Silistra

Silistra (Силистра siˈlistrɐ; Silistre; Dârstor) is a town in Northeastern Bulgaria. The town lies on the southern bank of the lower Danube river, and is also the part of the Romanian border where it stops following the Danube. Silistra is the administrative center of the Silistra Province and one of the important towns of the historical region of Dobruja. Silistra is a major cultural, industrial, transportation, and educational center of Northeastern Bulgaria. There are many historical landmarks including a richly-decorated Late Roman tomb, remains of the Medieval fortress, an Ottoman fort, and an art gallery. The name Silistra is possibly derived from the root of the old Thracian name of the lower part of the Danube "Istrum". Silistra is in the northeastern part of Bulgaria on the southern bank of the Danube River. It is located in the Bulgarian part of Dobruja. The municipality of Silistra covers an area of 516 km2 and includes the town and 18 villages. The area of the city-proper is 27.159 km2. Silistra is 431 km from Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria; 141 km from Varna; and 119 km from Ruse. Silistra has a continental climate, with cold snowy winters and hot summers. The Romans built a fortress in AD 29 on the site of an earlier Thracian settlement and kept its name, Durostorum (or Dorostorum). The earliest saints of Bulgaria are Roman soldiers executed at Durostorum during the Diocletian Persecution (303–313), including St. Dasius and St. Julius the Veteran. Durostorum became an important military center of the Roman province of Moesia, and grew into a city at the time of Marcus Aurelius. Durostorum became the seat of a Christian bishopric and a center of Christianity in the region. Auxentius was expelled from Durostorum by an edict of Theodosius depriving Arian bishops in 383, and took refuge at Milan where he became embroiled in controversy with St Ambrose. The Roman general Flavius Aëtius was born in the town in 396. When the Roman Empire split into the Eastern and Western empires, the town (known as Δουρόστολον, Durostolon in Medieval Greek) became part of the Eastern Roman Empire.