Slatina

Slatina is the capital and the largest city in Olt County, Oltenia, Romania. The town is in southern Romania, on the left bank of the Olt River, in the contact area between the Getic Plateau and the Wallachian Plain. Slatina has a population of about 70,000 (2011) and is an important industrial centre. With a 650-year history and preserved historic center, the city has an important cultural role in the region.

Antiquity
The advanced stage of development of the local Geto-Dacian society led to the establishment of intense commercial ties with the Greco-Macedonian and, later Roman, worlds, also revealed by numismatic discoveries. Examples are the coins issued by King of Macedonia, Philip II (359-336), and Romanian Republican deniers discovered in the city. Also in Slatina, one of the largest Geto-Dacian coins, made up of about 6,000 pieces, was published by Cezar Bolliac.

It is known that after the first Daco-Roman war (101-102), most South Carpathian territories were included in the province of Moesia Inferior. After the founding of Dacia (106), the territory was under the direct control of the Roman Empire. Over the years, Roman discoveries have been collected on the territory of Slatina, such as: weapons, statuettes, ceramics, and the remains of a foundation made of Roman bricks have appeared in the Sopot Valley. These are testimonies that support the strong Romanization of free Dacians from limes (Alutan and Transaltuan). In 1874, in the surroundings of Slatina was revealed a major Roman monetary treasure consisting of 2250 denarii, which included programs from Galba (68-69) to Commodus (180-192), and at the foot of Grădiştei appeared a coin from Gordian (238-244).

The continuity of habitation of the free Dacians of an unintegrated space in the Roman Empire in an organized form, but strongly influenced by Romanity (so that it can be appreciated as a latinophone territory), is fully justified by the Chilia-Militari cultural aspect, developed from the late phase of the Geto-Dacian "La Tèneu", which, through various, grew intense romanization. Militari-Chilia settlements from the 2nd century BC - IV BC, were discovered in Strehareţ (in the vicinity of the Carol I National College) and in Cireşov, in the "Leasa" and "Sălişte" points.

After the withdrawal of the Roman occupation in Dacia (271 AD), a Dacian-Roman autochthonous population, backed by Romanity and Christianity, was behind the migratory population, preserving its identity for centuries. In the context of the generalization of rural life, the existing rural community will be organized into territorial communities or popular Romanians (as they are known in our historical tradition), representing solid demographic, linguistic and romantic culture nuclei. In Ipoteşti, near Slatina, for the first time, the content of such a Romanesque was identified, which was later enriched with similar discoveries. These belong to the Ipoteşti - Cândeşti - Ciurel culture created by the indigenous peoples in the 5th - 7th centuries. The findings from the Sopot Valley settlement highlight the occupations and crafts of a sedentary population: agriculture, animal husbandry, pottery, blacksmithing, torso or tissue. The Christian testimonies existing in the dwelling area (e.g the Byzantine bay) argue for continuity of dwelling and close ties to Roman-Byzantine and then Byzantine civilization, the center of dissemination of Christianity.

Middle Ages
Originally from the ancient times, the Sopot Valley settlement, due to the natural growth of the population and the opportunities created by the crossing of important commercial roads in Slatina ("the road of the wax", "the sheep" or "the bucks"), extends to the neighboring hills and towards Olt Valley. The discoveries of Byzantine, Venetian, Serbian coins from the 9th-13th centuries justify the commercial importance of the settlement, even before its first documentary mention.

The first reference to the name of Slatina can be found on January 20, 1368, in the commercial privilege granted by Vladislav I Vlaicu to merchants from Braşov, as an internal customs office at the first sight of the plain of Olt, a mandatory crossing point for merchandise over Olt.

In June 1522, Radu of Afumati defeated the Ottomans in a struggle waged in Slatina.

Modern Age
During the Revolution of 1821, Tudor met Iancu Jianu, the leader of the outlaws, in Slatina.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Slatina was a small provincial fair set near the Olt River, between the Gradiest Hill and what is now known as the new town.

There are still many buildings from that period: Grand Hotel Regal, Girls' School, Ionaşcu Cathedral, Minerva Confectionery and other 50 UNESCO heritage buildings. They will undergo a process of refurbishment and restoration from 2010 onwards.

After the establishment of the communist regime in Romania, the city's face was completely changed, with new workers' quarters such as Red Star, Progress I, II, III, Crişan, Tunari, etc. being built. At that time, the 55 tower blocks, as well as factories such as the Aluminum Factory (now Alro), the Aluminum Processing Plant (formerly Alprom), the Pipeworks (now Artrom), Electrocarbon, Bearings and Utalim.

Geography
Slatina is located in the south of the country, in the central-northern part of the Olt county and in the west of the historical region of Muntenia. Also, the position of the city can be characterized as being on the Olt river valley, on a wide, well-defined and delimited corridor, in a contact area of two large relief units - Getic Piedmont and Oltenian Plain. The town is about 50 km from Craiova, 70 km from Pitesti and 190 km from Bucharest.

By plane
The nearest airports are Craiova  away and Bucharest   away.

By car
The national roads to Slatina are quite good, however, the train trip is more favourable.