Slobozia

Municipiul Slobozia
	Municipiul Slobozia
	; Coat of arms
	; Coat of arms
	Coordinates: 44°33′50″N 27°21′58″E / 44.56389°N 27.36611°E
Country	Romania
County	Ialomiţa
	Government
- Mayor	Gabi Ionaşcu, since 2000, SDP
	Area
- Total	132.87 km2 (51.3 sq mi)
	Population (2002 census)
- Total	52,710
- Density	396.70/km2 (1,027.4/sq mi)
- 2006 est.	53,000
- Ethnic groups	Romanians, Aromanians, Gypsies
Postal code	920xxx
Languages	Romanian
	Sister cities: Silistra, Veles
Website	http://www.sloboziail.ro

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For other places with the same name, see Slobozia (disambiguation).

Slobozia is the capital city of Ialomiţa County county, Romania, with a population of 52,710 in 2002.

[edit] Geography

Slobozia lies roughly in the middle of the county, on the banks of Ialomita River, at ca. 120 km (75 mi) east of Bucharest and 150 km (93 mi) west of Constanţa, important port at the Black Sea. The City is within 30 km of the Bucharest-Constanta A2 Motorway (Autostrada Soarelui).

The total area of the municipality is 132.87 km² (32,830 acres), of which 119.87 km² (29,620 acres) outside city limits and 13 km² (3,200 acres) in the city. In the present administrative form, Slobozia consists of Slobozia proper and the neighbourhoods of Bora and Slobozia Nouǎ.

[edit] Economy

The main activity in the area is agriculture, processing of the agricultural products and light industry.

[edit] Culture

In 1990 the Cultural Centre was inaugurated, bearing the name of the well-known conductor and compositor Ionel Perlea, a city native. The building houses exhibition and performance rooms, bookstores, cultural institutions. In 1999 the Cultural Centre Ionel Perlea entered the UNESCO circuit.

The city is the headquarters of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Slobozia and Călăraşi, established in 1993. Slobozia is 98.6% Orthodox, though churches serving other denominations also function there.

[edit] Etymology

The city was built on the place of the village "Vaideei". The name can be read as "vai de ei" which means "poor them/pity them".

Its name is from Romanian "slobozie", which meant a recently colonized village which was free of taxation. The word itself comes from the Slavic word "slobod" which means "free". As it is located in the middle of flat land (Bărăgan Plain), it was very vulnerable to Tatar and Ottoman incursions. To encourage peasants to settle there, they were exempted from some taxes, hence the name.

[edit] Tourism

The main tourist attraction consists of the nearby Lake Amara - 5 km away. Amara Resort is also a balneoclimateric resort. Access to Amara is by minibuses that leave every 15 minutes from the Slobozia Train Station. As part of a private tourist complex, there is a small copy of the Eiffel Tower (54m.).