Ploieşti on the map of Romania
Ploieşti (older spelling:
Ploeşti) is a city in
Prahova county in the
Wallachia region of
Romania, 56 km (35 miles) north of
Bucharest, with a population of about 250,000. It is located at coordinates 44 57N 26 01E.
The city was founded in 1596 during the reign of
Mihai Viteazul (Michael the Brave).
In the mid-
19th century, this region became one of the most important
oil extraction and refinery sites in the world. The
Republic of Ploiesti, a short-lived anti-monarchic revolt occurred in Ploieşti in 1870.
It was badly damaged by an
earthquake in 1940 but became the main source of oil for
Nazi Germany during
World War II, when Romania was allied to Germany. Because of its distance from
Allied airfields, it escaped being attacked until Allied advances put it in range in 1943. The
United States Air Force mounted Operation Tidal Wave on
August 1, 1943, attacking the refineries with a force of 177
B-24 Liberator bombers. Although this did inflict heavy damage on the ground, it came at a high cost to the attacking force and much of the damage was soon repaired. The Allies were finally able to mount sustained attacks from April 1944 by utilising captured airbases in
Italy, and the city was captured by Soviet troops in August 1944.
Ploieşti oil storage tanks on fire after being bombarded by the [[US Air Force in Operation Tidal Wave,
August 1, 1943]]
Following the war, the new Communist regime nationalised the oil industry, which had largely been privately owned, and made massive investments in the oil and petroleum industry in a bid to modernise and repair the war damage.
After the
Romanian Revolution of 1989, Ploieşti's economy grew rapidly due to major investments by foreign companies including
Lukoil,
Unilever,
Coca-Cola,
Interbrew and
British American Tobacco. It is also a developed textile manufacturing center. Although oil production is now much lower, there is still a flourishing oil processing industry. The refineries are linked by pipelines to the capital
Bucharest, the
Black Sea port of
Constanţa and the
Danube port of
Giurgiu.
Ploieşti natives
- I.L. Caragiale, playwright
- Toma Caragiu, actor
- Paul Constantinescu, composer - born on June 30, 1909.
- Leonard Doroftei, boxer
- Take Ionescu, politician, Prime Minister of Romania
- Cristi Minculescu, musician
- Valeriu Rachita, soccer player
- Nichita Stănescu, poet
- Corina Ungureanu, gymnast
- Ion N. Petrovici, neurologist
External links
Category:Romanian cities
Category:Prahova
Category:Ploiesti
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eo:Ploieşti
nl:Ploiesti
pl:Ploeszti
ro:Ploieşti