Great Brăila Island

Great Brăila Island

The Great Brăila Island ("Insula Mare a Brăilei", formerly "Balta Mare a Brăilei", the "Great Brăila Pond") is an island on the Danube river in the Brăila County, Romania. It has on average 60 km length and 20 km width. The two river branches which separate it from the mainland are Măcin and Cremenea.

Currently, 681.3 km² (94.6% of the area of island) are occupied by agricultural terrains of which 70.84 km² are irrigated and is protected by a dam having a length of 23.5 km. On the island there are two communes, Frecăţei and Măraşu, which have about 5,000 inhabitants.

It used to be a series of swamps, until the Communist regime desiccated it and built dams using forced labour of political detainees (many of whom died there) and transformed it to an agricultural area. There were five "re-education camps" at Grădina, Lunca, Salcia, Stoieneşti and Strâmba Veche. The terrain proved to be fertile and it was declared a "success of Communism in Romania".

References

* Ediţie Specială, 26 July 2005 [http://www.editie.ro/mod.php?mod=stiri&idstire=14776 (part 1)] , [http://www.editie.ro/mod.php?mod=stiri&idstire=14778 (part 2)]
* Jurnalul Naţional, 4 August 2005, [http://www.jurnalul.ro/articol.php?id=3391 Bărăganul dintre braţele Dunării]


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