Orşova

Infobox Settlement
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = ROU
timezone=EET
utc_offset=+2
timezone_DST=EEST
utc_offset_DST=+3
map_caption = Location of Orşova

official_name = Orşova
pushpin_

pushpin_label_position =
pushpin_map_caption =Location of Orşova
pushpin_mapsize =



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image_shield = Coa Orsova.jpg
subdivision_type1=County
subdivision_name1 = Mehedinţi County
subdivision_type2=Status
subdivision_name2 = Autolink|Municipality
settlement_type=Municipality |
leader_title=Mayor
leader_name = Constantin Negulescu

leader_party = Conservative Party
area_total_km2 =
population_as_of = 2002
population_total = 16975| = |latd=44|latm=43|lats=31|latNS=N|longd=22|longm=23|longs=46|longEW=E|
website = http://primariaorsova.lx.ro/

Orşova (German: "Orschowa", Hungarian: "Orsova", _bg. Орсово, _pl. Orszawa, _cs. Oršava) is a port city on the Danube river in southwestern Romania's Mehedinţi County (part of the Banat historical region). It is situated just above the Iron Gates, on the spot where the Cerna River meets the Danube.

History

The first documented mention of its name was in 1150 under the Latin name Ursoua. The name possibly comes from the Hungarian name Uros + the Slavic -ova.

* The locality was the site of a Roman port in Dacia Malvensis Orşova, and the site of a "castrum" named Dierna.

* An important Magyar burial site discovered in the region shows the presence of the Magyars since the early 10th century.

* King Ladislaus I of Hungary decisively defeated the Cumans near Orşova in 1091.

* It was a major border fortification in the Middle Ages.

* The city was captured by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1522.

* Orşova became part of the Habsburg Monarchy in 1687 at the start of an Ottoman-Habsburg War, but Ottoman forces recaptured it in 1690. The Treaty of Passarowitz gave the city back to the Kingdom of Hungary, who was a part of Austrian Empire in 1718. Treaty of Belgrade ave the city back to the Ottoman Empire in 1739. Finally, The Treaty of Sistova gave the city back to the Kingdom of Hungary in 1791. The city remained in Hungary until the end of World War I, when it became part of Romania. It was included in the Mehedinţi county during the administrative reform of 1968.

* The Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen was buried near Orşova from 1848 till 1853.

* During the works at the Iron Gates, the old center of the town was flooded and Orşova was developed (1966-1971) on higher ground, including the southern side of the Almăj Mountains and the villages of Jupalnic, Tufari, and Coramnic.

Economy

The town is a center for the extraction of bentonite, chromium, and granite. The industry is centered on energy production (the hydroelectric plant), shipbuilding and engine manufacturing, assembly parts for electricity production, textiles, and the processing of feldspar, asbestos, quartz, talc, wood, etc.

Born in Orşova

* Ignat Bednarik (1882-1963), painter
* Alexandru Fölker (1956), handball player