Silistra tourist information
Silistra Bulgaria
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.
The good geographic location and access to a variety of transportation options make the Silistra region a good prospect for economic development.
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.
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 market.
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.
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.
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.
The Silistra region industrial base manufactures a wide range of high quality products. These enterprises include wood and metal processing machines, electronic cash registers, spare parts and moldings, centrifugal pumps, baling presses, wooden flats and fiberboard, wooden crating, packaging material, concrete roof-tiles, covers and roof accessories, leather haberdashery, travel bags and travel cases, kitchen, home and souvenir ceramics, wicker furniture, tablecloths, napkins, kitchen towels, household linen, writing and printing paper, agricultural machines, textile and herb production, and the production of a variety of stainless steel house ware items. There is also a meat processing plant in the region, Mekom JSK, the only Bulgarian company, which has a license to export meat and all types of meat products to the European Union. A large number of food processing companies are present in the region because of the agricultural development in this region.
The region has developed as a traditional agricultural district. The combination of a mild climate and fertile soil creates favorable conditions for modern, state-of-the-art, organic agriculture to be developed. Pesticides and herbicides have not been used for the past 10 years on the crops in the region. A special type of tobacco, “Burlay”, is currently being grown because the soil along the Danube is very conducive for this type of tobacco. Eroded land around the Danube River bank is being redeveloped and used to produce herbs and oil-producing crops /i.e. sunflowers and corn/. The region is suitable and famous for grain producing crops and for the cultivation of apricots. Grapes are grown in numerous vineyards throughout the region.
Crafts: Production with old weaving techniques, from natural resources and materials – wool, cotton, linen and silk – to make materials for the household and also clothing and accessories are combined with the modern trends for development of products and materials for interior decorating and for fashion. Home- made spinning, weaving, knitting and embroidery are practiced throughout the region.
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 kilometer Roman road. The only Roman cemetery with ancient paintings from the ²V 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
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 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 star, 1 motel, 1 bureau for private lodgings, and 5 tourist houses functioning at the territory of Silistra region.
Silistra aerial map
Please click on any icon on the Silistra aerial tourist map, to find close by places, offering hotels and tourist information. You can zoom in and zoom out our touristical map as well as switch between satelite and map view of Silistra.
Silistra weather forecast
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