(2023-06-15/18) Heavy rains on the Danube along the Romanian-Serbian border force me to make an unexpected stop in Orșova. The county has declared a code orange. Orșova is one of the oldest and also the youngest city in Romania. How does it work? Orșova, the old Orșova, with its two thousand years of history, perished in 1970 in the reservoir of the hydroelectric power plants at the Iron Gate. A completely new Orșova was built on the bank of the new reservoir between 1966-1971, the population was resettled and not much else has happened since then.
Not only Orșova fell victim to the gigantic construction project, but also the legendary Danube island Ada Kaleh, inhabited by Turks. Until 1923, the island was an exclave of the Ottoman Empire, after which it was annexed to Romania and finally sank into the floodwaters of the dammed Danube in 1971. Ada Kaleh was a romantic destination for the inhabitants of the surrounding regions. Here there were - tax-free [!] - Turkish delicacies, jewelry, tobacco products, rose oil and perfume. This picturesque remnant of Ottoman rule provided the material for numerousBallads and tales. Before Orșova and Ada Kaleh disappeared in the floods, they were razed to the ground, why actually?
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