Drobeta-Turnu Severin : Romania
Drobeta-Turnu Severin : Romania
Drobeta-Turnu Severin (Hungarian: Szörényvár) is a city in Mehedinti county, Oltenia, Romania, on the left bank of the Danube, below the Iron Gates.
Population
1900: 18,628
2000:104,000
History
The town, which was originally called Drobetae by the Romans, took its later name of Turnu Severin, or the Tower of Severus, from a tower which stood on a small hill surrounded by a deep fosse. This was built to commemorate a victory over the Quadi and Marcomanni, by the Roman emperor Severus (222-235). Near Turnu Severin are the remains of the celebrated Trajan’s bridge, the largest in the Roman Empire, built in 103 by the architect Apollodorus of Damascus. The river is about 4000 ft. broad at this spot. The bridge was composed of twenty arches supported by stone pillars, several of which are still visible at low water.