Cerna, Tulcea

Cerna is a commune in Tulcea County, Romania. It is composed of four villages: Cerna (Bulgarian: Черна), General Praporgescu, Mircea Vodă (historical name: Acpunar) and Traian.

Demographics

Situated in a hilly landscape 55 km from the city of Tulcea and 25 km from Măcin, the village of Cerna had at the 2002 Romanian Census a population of 2,427, and together with three smaller villages the population of the entire commune was 4,227. Estimates of the number of Megleno-Romanians in this village vary from 1,200 to 2,000.

In 1940, according to the stipulations of the Treaty of Craiova, the Bulgarian population from Cerna was resettled to Southern Dobruja, mainly to the village of Turcsmil, which was renamed Nova Cherna (New Cerna) in the memory of their former place of origin.

Notable natives

References

Tulcea

Tulcea (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈtult͡ʃe̯a]; Bulgarian, Russian and Ukrainian: Тулча, Tulcha; Greek: Αιγισσός, Aegyssus; Turkish: Hora-Tepé or Tolçu) is a city in Dobrogea, Romania. It is the administrative center of Tulcea county, and had a population of 73,707 as of 2011. One village, Tudor Vladimirescu, is administered by the city.

History

Tulcea was founded in the 7th century B.C. under the name of Aegyssus, mentioned in the documents of Diodorus of Sicily (3rd century BC). In his Ex Ponto, Ovid recorded a local tradition that ascribed its name to a mythical founder, Aegisos the Caspian.

After the fights from 12-15 A.D. the Romans conquered the town. They rebuilt it after their plans, their technique and architectural vision, reorganizing it. The fortified town was mentioned as late as the 10th century, in documents such as Notitia Episcopatuum or De Thematibus.

Under Byzantine rule beginning with the 5th century A.D. the town was abandoned by the first half of the 7th century due to the Barbarian invasions. The former settlement's territory fell under the rule of the Bulgarian Empire (681-c.1000; 1185-14th century). Inhabitation was restored in the second half of the 10th century, as the Byzantines built a fortress on the spot after reconquering the region. The fortress was soon destroyed in 1064 by an attack of the Uzes, however some inhabitation continued. A settlement, larger than the one in the 11th century, is archaeologically attested beginning with the 14th century. The Ottoman rule was imposed around 1420, and would last for the following four centuries.

Tulcea County

Tulcea (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈtult͡ʃe̯a]) is a county (județ) of Romania, in the historical region Dobruja, with the capital city at Tulcea.

Demographics

In 2011, Tulcea County had a population of 201,462. The population density was 23.7/km², the lowest among the counties of Romania.

In the Danube Delta there is an important community of Russians and Lipovans. In the south of the county there are communities of Turks. The region once was a centre of Islam in Romania.

Geography

The county has a total area of 8,499 km².

The most significant feature of Tulcea County is the Danube Delta, which occupies about 1/3 of the entire surface and is located in the North-East side of the county. The Delta has three main branches: the Sulina branch (the only one navigable by large ships) in the middle, the Chilia branch in the North (the border with Ukraine) and the Sfântu Gheorghe branch (Saint George) in the South.