Galaţi

Galaţi
Coat of arms of Galaţi Coat of arms
Location of Galaţi Location of Galaţi
Coordinates: 45°25′24″N 28°2′33″E
Country	Romania
County	Galaţi County
Status	County capital
Government
- Mayor	Dumitru Nicolae (Social Democratic Party)
Area
- City	246,3 km² (95,1 sq mi)
Population (2006)295,000 (January 1, 2006)
- City	295.000
- Density	1.213/km² (3.141,7/sq mi)
- Metro	600,000
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
- Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Website: http://www.primaria.galati.ro/

Galaţi (/ga'laʦʲ/, Turkish: Kalas; Polish: Gałacz) is a city in eastern Romania, 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 Arabic qal'at (fortress). There have been other etymologies suggested, such as Serbian galac, but the galat root also appears in 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 1445. In 1789, during the Russo-Turkish War, Galaţi was burnt down by the forces of Russian general Mikhail Kamensky.

A peasant revolt occurred in and around the city in 1907, being crushed with assistance from the Romanian Army.

Tourist sights

Galaţi has a fine 20th century-1906 Eastern 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 a sculpture park lining a promenade of several kilometres along the banks of the Danube.

Education

Galaţi has a university, the Dunarea de Jos University Galaţi, founded in 1951 as a Naval and Mechanical Engineering Institute and given university status in 1974, by the merging of the Polytechnical Institute (the successor of the initial Institute) with the College of Education (founded in 1959), as well as a host of 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 Mittal Steel Galaţi, state-owned until 2001. It is still commonly referred to under the old name Sidex. Also, the country's largest shipyard is found 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..

The Euromall Group is now investing in Galati by building a 30,000 Sq. M commercial center in the city which will enhance the economy of the city.

Sister cities

• Coventry, United Kingdom, since 1963
• Piraeus, Greece, since 1985
• Wuhan, People's Republic of China, since 1987
• Pessac, France, since 1991
• Format:Country data Costa Rica Limón, Costa Rica, since 1992
• Hammond, Indiana, USA, 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, Nebraska, United States of America, since 2007
• Format:Country data India Bombay, India, since 2007
• Salerno, Italy,since 2007
• Brindisi, Italy,since 2007

External links

• Official Web Page (Rom)