Orşova

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Orşova

County

Mehedinţi County

Status

Municipality

Mayor

Constantin Negulescu, Conservative Party, since 2004

Population (2002)

16,975

Geographical coordinates

44°43′31″N, 22°23′46″E

Web site

http://primariaorsova.lx.ro/

Orşova (German: Orschowa, Hungarian: Orsova, Polish: Orszawa ) is a port city on the Danube river in southwestern Romania's Mehedinţi County (Oltenia, but sometimes considered as part of the Banat). It is situated just above the Iron Gates, on the spot where the Cerna River meets the Danube.

[edit] History

Orşova in summer

The first documented mention of its name was in 1150 under the Latin name Ursoua. The name possibly comes from the Hungarian name Uros + the Slavic -ova.

The locality was the site of a Roman Empire port in Dacia Malvensis Orşova, and the site of a a castrum named Dierna.

Important Magyar burial site discovered in the region shows the presence of the Magyars since the early 10th century

King Ladislaus I of Hungary decisively defeated the Cumans near Orşova in 1091.

Major border castle in the Middle age.

Orşova became part of the Habsburg Monarchy in 1687, at the start of an Ottoman-Habsburg War, and became part of Romania after World War I, and was officially included in Oltenia during the administrative reform of 1968.

The Hungarian Holy Crown was buried near Orşova from 1848 till 1853.

During the works at the Iron Gates, the old center of the town was flooded, and Orşova was developed (1966-1971) on higher ground, including the southern side of the Almăj Mountains and the villages of Jupalnic, Tufari, and Coramnic.

[edit] Economy

Orşova in winter

The town is a center for the extraction of bentonite, chromium, and granite. The industry is centered on energy production (the hydroelectric plant), shipbuilding and engine manufacturing, assembly parts for electricity production, textiles, and the processing of feldspar, asbestos, quartz, talc, wood, etc.