Ada Kaleh

Ada Kaleh (or Island Fortress in Turkish) was a small island on the Romanian side of the Danube River. In 1970, the government evacuated its approximately 600 inhabitants and submerged the island during the construction of the Iron Gates hydroelectric plant. The island was approximately 1.7 km long and 500 m wide. Ada Kaleh was situated near the town of Orsova, in southwestern Romania, where the Danube enters Romania. It was an important strategic point along history, and so disputed by the Ottoman and Habsburg Empires.

The Greek historian Herodotus first mentioned its existence in Ancient Times. Ada Kaleh has a long history. The island was conquered  in the late 14th century by the Turks during the rule of sultan Bayezid. However, during the Middle Ages and the modern times, the island alternately went under Ottoman and Austrian rule. These administrations left an important mark on the fortress, which lends its name to the island. The old Ottoman citadel and the ensuing Habsburg touches finally resulted in a star shaped fortress, with 6 gates and 20 towers. In 1885, the island was declared an open garrison and was officially named Ada Kaleh. In 1923, in a referendum, the inhabitants agreed with joining Romania.

Ada Kaleh’s population, mostly Turkish, was living in a patriarchal style, in small houses, on both sides of small streets with a typical oriental atmosphere and Mediterranean-like vegetation. Their idyllic existence came to an end between 1967 and 1970, when the communist authorities evacuated the island and demolished the houses. The main aim for their move was to build the Iron Gates power plant, jointly with the former Yugoslavia. After several interventions made by archeologists, the fortress was moved on the Simian island. The people however, did not want to move there; most of the people living there before the island sank moved to other places in Romania and abroad. Once the dam was built in 1971, the island was submerged. Today, Ada Kaleh is still under water, carrying with it the sorrows of those who lived on the island and of their descendants.