Sulina

History

During the mid-Byzantine period, Sulina was a small cove, and in the 14th century, a Genoese port inhabited by a handful of sailors, pirates and fishermen. In the 18th century, the Ottomans built a lighthouse there in order to facilitate communication between Constantinople (Istanbul) and the Danubian Principalities, the main breadbaskets for the Ottoman capital. Thanks to the signing of the Treaty of Adrianoupolis (Edirne) on September 2, 1829, that unfettered the Danube grain trade, Sulina, by then under Russian control, became an important port. Great sailing boats could not sail fully loaded to Brăila and Galați, which were the main export centers of Wallachia and Moldavia, because of the shallow waters of the river; therefore, they had to transship at least part of their cargoes to smaller riverboats (shleps). The owners and crew of these shleps were almost always Greek. Even greater development occurred after the signing of the Treaty of Paris (1856), which ended the Crimean War. One of the treaty's terms determined the establishment of the European Commission of the Danube (CED), which would conduct infrastructure works on the mouth of the river in order to make it navigable for larger ships as well. The technical works allowed entrance to the Danube for a great number of "foreign", i.e. non-Greek ships, leading to a higher level of competition. River trading, however, largely remained in Greek hands. The declaration by the Ottoman administration of Sulina as a free port in 1870 also boosted its development. The Russo-Ottoman war of 1877–1878 led to many changes as well. The city was initially put under Russian control and after the signing of the Berlin Treaty was annexed to Romania, as was the whole Dobruja area. According to an 1878 estimate, the town then…

Most-observed species

• Great White Pelican

  Pelecanus onocrotalus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  271
• European Roller

  Coracias garrulus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  232
• Great Cormorant/European Shag

  Phalacrocorax carbo (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  227
• Barn Swallow

  Hirundo rustica Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  225
• Hooded Crow

  Corvus cornix Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  224
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  223
• Eurasian Marsh-Harrier

  Circus aeruginosus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  215
• Pallas's Gull

  Ichthyaetus ichthyaetus (Pallas, 1773) · Aves
  214

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2007-11-10
  6 km ENE of Sfântu Gheorghe, Romania
• M 3.7 — 2006-01-04
  3 km NW of Maliuc, Romania
• M 3.5 — 2005-04-18
  4 km NNE of Nuf?ru, Romania
• M 2.9 — 2005-02-15
  3 km NW of Malcoci, Romania
• M 2.7 — 2005-01-24
  0 km E of Valea Nucarilor, Romania
• M 3.8 — 2005-01-18
  1 km W of Malcoci, Romania