Strehaia is a town in Mehedinţi County

Mehedinti County

Mehedinţi is a county of Romania. It is mostly located in the historical province of Oltenia, with one municipality and three communes located in the Banat...

, Oltenia

Oltenia

Oltenia is a historical province and geographical region of Romania, in western Wallachia. It is situated between the Danube, the Southern Carpathians and the Olt river ....

, Romania

Romania

Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

. It is situated 25 km west of Filiaşi

Filiasi

Filiaşi is a town in Dolj County, Romania, on the Jiu River. In 2002, it had a population of 18,848. The town administers six villages: Almăjel, Bâlta, Branişte, Fratoştiţa, Răcarii de Sus and Uscăci....

, on the Motru River

Motru River

The Motru River is a tributary of the Jiu River in the Southwest of Romania. The hydrological basin of the Motru has an area of 1874 km²...

 valley. Forests in the vicinity are home to the largest Herman's Tortoise

Herman's Tortoise

Hermann's tortoise is one of five tortoise species traditionally placed in the genus Testudo, which also includes the well-known Marginated tortoise , Greek tortoise , and Russian tortoise , for example. Three subspecies are known: the Western Hermann's tortoise Hermann's tortoise (Testudo...

 colonies in Oltenia.

Nine villages are administered by the town: Ciochiuţa, Comanda, Hurduceşti, Lunca Banului, Menţi, Motruleni, Slătinicu Mare, Slătinicu Mic and Stănceşti.

Demographics

At the 2002 census, the town had a population of 11,846. Of these, 89.1% were Romanians

Romanians

The Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....

 and 10.8% Roma; 99.4% were Romanian Orthodox.

History

Strehaia was first mentioned in documents of the 15th century. As an alternative location for the residence of Oltenian Bans

Ban (title)

Ban was a title used in several states in central and south-eastern Europe between the 7th century and the 20th century.-Etymology:The word ban has entered the English language probably as a borrowing from South Slavic ban, meaning "lord, master; ruler". The Slavic word is probably borrowed from...

 during the early Craioveşti

Craiovesti

The Craiovești , later Brâncovenești , were a boyar family in Wallachia who gave the country several of its Princes and held the title of Ban of Oltenia for ca...

 rules, the town still features the foundation of the Banate estate house; it had replaced Severin due to frequent Ottoman

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 attacks, and was in turn replaced by Craiova

Craiova

Craiova , Romania's 6th largest city and capital of Dolj County, is situated near the east bank of the river Jiu in central Oltenia. It is a longstanding political center, and is located at approximately equal distances from the Southern Carpathians and the River Danube . Craiova is the chief...

, remaining a largely rural locality.

The Monastery of Strehaia was built by Wallachia

Wallachia

Wallachia or Walachia is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians...

n Prince Matei Basarab

Matei Basarab

Matei Basarab was a Wallachian Voivode between 1632 and 1654.-Reign:Much of Matei's reign was spent fighting off incursions from Moldavia, which he successfully accomplished in 1637, 1639, and 1653 - see Battle of Finta...

 in 1645. In 1671, a cattle fair

Fair

A fair or fayre is a gathering of people to display or trade produce or other goods, to parade or display animals and often to enjoy associated carnival or funfair entertainment. It is normally of the essence of a fair that it is temporary; some last only an afternoon while others may ten weeks. ...

 was organized in the town, a regular event which contributed to the town's development. Strehaia was the site of skirmishes between the Pandurs

Pandurs

The Pandurs were Croatian Austrian frontier soldiers, who inhabited the areas of the Kingdom of Croatia and Military Frontier, and fought not only in the East-Turkish front, but also in the West-European front. They were a non-linear army, made out mainly of Croats...

 of Tudor Vladimirescu

Tudor Vladimirescu

Tudor Vladimirescu was a Wallachian Romanian revolutionary hero, the leader of the Wallachian uprising of 1821 and of the Pandur militia. He is also known as Tudor din Vladimiri or — occasionally — as Domnul Tudor .-Background:Tudor was born in Vladimiri, Gorj County in a family of landed peasants...

 and troops loyal to Scarlat Callimachi, during the Wallachian uprising of 1821

Wallachian uprising of 1821

The Wallachian uprising of 1821 was an uprising in Wallachia against Ottoman rule which took place during 1821.-Background:...

.

The estates of Prince Antoine Bibesco

Antoine Bibesco

Antoine, Prince Bibesco was a Romanian aristocrat, lawyer, diplomat and writer.- Biography :His father was Prince Alexandre Bibesco, the last surviving son of the Hospodar of Wallachia. His mother was Helene Epourano, daughter of a former Prime Minister of Romania...

 were located near Strehaia.

Natives

• Nicolae Popescu
  Nicolae Popescu
  Nicolae Popescu was a Romanian mathematician and Emeritus Professor. Popescu was elected a Member of the Romanian Academy in 1992. He is best known for his contributions to Algebra and the theory of Abelian categories. Since 1964 and until 2007 he collaborated on the characterization of abelian...
  
  (b. 1937), mathematician