Kladovo

Native name	Кладово
Official name	Kladovo
Image shield	COA Kladovo.png
District	Bor
Mayor	Dejan Nikolic
Area km2	629
Population total	9111
Mpop	23622
Code	19
Settlements	23
Plates	BO
Postal code	19320
Website	www.kladovo.org.rs

Kladovo (Serbian Cyrillic: Кладово, Romanian: Cladovă, German: Kladowo, Latin and Romanised Greek: Zanes) is a town and municipality in the Bor District of eastern Serbia. It is situated on the right side of the river Danube. The population of the Kladovo town is 9,111, while the population of the Kladovo municipality with surrounding settlements is 23,622 (2002 census).

Name

In Serbian, the town is known as Kladovo (Кладово), in Vlach/Romanian as Claudia, and in German as Kladowo or Kladovo. In the time of the Roman Empire, the name of the town was Zanes while the fortifications was known as Diana and Pontes (from Greek "sea" -pontos, or Roman "bridge" - pontem). Emperor Trajan let build a number of fortications in the area during Roman times, as the well-known Trajan's Bridge (Pontes was built on the Serbian side, Theodora was built on the Romanian side). Later, old Slavs founded here their settlement that was named Novi Grad (Нови Град), while Ottomans built here a fortress named Fetislam. The present-day name of Kladovo is first recorded in 1596 in one Austrian military document.

There are several theories about origin of the current name of the town:

According to one theory (Ranka Kuic), name of the town derived from Celtic word "kladiff" meaning "cemetery" in English.

According to another theory (Ranko Jakovljevic), the name derived from the word "klad" (a gadget used fom imprisonment of the people).

According to the third theory, the name derived from Slavic word "kladenac" meaning "well" in English or from Slavic word "klada" meaning "stump" in English.

There is also a theory that name of the town derived from the Bulgarian duke Glad, who ruled over this region in the 9th century.

There is a settlement with the same name in Russia near Moscow and it is believed that this settlement was founded by Serbs who moved there from Serbian Kladovo in the 18th century. One of the suburbs of Berlin also have this name, which originates from the Slavic Lusatian Serbs (Sorbs) who live in eastern Germany.

History

Early Bronze Age pottery of the Kostolac-Kocofeni culture was found in Donje Butorke, Kladovo, as well as several miniature duck-shaped vases of 14th century BC in Mala Vrbica and Korbovo. Bronze Age necropolis with rituals, pottery (decorated with meander) and other significant archaeological items were found in Korbovo.

In ancient times, a fortification near Trajan's bridge named Zanes/Pontes existed at this location, the area was governed by the Dacian Albocense tribe. In the Middle Ages, the Slavs founded here new town named Novi Grad (Нови Град), but it was razed by the Hungarians in 1502. It was rebuilt in 1524 by the Ottomans and received new name: Fethi Islam (Fetislam). According to Ottoman traveler, Evliya Chelebi, who visited the town in 1666, most of its inhabitants spoke local Slavic language and Turkish language, while some also spoke Vlach. In 1784, the population of Kladovo numbered 140 Muslim and 50 Christian houses.

Municipalities

Kladovo municipalities includes the town of Kladovo, the town of Brza Palanka, and the following villages:

Population

Ethnic groups in the municipality

According to the 2002 census the population of the Kladovo municipality is composed of:

Serbs = 21,702 (91.91%)

Romanians(Vlachs) = 568 (2.41%)

others.

According to the 2002 census, all settlements in the Kladovo municipality have Serb ethnic majority.

Ethnic groups in the town

According to the 2002 census the population of the Kladovo town is composed of:

Serbs = 8,584 (93.90%)

Romanians(Vlachs) = 112 (1.23%)

others.

Economy

The main business is the hydro-electric power plant "Đerdap". Other businesses began primarily to support the building and operation of the power plant, and the local folk.

The population of the villages around Kladovo is mostly supported by the family members who work as guest-workers in the countries of western Europe, agriculture is a side activity more than an income-generating one.

Features

Kladovo has one hospital, two daycare and kindergarten centers, one elementary school (grades 1 through 8), one high school and several vocational schools. Though the river Danube is very polluted by international standards, many people still fish in it. Before the power plant was built, sturgeon caviar from this area was very popular and was exported as a delicacy to the western Europe and the United States.

The nearby archeological sites include the remnants of Roman Emperor Trajan's bridge, one of many Trajan's tables, remnants of Trajan's road through the Danube's Iron Gates, and the Roman fortress Diana.

During the Ottoman occupation of the Balkan peninsula a fortress was built near the town. The fortress's name is Fetislam (originally Feht-ul-Islam meaning "gate of Islam") and in 1970's it was converted into a sports complex containing children's playgrounds, track and soccer fields, handball, volleyball and tennis courts. The Iron Gates national park offers breathtaking views, excellent hunting grounds, and many trails for hiking (most trails are not well marked or maintained, so hiking is recommended only for the experienced).

The town has one hotel "Đerdap" and one youth camp "Karataš" (Turkish kara-tash for "black stone") which host many of the visiting tourists. Kladovo has many cafés and restaurants, some offering live music entertainment late into the night. The town's quay stretches about 3 kilometers (2 miles) along the Danube river, offering quite beautiful scenery for strolling.

Famous residents

Famous temporary residents were Saint Nicodim Tismansky (XIV-XV c.) and Vuk Stefanović Karadžić, a Serbian linguist and reformer of the Serbian language.

References

External links

Kladovo town website

Jedan pogled u proslost:Kladovo

Stari kladovski grad

Kladovo, od juče do večnosti

Dunav na granicama stvarnog i mogućeg

[http://elmundosefarad.wikidot.com/kladovo-1835-1965 Kladovo 1835-1965

Kladovo na dlanu

Istorija Kladova

3-2010-09.pdf Kafane

Category:Populated places in Central Serbia Category:Timočka Krajina Category:Municipalities of Central Serbia

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