DANUBE DELTA
nature, history, civilization

Cultural itinerary

Authors: Cristina Dinu, Aurel Stanica, dr. Steluta Parau, Mihaela Iacob

Between 1806-1812 the Russian-Turkish war took place. It established the boarder between Russia and Ottoman empire on the Chilia Channel; afterward, despite the fact that Russia had under occupation the Danube 's mouth according to the Adrianopole's treaty (1829), due to the neglecting of its duties of taking care of the navigation in this sector, an European Comission of Danube -C.E.D. has been created (1856). Because of that important works took place in order to create a navigation channel between Isaccea and Sulina. This last settlement has been declared as the CED residence. An old town mentioned in Byzantine sources has been modernized with new buildings for administrative offices, workshops, a modern lighthouse, shops, a hospital, telegraph station and over the consular agencies the European naval states flags were unfurled. The city became a real "Europolis". (as described by the known novelist Jean Bart)

The modernizing of the Sulina Channel by the CED boosts the commercial and transport activity and leads to a population growth with people from Moldavia and Muntenia, when, some settlements were set up as Ilganii de Sus, Partizani/Regele Carol I, Crisan/Carmen Silva, Floriile, Torba Goala, Ceamurlia, Vulturu, Stipoc/Regele Ferdinand, Mila 23 - especially on Sulina Channel.

In 1876 Elisée Reclus, in his ethnographical map of Dobrudja mentions that from Cernavoda to the Black sea, on the right side of Danube river, including in Danube Delta there is a majority of Romanian population.

After obtaining the independence of Romania in 1877, Dobrudja comes back to the old Romanian cradle and implicitly the Danube Delta's areas.