Brăila

Sister cities

• Nilüfer

History

Before the 14th century, a small village existed in the place of today's Brăila, probably inhabited by fishermen and small merchants. The village fell to the Mongols during the 1241 Mongol invasion of Europe and it was under direct control of the rulers of Argeș in mid-14th century. In Greek documents of roughly that time, the city is referred to as Proilabum or Proilava, a Greek language adaptation of its Slavic name, Brailov. In German language sources, it is mentioned as Uebereyl. The origin and meaning of the name is unknown, but it is thought to be an anthroponym. Following the fall of Vicina, Brăila developed as the main harbour of Wallachia, Foreign merchants bringing goods were forced to unload their merchandise in Brăila, as it can be understood from a 1445 account of Walerand de Wavrin. In 1462, Mehmed the Conqueror's fleet of 25 triremes and 150 other ships burnt the city to the ground. Nevertheless, Brăila recovered, soon becoming the gateway for Levantine goods into Wallachia. The Ottoman Empire ruled it from 1538–1540 until 1829; the Ottomans called it Ibrail or Ibraila. It was briefly ruled by Michael the Brave, prince of Wallachia (1595–1596) before it was recaptured by the Ottomans. In 1711, the city was besieged and conquered by a Wallachian-Russian army during the Pruth River Campaign. In 1828, the siege of Brăila took place. The following year, it was officially granted to Wallachia by the Treaty of Adrianople. During the 19th century, the port became one of the three most important ports on the Danube in Wallachia, the other two being Turnu and Giurgiu. The city's greatest period of prosperity was at the end of the 19th century and in the early 20th century, when it was an important port for most of the merchandise coming in and going out of…

Geography

Brăila is part of the strategically important Focșani Gate.

Most-observed species

• Eurasian Magpie

  Pica pica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  252
• Red-backed Shrike

  Lanius collurio Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  227
• European Roller

  Coracias garrulus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  200
• corn bunting

  Emberiza calandra Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  165
• Eurasian Kestrel

  Falco tinnunculus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  155
• Barn Swallow

  Hirundo rustica Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  150
• Crested Lark

  Galerida cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  146
• Eurasian Collared-Dove

  Streptopelia decaocto (Frivaldszky, 1838) · Aves
  143

Most recent

• M 4.4 — 2024-10-08
  1 km N of Voetin, Romania
• M 4.9 — 2020-04-24
  1 km ESE of Ungureni, Romania
• M 4.3 — 2017-08-16
  1 km ENE of Ci?mele, Romania
• M 4.3 — 2016-03-01
  6 km W of Bolote?ti, Romania
• M 4.4 — 2015-10-07
  9 km W of Poiana Cristei, Romania
• M 4 — 2015-01-19
  4 km NE of ?ife?ti, Romania