A few curious facts about the Dniester River

Dniester River is one of the longest and biggest rivers in Moldova. Its length is 1362 kilometers, and the deepest point goes down up to six meters. There are lots of interesting activities around it - fishing, sunbathing, hiking, exploring the monuments, etc. However, even if people have heard a lot about the Dniester River, there are still curious and sometimes amazing facts about it. 

The heart of the Dniester River

There are many beautiful places in Moldova so that every single day you can spend in a different place. The Dniester is a perfect match for such wishes. Thus, the villages that are situated all around the river banks could be very interesting to visit because they are mostly unexplored, wild and hide a lot of curious finds. One of the villages that matches such a description is Naslavcea, located in the Ocnita district of Moldova, on the right bank of the Dniester River, being the northernmost point of the country. From one of the top hills, you can see the most romantic place of interest in that district - an island between the two banks of Dniester in the shape of a heart. They say that this is the heart of the Dniester River itself. 

How did Gerodotus and others call our river?

The Dniester had a lot of nicknames, just like we all do in the modern social media. You might ask yourselves - what kind of nicknames? Well, I will tell you about the old and curious names of the Dniester River. In the times of Herodotus, in the first centuries A.C., Greeks called the Dniester River - Tiras. The ancient Germans called the river - Agalingus, the Turks - Turloy, but the Italians called it - Genestrom. Such a variety of names comes from the etymology of the Dniester River name. In the Scythian-Sarmatian language, the first part "danu" meant "the water" or "the bottom". The second part, eventually, meant "the border", meaning the border of the water. Sounds logical, right?

Will the river disappear? 

The Dniester River is a beautiful place to spend your free time outside the city and enjoy nature. However, it is hurt by ecological problems. Not everyone can really see or notice that it could once really disappear. The hydroelectric power stations that the country plans to build there can badly influence the ecosystem of the Dniester, along with its ecology state. There were a lot of strikes against that, although the process could be irreversible. That is one more reason to visit this amazing place soon. In the near future, it could just stop to exist...

Moldova is a really great place to visit, especially in the warm season, along with its hydrological monuments such as the Dniester River. Here, you learnt a few curious facts of the Dniester River, that the first-comers don't notice when they see it. I hope that you won't hesitate and that you will hurry up to find out more about the Dniester River, and our country in general.

Naslavcea village

FHCJ+JP Naslavcea, Moldova