Silistra

The town of Silistra (pop. 29,500) is situated on the terraced banks of the Danube. It is the most easterly town on the river in Bulgaria

The first traces of human habitation date back to the second millennium BC. In 169 Romans erected the fortified town of Durostorum, which was one of most renowned strongholds of the Danubian defence system. Later the town took on the name of Dorostol, and during the First Bulgarian Kingdom was also known as Druster. During the Second Bulgarian Kingdom it lost its strategic importance as a major fortress, to regain it later, under Turkish rule, when it was already called Silistra. At the time of Russo-Turkish war it was a centre of Bulgarian cultural life in that part of Dobrudja.

In 1942 a Roman tomb of the forth century was discovered, extraordinary well preserved, and now placed under a special regime of conservation.

In the old Turkish fortress “Mecidtabya”, now thoroughly reconstructed and adapted for museum purposes, accommodate the Historical Museum.

The Ethnographical Museum is installed in a building of its own, an architectural monument of the National Revival period.

17 km west of Silistra on the Ruse road is Lake Sreburna. It is an exotic spot, turned intu a preserve for rear birds and plants, which is listed as a site placed under the surveillance and protection of UNESCO.

In Sreburna village is established a museum of natural history displaying the incredibly rich plant and animal life in the preserve.

Back