and under the river). Other features of the city include a botanical garden, several museums, a television tower opened to the public and offering full view of the city, the newly-restored Galaţi Opera House, and a sculpture park lining a promenade of several kilometres along the banks of the Danube.

Remarkable architectural structures

• Galaţi TV Tower (Romanian: Turnul de televiziune Galaţi), a 150-metre tall telecommunication tower built of concrete, also used for FM broadcasting

Education

Galaţi has a university, the "Dunărea de Jos" University, founded in 1951 as a Naval and Mechanical Engineering Institute and given university status in 1974, by merging the Polytechnical Institute (the successor of the initial Institute) with the College of Education (founded in 1959). The city also a host to other educational and cultural institutions; among these, the "Vasile Alecsandri" and "Mihail Kogălniceanu" National Colleges rank as the first pre-university level educational institutions in Galaţi and the country.

Economy

The city has the largest iron and steel plant in Romania the Arcelor-Mittal Galaţi, state-owned until 2001. It is still commonly referred to under the old name "Sidex". Also, the country's largest shipyard is located here, profiting from the good access Galaţi has to the Black Sea through the Danube and the short distance between its facilities and the Mittal Plant.

Sister cities

• Coventry, England; since 1963.
• Piraeus, Greece; since 1985.
• Wuhan, China; since 1987.
• Pessac, France; since 1991.
• Limón, Costa Rica; since 1992.
• Hammond, United States; since 1997.
• Mykolaiv, Ukraine; since 2002.
• Odessa, Ukraine; since 2002.
• Sevastopol, Ukraine; since 2002.
• Yalta, Ukraine; since 2002.
• Ancona, Italy.
• Jesi, Italy; since 2003.
• Scottsbluff, United States; since 2007
• Bombay, India; since 2007.
• Brindisi, Italy; since 2007.

External links

• Official Web Page (Rou)

Notes