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"The European destiny of Drobeta Turnu Severin result direct from his geographic position, this space representing a real bridge between the European Center and Near East, between the Nord of Europe and Mediterranean world. The antic city Drobeta and the modern city Drobeta Turnu Severin kept and keep the Europe and Balkan key. Here it was open the "Iron Gates" for waters and pupils, the antic and the modern Drobeta becoming also the symbol of the admittance of Balkans in Europe and of Europe in Balkans. But first, Drobeta signifies the beginning of the Romanian people, inaugurated by the entrance of Traian Emperor which brought with him the Roman culture, same as, after centuries, also by the entrance of King Carol I here, at Turnu Severin, the West penetrated on the Romanian earth, determining the birth of the modern Romania.
The olden times of the city history made that his territory to be a genuine and big open museum.
... Here it was the space of a continuum and original synthesis of culture and civilization, which imposed by the people diligence and skill., by the region's beauty and richness."
(Mihai Butnariu, "The Monograph of Drobeta Turnu Severin Town)
The antique bridge on the Danube, bulit by Apollodor from Damasc
Romania is one of the countries visited by the largest river in Europe, the Danube. Where the river enters the Romanian territory, it meanders along the border for a long way, through what is called "The Iron Gates", the natural gorges of the Danube. After it leaves the gorges, on the board of Danube we find the town of Drobeta Turnu Severin. An ancient settlement, the Dacian town was made into a castrum (fortified place) by the Romans, as described by the 2nd-century Greek geographer Ptolemy of Alexandria. The name Turnu Severin, meaning "Tower of Severus," came from a tower built to commemorate a victory by the 2nd and 3rd century emperor Septimius Severus. The town has other remnants of the distant past, among which worth mentioning are the ruins of the Roman fortress and baths. But the most impressive feature of this place is the vestiges of the great bridge built across the Danube for Emperor Traianus by Apollodorus of Damascus. The bridge was quite an achievement of the 2nd century engineering. It took the army of the Emperor across the Danube to conquer Dacia.
In modern times, a huge dam was built nearby, to harness the power of the Danube. It now produces electricity for a large part of the Romanian southern region, and also for a part of former Yugoslavia. There was a price to pay, though, and large chunks of land were inundated by the huge lake that formed. Among them, the picturesque island of Ada Kaleh, a former tourist attraction, which hosted a century-old community of Turkish natives.
Drobeta is the gateway to the Mehedinti mountains, which are worth visiting because of the ancient spas of Herculane.