Geography and
population
Silistra Region is situated in the northern part of Bulgaria, on the bank of the Danube River.
It is predominantly an agricultural region on the Romanian border. It is
located in the Dobrudja plain, 200 meters above sea level. The climate is
primarily continental with hot summers and cold winters. The Silistra Region
covers 2 844 366 square kilometers of land, which includes 7 municipalities:
Silistra, Dulovo, Tutrakan, Alfatar, Sitovo, Glavinitza, Kainardja and 118
villages. The administrative center of the region is Silistra – a town, which
dates back thousands of years and has an important role in the history of Bulgaria. The
population of the region is 152 393. People from different ethnic groups work
and live together here: Bulgarians, Turks, Roma, Armenians, and others.
Logistics-roads,
railroads, airports
The good geographic location and access to a variety
of transportation options make the Silistra region a good prospect for economic
development.
Port
The Silistra industrial port is the only Bulgarian
port on the Danube
River with the capacity
to hold river and sea ships weighing up to 5000 tons.
The port provides the opportunity to utilize Silistra
as a link in the “Silk Route”,
connecting the Far East to Western Europe via International Route
#7 and the Rein-Main channel.
The Silistra Danube commercial port has a 400 m key,
five places for ships to dock, mechanization for re-transportation, loading, or
unloading– one 32 ton portal crane and two 10 ton portal cranes, as well as a
platform scale for weighing up to 50 tons.
Ferry
The future ferry link between Tutakan – Oltenitza, Rumania
and Silistra – Calarashi, Rumania will be of great importance for
cross-border activities and accessing the Bucharest
marke
These ferries will also provide the opportunity to
increase trade from Scandinavia through Rumania
and continuing on to Turkey
and the Middle East by creating a route, other than through Rousse, to enter Bulgaria.
The road-to- road terminal of Silistra - Reni, Ukraine
Through the Danube
River, this route will
also help to increase trade between countries. All of the variations mentioned
above are alternative transportation trade routes to the European Transport
Corridor #9.
Second longest runway in Bulgaria
Ten kilometers outside of Silistra there is a cargo
airport, which was build for international and domestic flights.
It is state owned, but unfortunately is not currently
in operation. It has the capacity to boost prospects for international trade
with Russia,
and Asian and West European countries.
The airport has a fully equipped flight tower and the
second longest long runways in the country.
Rail
The Region also has rail access; there are 67 km of
railroad track in the region, with ten villages and towns along the route,
which connects and is a part of the national rail system.
Places of
interest
This region has a rich cultural and historic heritage.
One of the oldest Bulgarian towns, Silistra dates back to the early times of
the Roman Empire. The ancient town was
established as a Roman fortress about 1800 years ago. There are many ancient
Roman relics in the area, including a 15 km Roman road. The only Roman cemetery
with ancient paintings from the ІV Century A.D. on the Balkan
Peninsula is located here. The natural game reserve “Karakuz”,
with its three picturesque villas, is an ideal place for hunting tourism to be
developed. There is the oldest Byzantium
Christian Holy Place for Holy Water which has
provided the holy water for the churches in Byzantium for more than 7 centuries.
Tourist places in the city of Silistra
are: the Historical and Ethnographic Museums; Roman Tomb; Art Gallery;
Architecture-archeological reserve Durostorum-Drastar-Silistra
Other attractions in the Silistra Region:
Only 17 places all over the world have the status of
“Biosphere Reserve Class A”. One of the 17 is located within the Silistra
region, only 14 km outside of Silistra. In 1977, UNESKO nominated the unique
reserve “Srebarna” to this rare status. The place is a unique wet zone where
over 160 bird species nest. The place called “Suha reka” has many unique caves.
A hundred- years old Danube
park, which is situated in the heart of the regional town “Krepostta”- a
well-preserved Turkish defensive fort dating back from 1847.
Architecture reserve “Ribarska mahala” – dating from
the period of the Renaissance with authentic ensemble of 48 old buildings.
The only Ethnographic Museum in the Balkan peninsula,
the Museum “Danube Fishery and Boat constructing”.
Natural reserve “Malak Preslavets” – a lake with
beautiful water lilies.
Dobrudjan house, Alfatar, built in 1893, shows the
traditional setting of the dobrudjan house from the end of XIX c. till the
middle of the XXc.
Church “St. Trinity”,
Alfatar – unique cultural – historical monument.
Early Middle Ages Fortress “Kartal Kale” near the village of Ruino
Park “Aiazmoto” near Dulovo – as per the legends
during XVc. here settled Demir Baba. Middle Age Fortress in the place called
“Tashli mahle” in the village
of Okorsh. Natural
Hunting Resrve “Karakus”, where 3 beautiful hunting villas are situated. Early
Middle Ages stone monasteries near the village of Varbiino,
Dulovo municipality.
Types of tourism:
The natural and the historical resources of Silistra
region have great potential for development: areas rich in historical,
cultural, and ecological sites, hunting, and various other opportunities for
entertainment and relaxation exist along the lovely Danube River.
Lodging: There are 8 private hotels, 5 of which are
two stars, 1 motel, 1 bureau for private lodgings, and 5 tourist houses
functioning at the territory
of Silistra region.
The reserve "Srebarna" is situated on the
territory of the municipality, which since 1977 has a status of reserve with
world importance. The international coordination bureau unto UNESCO defines it
as a biosphere reserve category "А". Such statuses have only
seventeen places in the world. The biosphere reserve "Srebarna" is
included in the world fund of natural monuments unto UNESCO in 1984. It is
situated on 10 km distance from Silistra. Has area of 7000 decare. There stay
temporary over 200 species of birds, which are exposed in the Museum of Nature.
This is the only place in Bulgaria
where stays the curl-head pelican. The municipality of Silistra
can represent this unique flora and fauna before its visitors.