Oltenița

Oltenița
Municipality
City center
Location of Oltenița within Călăraşi County Location of Oltenița within Călăraşi County
Coordinates:
Country	Romania
County	Călăraşi County
Status	Municipality
Government
• Mayor	Costinel Milescu (People's Action)
Population (2011)
• Total	24,822
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)

Oltenița (Romanian pronunciation: [olˈtenit͡sa]) is a city in Romania in the Călăraşi County on the left bank of the Argeş River where its waters flows into the Danube.

Oltenita stands across the Danube from the Bulgarian city of Tutrakan.

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1900	5,801	—
1912	6,574	+13.3%
1930	10,389	+58.0%
1948	10,284	−1.0%
1956	14,111	+37.2%
1966	18,623	+32.0%
1977	24,414	+31.1%
1992	31,821	+30.3%
2002	31,434	−1.2%
2011	24,822	−21.0%
Source: Census data

History

Excavations on Gumelniţa hill near the city revealed a Neolithic settlement dating from the 4th millennium BC.

The first mention of a town bearing the name Oltenița appears in 1515 during the reign of Neagoe Basarab.

During the Crimean War the Ottomans attempted to cross the river at this point and inflicted heavy losses on the Russians.

In the Russo-Turkish War, 1877–1878, Oltenița was an important crossing point into Bulgaria for Romanian troops called to aid the Russian Army during the siege of the Pleven (Plevna) stronghold.

During World War I, the garrisons of Oltenița and Turtucaia engaged in numerous artillery skirmishes. The spot was also chosen by allied German and Bulgarian troops for their invasion of Romania. The subsequent Battle of Turtucaia ended in a significant defeat for the Romanian Army.

Notable residents

• Ion Iliescu, 2nd President of Romania (1989–96 and 2000–04)