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Giurgiu[joor´joo] Pronunciation Key, city (1990 pop. 71,875), S Romania, in Walachia, on the Danube River opposite Ruse, Bulgaria, with which it is linked by a bridge. An important inland port, Giurgiu is connected by two oil pipelines with Ploiesti. There are shipyards, canneries, and other light industries. The city was founded (10th cent.) on the site of a Roman settlement by Genoese merchants, who named it San Giorgio. Conquered by the Turks in 1417, it played an important role in the 16th-century wars between Walachia and Turkey and in the later Russo-Turkish Wars. Remains of the old town walls, the ruins of a medieval fortress, and an old clock tower still stand.
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