Giurgiu is the capital city of
Giurgiu County,
Romania, in
Muntenia. It is situated amid mud-flats and marshes on the left bank of the
Danube facing the
Bulgarian city of
Ruse on the opposite bank. Three small islands face the city, and a larger one shelters its port, Smarda. The rich grain-growing land to the north is traversed by a railway to
Bucharest, the first line opened in Romania, which was built in 1869 and afterwards extended to Smarda. Giurgiu exports timber, grain, salt and petroleum, and imports coal, iron, and textiles.