Sulina

During the mid-Byzantine period, Sulina was a small cove, and in the 14th century, a Genoese port inhabited by a handful of sailors, pirates and fishermen. In the 18th century, the Ottomans built a lighthouse there in order to facilitate communication between Constantinople (Istanbul) and the Danubian Principalities, the main breadbaskets for the Ottoman capital.{{Citation needed|date=November 2023}}

Thanks to the signing of the Treaty of Adrianoupolis (Edirne) on September 2, 1829, that unfettered the Danube grain trade, Sulina, by then under Russian control, became an important port. Great sailing boats could not sail fully loaded to Brăila and Galați, which were the main export centers of Wallachia and Moldavia, because of the shallow waters of the river; therefore, they had to transship at least part of their cargoes to smaller riverboats (shleps). The owners and crew of these shleps were almost always Greek.

Even greater development occurred after the signing of the Treaty of Paris (1856), which ended the Crimean War. One of the treaty's terms determined the establishment of the European Commission of the Danube (CED), which would conduct infrastructure works on the mouth of the river in order to make it navigable for larger ships as well. The technical works allowed entrance to the Danube for a great number of "foreign", i.e. non-Greek ships, leading to a higher level of competition. River trading, however, largely remained in Greek hands. The declaration by the Ottoman administration of Sulina as a free port in 1870 also boosted its development.

The Russo-Ottoman war of 1877–1878 led to many changes as well. The city was initially put under Russian control and after the signing of the Berlin Treaty was annexed to Romania, as was the whole Dobruja area.[http://blacksea.ehw.gr/Forms/fLemmaBody.aspx?lemmaid=11602 Encyclopedia of Greater Hellenism, article "Sulina".] According to an 1878 estimate, the town then had a total population of 800, consisting of 350 Greeks, 150 Turks, 50 Romanians, 50 Russian Old Believers and 200 others.Kemal Karpat (1985), [https://kupdf.net/downloadFile/59e4a7b908bbc56144e653d7 Ottoman Population, 1830-1914, Demographic and Social Characteristics], The University of Wisconsin Press, p. 199 During World War I the city served as base for the Romanian cruiser Elisabeta, whose actions kept the Danube Delta under Romanian control throughout the war.Warship International Volume 21, p. 166

In November 1916, the German submarine UC-15 was sent on a minelaying mission off Sulina and never returned, being sunk by her own mines.R.H. Gibson, Maurice Prendergast, The German Submarine War 1914-1918, Periscope Publishing, 2002, p. 135United States Naval Institute Proceedings, Volume 64, United States Naval Institute, 1938, p. 73 This was probably caused by an encounter with the Romanian torpedo boat Smeul, whose captain surprised a German submarine near Sulina in November 1916, the latter reportedly never returning to her base at Varna. This could only have been UC-15, whose systems most likely malfunctioned after being forced to submerge in the shallow waters, upon encountering the Romanian torpedo boat.Cristian Crăciunoiu, Romanian navy torpedo boats, Modelism Publishing, 2003, p. 24

In World War II, the Soviet M-class submarine M-59 was sunk by mines laid off Sulina by the Romanian minelayers Amiral Murgescu, Regele Carol I and Dacia.Mikhail Monakov, Jurgen Rohwer, Stalin's Ocean-going Fleet: Soviet Naval Strategy and Shipbuilding Programs 1935-1953, p. 266

Sulina has a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification: BSk).

{{Weather box

|width = auto

|location = Sulina (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1961−2020)

|single line = Yes

|metric first = Yes

|Jan record high C = 13.8

|Feb record high C = 17.9

|Mar record high C = 24.5

|Apr record high C = 23.2

|May record high C = 29.3

|Jun record high C = 33.8

|Jul record high C = 34.5

|Aug record high C = 34.4

|Sep record high C = 32.6

|Oct record high C = 26.2

|Nov record high C = 22.2

|Dec record high C = 16.6

|year record high C = 34.5

|Jan high C = 3.5

|Feb high C = 4.3

|Mar high C = 7.7

|Apr high C = 12.8

|May high C = 19.1

|Jun high C = 24.1

|Jul high C = 26.7

|Aug high C = 26.5

|Sep high C = 21.7

|Oct high C = 16.1

|Nov high C = 10.5

|Dec high C = 5.6

|year high C = 14.9

|Jan mean C = 0.9

|Feb mean C = 1.8

|Mar mean C = 5.1

|Apr mean C = 10.4

|May mean C = 16.5

|Jun mean C = 21.2

|Jul mean C = 23.6

|Aug mean C = 23.5

|Sep mean C = 18.9

|Oct mean C = 13.6

|Nov mean C = 8.2

|Dec mean C = 3.1

|year mean C = 12.2

|Jan low C = -1.3

|Feb low C = -0.3

|Mar low C = 3.3

|Apr low C = 8.6

|May low C = 14.5

|Jun low C = 18.8

|Jul low C = 20.9

|Aug low C = 20.9

|Sep low C = 16.4

|Oct low C = 11.5

|Nov low C = 6.0

|Dec low C = 0.9

|year low C = 10.0

|Jan record low C = -17.7

|Feb record low C = -17.8

|Mar record low C = -15.6

|Apr record low C = -0.7

|May record low C = 4.4

|Jun record low C = 9.3

|Jul record low C = 12.1

|Aug record low C = 10.5

|Sep record low C = 4.4

|Oct record low C = -1.0

|Nov record low C = -8.0

|Dec record low C = -11.5

|year record low C = -17.8

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 16.0

|Feb precipitation mm = 11.9

|Mar precipitation mm = 17.4

|Apr precipitation mm = 14.0

|May precipitation mm = 20.3

|Jun precipitation mm = 28.3

|Jul precipitation mm = 18.9

|Aug precipitation mm = 23.5

|Sep precipitation mm = 21.5

|Oct precipitation mm = 24.3

|Nov precipitation mm = 22.7

|Dec precipitation mm = 21.7

|year precipitation mm = 240.5

|unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm

|Jan precipitation days = 3.6

|Feb precipitation days = 3.3

|Mar precipitation days = 4.0

|Apr precipitation days = 3.8

|May precipitation days = 4.0

|Jun precipitation days = 3.7

|Jul precipitation days = 2.7

|Aug precipitation days = 2.3

|Sep precipitation days = 3.2

|Oct precipitation days = 3.5

|Nov precipitation days = 3.8

|Dec precipitation days = 4.7

|year precipitation days = 42.6

|Jan sun = 75.9

|Feb sun = 103.1

|Mar sun = 148.3

|Apr sun = 204.2

|May sun = 278.9

|Jun sun = 305.1

|Jul sun = 334.7

|Aug sun = 308.5

|Sep sun = 229.7

|Oct sun = 159.8

|Nov sun = 90.0

|Dec sun = 73.4

|year sun = 2311.6

|humidity colour = green

|Jan humidity = 84

|Feb humidity = 82

|Mar humidity = 80

|Apr humidity = 77

|May humidity = 76

|Jun humidity = 73

|Jul humidity = 72

|Aug humidity = 74

|Sep humidity = 76

|Oct humidity = 79

|Nov humidity = 83

|Dec humidity = 84

|Jan dew point C = -1.6

|Feb dew point C = -1.2

|Mar dew point C = 1.7

|Apr dew point C = 7.0

|May dew point C = 12.3

|Jun dew point C = 16.2

|Jul dew point C = 18.0

|Aug dew point C = 17.8

|Sep dew point C = 14.7

|Oct dew point C = 10.0

|Nov dew point C = 5.3

|Dec dew point C = 1.4

|source 1 = NOAA (dew point 1961–1990){{cite web

|url = https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/1.1/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/Romania/CSV/Sulina_15360.csv

|title = Sulina Climate Normals 1991-2020

|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

|access-date = August 17, 2023

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230817042244/https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/1.1/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/Romania/CSV/Sulina_15360.csv

|archive-date = 2023-08-17}}{{cite web

|url = ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/TABLES/REG_VI/RO/15360.TXT

|title = Sulina Climate Normals 1961-1990

|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201024175940/ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/TABLES/REG_VI/RO/15360.TXT

|archive-date = 2020-10-24

|url-status = dead

|access-date = July 9, 2015

}}

|source 2 = Danish Meteorological Institute (humidity, 1931–1960){{cite web

|last1 = Cappelen

|first1 = John

|last2 = Jensen

|first2 = Jens

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130427173827/http://www.dmi.dk/dmi/tr01-17.pdf

|archive-date = April 27, 2013

|url = http://www.dmi.dk/dmi/tr01-17.pdf

|work = Climate Data for Selected Stations (1931-1960)

|title = RUMÆNIEN - BUCURESTI/IMH

|page = 216

|publisher = Danish Meteorological Institute

|language = da

|access-date = August 29, 2023}}

}}

{{Historical populations|align=right

|source = Census data

|1900 |5612

|1912 |7347

|1930 |6399

|1948 |3373

|1956 |3622

|1966 |4005

|1977 |4911

|1992 |5484

|2002 |5140

|2011 |3663

|2021 |3118

}}

According to the 2021 census, the town has 3,118 inhabitants. At the 2011 census, 82.82% of the population were Romanians, 11.43% Lipovans, 1.8% Greeks, 1.29% Ukrainians, and 2.3% of other or undeclared ethnicity. At the 2002 census, 93.0% spoke Romanian and 5.7% Russian as their first language. 94.3% were Orthodox, and 5.1% Old Believers.

At the 1930 census, 47.2% were Romanians, 20.8% Greeks, 17.7% Lipovans, 3.3% Serbs, 3.0% Turks, 1.6% Jews, 1.0% Germans, and 5.4% others.{{cite book | title = Recensământul populației din 1930 |page=480 | chapter = Populația pe Neamuri | publisher = Institutul Central de Statistică }}

• Romulus Bărbulescu (1925–2010), science-fiction writer
• Manya Botez (1896–1971), pianist and children's music teacher
• George Georgescu (1887–1964), conductor
• Vahan Malezian (1871–1966), writer, translator, poet, and social activist
• Ionel Petrov (born 1934), rower
• Ștefan Tarasov (born 1943), rower

• {{ill|Lighthouse of the European Commission of the Danube|ro|Farul Comisiei Europene a Dunării de la Sulina}}
• {{ill|Cathedral of Sf. Alexandru and Sf. Nicolae|ro|Catedrala Sfântul Alexandru și Sfântul Nicolae din Sulina}}
• Cemetery of the European Danube Commission

The waters of the Danube, which flow into the Black Sea, form the largest and best preserved of Europe's river deltas. The Danube delta hosts over 300 species of birds as well as 45 freshwater fish species in its numerous lakes and marshes.From the [http://www.unesco.org/ UNESCO] website

File:RO TL Sulina Danube Comission palace.jpg|The Palace of the Danube Commission

File:Lighthouse in Sulina.jpg|The Lighthouse

File:Sulina from space.jpg|Sulina from space (2011)

File:SulinaSentinel202205122359.jpg|Sulina from space (2022)

{{Reflist}}

• [https://books.google.com/books?id=FVvXAgAAQBAJ&dq=sulina+greeks&pg=PA219 Constantin Ardeleanu, International Trade and Diplomacy at the Lower Danube: The Sulina Question and the Economic Premises of the Crimean War (1829-185), Editura Istros, 2014.]

{{Commons category|Sulina}}

• [https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/588/ The Danube Delta Biosphere Reservation]
• {{cite EB1911|wstitle=Sulina}}

{{Tulcea County}}

{{Danube}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Towns in Romania

Category:Danube Delta

Category:Populated places in Tulcea County

Category:Localities in Northern Dobruja

Category:Populated places on the Danube

Category:Populated coastal places in Romania

Category:Port cities and towns in Romania

Category:Port cities of the Black Sea

Category:Extreme points of Romania