Chilia Veche

Chilia Veche
—  Commune  —
Location of Chilia Veche
Coordinates: 45°25′N 29°17′E / 45.417°N 29.283°E / 45.417; 29.283Coordinates: 45°25′N 29°17′E / 45.417°N 29.283°E / 45.417; 29.283
Country	Romania
County	Tulcea
Component villages	Câşliţa, Chilia Veche, Ostrov Tătaru, Tatanir
Government
- Mayor	Georgeta Ciupitu (since 2004)
Area
- Total	533.58 km2 (206 sq mi)
Population (2002)
- Total	3,606
- Density	6.8/km2 (17.5/sq mi)
Postal code
Website	http://www.cjtulcea.ro/judet/chilia.html (Romanian)

Chilia Veche (pronunciation: /ki.'li.a 've.ke/; meaning Older Chilia; Ukrainian: Stara Kilia) is a commune in Tulcea County, Romania, on the Danube Delta (Dobruja). It gave its name to the Chilia branch of the Danube, which separates it from Ukraine. It is composed of four villages: Câşliţa, Chilia Veche, Ostrov Tătaru and Tatanir.

Founded by the Byzantines, it was given its name after the word for "granaries" - κελλίa, kellia, recorded earliest in 1241 in the works of Persian chronicler Rashid al-Din. Some scholars consider the mediaeval Genoese trade centre known as Lycostomo was also located here.^{[citation needed]} A town on the other side of the Danube, in Ukraine, known as Novo Kilia (Romanian: Chilia Nouă) or "Newer Chilia", was built by Stephen the Great of Moldavia in order to counteract the Ottoman Empire (that had taken control of the former town in the 15th century).

References

• Chilia Veche at GEOnet Names Server for the commune
• Chilia Veche at GEOnet Names Server for the town