The city has a Danube fluvial port and it houses a CANDU nuclear power plant, which provides about 10% of the electrical energy needs of Romania.
The city was founded (under the name Axiopolis) by the ancient Greeks in the 4th century BC as a trade point for commerce the local Dacians. It is belived that the modern city was refounded by the legendary Negru Vodă, hence its name.
In 1895, a bridge across the Danube was built that was for some time the longest in Europe.History