Călărași 6.6

Călărași, the capital of Călărași County in the Muntenia region, is situated in south-east Romania, on the bank of Danube's Borcea branch, at about 12km from the Bulgarian border and 125kmfrom Bucharest.The city is an industrial centre for lumber and paper, food processing, glass manufacturing, textiles, medical equipment production and heavy industry, the last represented by the Călărași steel works. The city is known colloquially as "Capșa provinciei" (the Capșa from the provinces).HistoryThe site of a prehistoric village, called Lichiresti from the time of Michael the Brave. Călărași appeared for the first time in 1700 on a map drawn by Constantin Cantacuzino. It got its name after it was made by the Wallachian princes, in the 17th century, a station of "mounted couriers' service" on the route from Bucharest to Constantinople. The service was operated by horseback riders (the călărași). It expanded into a small town, and in 1834 became the surrounding county's capital.