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Craiova[krAyo´vA] Pronunciation Key, city (1990 pop. 317,368), SW Romania, in Walachia, on the Jiu River, a tributary of the Danube. It is the administrative and industrial center of the agricultural and mineral-rich Oltenia region and is an important market for grain. Locomotives, mining equipment, and processed food are produced. Built on the site of a Roman settlement, Craiova became the capital of Oltenia in 1492. It was destroyed by an earthquake in 1790 and burnt by the Turks in 1802. An agreement signed in the city in 1940 returned S Dobruja to Bulgaria. Craiova has a university (est. 1966) and other institutions of higher learning, a state philharmonic orchestra, and several museums containing prehistoric and Roman relics. The 17th-century St. Demetrius church (restored 18th cent.) and the 19th-century palace are also of interest.
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