Kladovo

Infobox Serbia municipality
native_name = Кладово|official_name=Kladovo
image_shield = COA Kladovo.pngdistrict = Bor
mayor = Siniša Popović (DS)
area_km2 = 629
population_total = 9111 | mpop=23622
latd = 44| latm = 37|longd = 22| longm = 37
code = 19
settlements = 23
plates = BO
postal_code = 19320
website = www.kladovo.org.yu

Kladovo (Serbian Cyrillic: Кладово, Romanian: Cladovă) is a town and municipality in the Bor District of eastern Serbia. It is situated on the right side of the river Danube. The population of the Kladovo town is 9,111, while the population of the Kladovo municipality with surrounding settlements is 23,622 (2002 census).

Name

In Serbian, the town is known as "Kladovo" (Кладово), in Vlach/Romanian as "Claudia", and in German as "Kladowo" or "Kladovo". In the time of the Roman Empire, the name of the town was "Zanes". Later, old Slavs founded here their settlement that was named "Novi Grad" (Нови Град), while Ottomans built here a fortress named "Fetislam". Under present-day name Kladovo was first mentioned in 1596 in one Austrian military document.

There are several theories about origin of the current name of the town: [http://www.kladovo.org.yu/]
*According to one theory (Ranka Kuic), name of the town derived from Celtic word "kladiff" meaning "cemetery" in English.
*According to another theory (Ranko Jakovljevic), the name derived from the word "klad" (a gadget used fom imprisonment of the people).
*According to the third theory, the name derived from Slavic word "kladenac" meaning "well" in English or from Slavic word "klada" meaning "stump" in English.
*There is also a theory that name of the town derived from the Bulgarian duke Glad, who ruled over this region in the 9th century.

There is a settlement with the same name in Russia near Moscow and it is believed that this settlement was founded by Serbs who moved there from Serbian Kladovo in the 18th century. One of the suburbs of Berlin also have this name, which originates from the Slavic Lusatian Serbs (Sorbs) who live in eastern Germany.

History

In ancient times, a town named "Zanes" existed at this location. In the Middle Ages, the Slavs founded here new town named "Novi Grad" (Нови Град), but it was razed by the Hungarians in 1502. It was rebuilt in 1524 by the Ottomans and received new name: "Fethi Islam" ("Fetislam"). According to Ottoman traveler, Evliya Chelebi, who visited the town in 1666, most of its inhabitants spoke local Slavic language (citation needed) and Turkish language, while some also spoke Vlach. [http://www.kladovo.org.yu/] In 1784, the population of Kladovo numbered 140 Muslim and 50 Christian houses. [http://www.kladovo.org.yu/]

The town was practically a village before the nearby power plant "Đerdap" was built in 1972. Since the building of the power plant the town has grown significantly.

Geography and tourism

Due to many archeological sites and the hydro-electric power plant "Đerdap" nearby, the town is a popular tourist destination, especially during the summer. The town is bordered by the Danube river to the north and north-east, and by a range of low mountains to the south-west and south.

Municipality

Kladovo municipality includes the town of Kladovo, the town of Brza Palanka, and the following villages:
* Vajuga
* Velesnica
* Velika Vrbica
* Velika Kamenica
* Grabovica
* Davidovac
* Kladušnica
* Korbovo
* Kostol
* Kupuzište
* Ljubičevac
* Mala Vrbica
* Manastirica
* Milutinovac
* Novi Sip
* Petrovo Selo
* Podvrška
* Reka
* Rečica
* Rtkovo
* Tekija

Population

Ethnic groups in the municipality

According to the 2002 census the population of the Kladovo municipality is composed of:
*Serbs = 21,130 (89.49%)
*Montenegrins = 572 (2.42%)
*Vlachs = 568 (2.41%)
*others.

According to the 2002 census, all settlements in the Kladovo municipality have Serb ethnic majority.

Ethnic groups in the town

According to the 2002 census the population of the Kladovo town is composed of:
*Serbs = 8,074 (88.32%)
*Montenegrins = 510 (5.58%)
*Vlachs = 112 (1.23%)
*others.

Economy

The main business is the hydro-electric power plant "Đerdap". Other businesses began primarily to support the building and operation of the power plant, and the local folk.

The population of the villages around Kladovo is mostly supported by the family members who work as guest-workers in the countries of western Europe, agriculture is a side activity more than an income-generating one.

Features

Kladovo has one hospital, two daycare and kindergarten centers, one elementary school (grades 1 through 8), one high school and several vocational schools. Though the river Danube is very polluted by international standards, many people still fish in it. Before the power plant was built, sturgeon caviar from this area was very popular and was exported as a delicacy to the western Europe and the United States.

The nearby archeological sites include the remnants of Roman Emperor Trajan's bridge, one of many Trajan's tables, remnants of Trajan's road through the Danube's Iron Gates, and the Roman fortress Diana.

During the Ottoman occupation of the Balkan peninsula a fortress was built near the town. The fortress's name is Fetislam (originally "Feht-ul-Islam" meaning "gate of Islam") and in 1970's it was converted into a sports complex containing children's playgrounds, track and soccer fields, handball, volleyball and tennis courts. The Iron Gates national park offers breathtaking views, excellent hunting grounds, and many trails for hiking (most trails are not well marked or maintained, so hiking is recommended only for the experienced).

The town has one hotel "Đerdap" and one youth camp "Karataš" (Turkish "kara-tash" for "black stone") which host many of the visiting tourists. Kladovo has many cafés and restaurants, some offering live music entertainment late into the night. The town's quay stretches about 3 kilometers (2 miles) along the Danube river, offering quite beautiful scenery for strolling.

Famous residents

A famous temporary residents were Saint Nicodim Tismansky (XIV-XV c.) and Vuk Stefanović Karadžić, a Serbian linguist and reformer of the Serbian language.

External links

* [http://www.kladovo.org.yu Kladovo town website]
* [http://www.elmundosefarad.eu/wiki/wiki/index.php?title=Kladovo Jedan pogled u proslost:Kladovo]