Slobozia

Slobozia
Slobozia
Municipality
	Orthodox Cathedral of Slobozia
	Coat of arms
	Location in Ialomița County
	Slobozia Location in Romania
	Coordinates: 44°33′50″N 27°21′58″E / 44.56389°N 27.36611°E
Country	Romania
County	Ialomița
Government
• Mayor (2020–2024)	Dragoș Soare (PNL)
Area	126.72 km2 (48.93 sq mi)
Population (2021-12-01)	41,550
• Density	330/km2 (850/sq mi)
Time zone	EET/EEST (UTC+2/+3)
Postal code	9200xx
Area code	(+40) 02 43
Vehicle reg.	IL
Website	municipiulslobozia.ro

Slobozia (Romanian pronunciation: [sloboˈzi.a]) is the capital city of Ialomița County, Muntenia, Romania, with a population of 41,550 in 2021.

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

Traditional costume of the Slobozia region

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.