GIURGIU

judet (county), southeastern Romania, occupying an area of 1,471 square miles (3,810 square km) bounded on the south by the Danube River and Bulgaria. The county, consisting mostly of lowlands, was formed in 1981 from a portion of Ilfov district. Besides the eastward-flowing Danube, the county is also drained southward by the Arges and Dimobovita rivers. At the junction of the Clnistea and Neajlov rivers, which are tributaries of the Arges, is Lake Comana. Giurgiu (q.v.) city, a port on the Danube, is the county capital. Livestock raising and cereal growing are the main agricultural activities of the county. Michael the Brave (Mihai Viteazul; 15581601) won a battle against the Turkish army near Calugareni in 1595, and a bronze effigy near the town commemorates the battle. Bucsani, Domnesti, and Letca Noua are other towns in the county. Forest preserves are situated along the Arges River. Highways and railway connections extend through Giurgiu, and a highway and railway connection between Bucharest and Craiova cross the northern portion of the county. Pop. (1984 est.) 374,210. city, capital of Giurgiu judet (county), southern Romania. It is situated on the left (north) bank of the Danube, 40 miles (65 km) south of Bucharest. Its origins have not been clearly established, though it is probable that Genoese navigators built a citadel named San Giorgio on the island in front of the harbour and that the present name was derived from that. In historical documents, the name appears first in 1403, in a treaty renewal between Prince Mircea the Old and the Polish king Wladyslaw II Jagiello. In 1417 Giurgiu was conquered by the Turks and remained in Turkish hands until 1829, when the Peace of Adrianople returned it to Walachia. The church of St. Nicholas (built in 1830 by Nicholas I, tsar of Russia) commemorates the treaty. The earliest railway line in Romania was laid from Bucharest to Giurgiu in 1869. Friendship Bridge, a bilevel highwayrailway bridge over the Danube, connecting the city to Ruse, in Bulgaria, was completed in 1954. The city has become an important river port. Giurgiu has a modern shipyard; its industries include a sugar refinery, a cannery, and a rug and carpet factory. Pop. (1985 est.) 62,386.