Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1916-09-13
TURN SEVERN WAS
FIRST ROUMAN|AN
C|TYT0 Be FIRED ON

WAoAlNGI ON. u. u, Sept 10
: Turni SEVERN, the first town in Rou-
mania TO receive baptism of iron af-
ter hostilities were declared between
that country and Austria ungaria, is
described by the National Geographic
society in bulletin issued today from
Washington.
at is an eleven mile voyage down
the Danube from the international
boundary line at Verioroya to a
point opposite Turnu Sereyin upon
which Austrian monitors opened fire
two days after the declaration of war.
This busy Roumanian town of 5000
inhabitants, pleasantly situated on
high ground and partly hidden from
the river by trees, has important ship
yards and repair shops for the Dan
ube Steamship Navigation COMPANY,
and is center for trade in petroleum,
cereals and preserved meats. 1t Is
supposed to derive it's name from the
ruins of an old tower in the vicinity.
which is said to have been built in
commemoration of one of the victories
of the Roman Emperor Serverus.
1T was at Turnu Serevin that the
late King Charles, who died only a
few weeks after the outbreak of the
European war in 1914, first landed on
Roumanian soil in May, 1866, and was
hailed by the populace as the successor
to their first prince, Colonel Cuza, who,
as Alexandra John l., had been forced
to abdicate a short time previously.
Charles was the second son of Prince
Charles Antony of Hohenzollern-S ima-
ringen, and at the time his name was
submitted to the people of Roumania
Che was chosen by a vote Of 685 1863 to
224) was an officer in the Prussian ar
my. AS the king of Prussia was pledg-
ed to support a native noble for the
Roumanian principally, Charles could
not be espoused openly but upon the
advice of Bismarck he resigned his
commission in the Prussian army, and
under an assumed named and with IA
forged passport, made his way down
the Danube into the country over
which he was to rule most successful
~, first as prince and later as king,
for more than half century.
"a short distance below Turnu Sew
erin is the little village of Kladova,
which in Roman times was known as
Egeta, the station from which Ira
jams two roads of conquest diverged,
one up the banks of the Danube and
the other striking north into Dacia.
1t was the latter road which necessitat- !
ed the construction of the famous Ira
jan bridge across the Danube at this
point, the largest in the Ruman EN-
pire. How well the great Damascus
architect Apollodorus designed this
structure is indicated by the fact that
efter more than 1900 years portions of
some of its 20 stone piles described
by the historian Gibbon are still to
be seen, and, perhaps, it would have
done service for centuries had it not
been destroyed to prevent the invas-
ion of the territory south of the river
by the Goths. The remains of this ia
nous work were not discovered until
1884, the honor of the find being cred
tied to Michael Joseph Quin, who made
a systematic search for the piers while
accompanying the Hungarian road
builder Count Szechenyi on one Of his
journeys down the Danube The stones
v hich are now disclosed at low water
are the ruins of piers las feet high, So
feet broad and 1913 feet apart. When
the Roman sappers overthrow them to
check the march of the barbarian enc
my the masonry damned the waters"
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