Slobozia (Romanian pronunciation: [sloboˈzi.a]) is the capital city of Ialomița County, Muntenia, Romania, with a population of 41,550 in 2021.
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Etymology
Its name is from the 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.
Geography
Slobozia lies roughly in the middle of the county, on the banks of Ialomița River, at about 120 km (75 mi) east of Bucharest and 150 km (93 mi) west of Constanța, important port at the Black Sea. The city is within 17 km (11 mi) of the Bucharest-Constanța A2 Motorway (Autostrada Soarelui).
The total area of the municipality is 126.72 km2 (48.93 sq mi). In the present administrative form, Slobozia consists of Slobozia proper and the neighbourhoods of Bora and Slobozia Nouă.
Economy
The main activity in the area is agriculture, processing of the agricultural products and light industry.
Culture
In 1990 the Cultural Centre was inaugurated, bearing the name of the conductor and composer 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 Călărași, established in 1993.
Demographics
At the 2002 census, 97.6% of inhabitants were ethnic Romanians and 2.2% Roma. 98.6% were Romanian Orthodox, 0.4% Seventh-day Adventist and 0.2% Roman Catholic.
Tourism
The main tourist attraction consists of the nearby Lake Amara, situated 5 km (3.1 mi) 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 54 m (177 ft) high.
Twin towns and sister cities
Slobozia is twinned with:
Nanyang, China
Razgrad, Bulgaria
Silistra, Bulgaria
Veles, North Macedonia
Notable people
Alin Badea (born 1988), sabre fencer
Mihaela Bulică (born 1990), sabre fencer
Mircea Dinescu (born 1950), poet, journalist, and editor
Petre Dumitru (born 1957), weightlifter
Petru Filip (born 1955), politician
Cristina Gheorghe (born 1986), handballer
Adrian Mihalcea (born 1976), footballer
Minelli (born 1988), singer, songwriter, and lyricist
Doina Spîrcu (born 1970), rower
Iulian Teodosiu (born 1994), sabre fencer
Adrian Ursea (born 1967), football player and manager
Elena Voicu (born 1990), handballer