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Silistra - History |
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At the end of 1912 the Balkan Alliance pushed the Turks out of Europe and Bulgaria and its neighbours negotiated for peace and distribution of the lands that used to be Turkish possession in Europe. At the same time, Romania, making use of the Bulgaria's engagements during the war claimed for the fertile south Dobroudzha as a compensation for the large parts of Macedonia, which Bulgaria would eventually gain. After the unsuccessful Bulgarian-Romanian negotiations in London, the two countries accepted the mediation of the Great Powers and a conference was summoned in the town of Sankt Petersburg. The conference recommended Bulgaria to cede the town of Silistra and the area westward and southward of it within radius of 3 km, with total area of 10 sq. km to Romania. The contradictions arisen among the Balkan allies for division of Macedonia, though the pre-arrangements between Bulgaria and Serbia for "disputable" and "indisputable" Bulgarian areas in this region, led to an armed clash that developed into the Second Balkan War in 1913.
During the Second World War Bulgaria managed, by a peace revision to sign an agreement with Romania for regaining Southern Dobroudzha (7696 sq. km) and the area of Bulgaria became 110 911 sq. km.
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The
Turks knew very well the merits of the old fortress. The name "Silistra"
was firstly mentioned during the negotiations between Tsar Ivan Shishman
and Mourad. In 1391 the fortress of Drustur became Turkish. Silistra
sandjak (district) included nine towns - Rousokastro, Anhialo, Mesemvria,
Aitos, Karnobat, Varna, Silistra and Harsovo and two towns beyond the
Danube - Akkerman and Kilia.
During
the war, after its defeat Romania was forced to sign in Bouftea on 5 March
1918 a preliminary peace treaty. The preliminary conditions were confirmed
by a peace treaty according to which Bulgaria regained Southern Dobroudzha
and some parts of Northern Dobroudzha two months later, on 7 May 1918 in
Bucharest. The victorious countries had condominium ownership of the rest
part of Northern Dobroudzha. Bulgaria, frustrated by the partition of
Dobroudzha insisted on possessing the whole area. After negotiations, on
25 September 1918 a written statement was signed in Berlin by Germany,
Austro-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria. According to it Bulgaria was allowed
to keep the whole Northern Dobroudzha and obliged to give back to Turkey
the left bank of the Maritsa River. In this way, the whole Dobroudzha,
covering an area of 20,6 thousand sq. km (the Danubian delta - 2,7
thousand sq. km not included) for first and last time was within the
territory of the Third Bulgarian Kingdom. Unfortunately, four days later
the Kingdom surrendered, signing on 29 Sept. 1918, in Solonika a truce
with the Entente. Till the end of the war the Romanian Parliament did not
ratify the treaty of Bucharest, which was cancelled by Versailles Peace
Treaty for Germany and ratified for Bulgaria by par. 171 of Neuille Peace
Treaty.
Till
the Second World War Silistra was an important town with strategic
location a part of the military quadrangle Varna-Silistra-Razgrad-Shoumen.
After 1945 the town became a sleepy border settlement, lacking in the
vigour and comparative sophistication of Rousse. Economic activity in the
town revolved around the port, main outlet for the grain of the Dobroudzha
plain to the southeast. It was as late as 1970 when industry started
developing here - wood processing, machine-building, food and wine
industries, electronics. The first problems and town-planning mistakes
appeared together with the construction of the industrial buildings.
Taking advantage of the water road (the Danube River) the whole industrial
area was built in the northern part of the town. From the ecological point
of view it is not correct because the town remains after the industrial
area along the course of the river. What is more, the town is limited to
the northeast by the state frontier, to the north and northwest by the
Danube and to the west by the industrial area. The only opportunity for
town development is southwards which was not the best decision because the
villa area is located here. The town-planning processes marking the period
from 1970 to 1990 in Bulgaria made this problem even more acute. It was
partly solved by the raising blocks of flats but in this way Silistra lost
its originality and specific architecture and turned to a boring border
settlement.