Oltenitza

Oltenitza (Oltenita), a town of Rumania, on the left bank of the river Argesh, 33 m. from its outflow into the Danube, and at a terminus of a branch railway from Bucharest. Pop. (1900) 5801. The principal trade is in grain, timber (floated down the Argesh) and fish. Lake Greca, famous for its carp, lies io m. E. and has an area of about 45 sq. m. Its waters reach the Danube through a network of streams, marshes and meres. Oltenitza is the ancient Constantiola, which was the seat of the first bishopric established in Dacia. In the Crimean War the Turks forced the river at this point and inflicted heavy losses on the Russians.