Galaţi, Romania

Galaţi is a city in Moldavia, eastern Romania, the capital city of Galaţi County on the banks of the Danube, very close to Brăila. According to the last Romanian census, from 2002, there were 298,861 people living within the city of Galaţi, making it the seventh most populous city in Romania.

The name of the city appears to have derived from Cuman galat, which was borrowed from the Arabic qal'at (fortress). Also other etymologies were suggested, such as the Serbian galac; however the galat root appears in several nearby toponyms, some of which show clearly a Cuman origin, for example Gălăţui Lake, which has the typical Cuman -ui suffix for "water". A derivation from Galatia (Gaul), suggesting a Celtic origin, is possible, but unlikely. The other closest toponym in the region is the Galicia with the small city of Halych which is locally associated with a jackdaw (Kawka, Halka). Other similar places are Galich, Russia and Galatia in Turkey.

Many thanks to Valetin for this nice card from her hometown!