Drobeta-Turnu Severin, city and port in southwestern Romania, capital of Mehedinti County, near the Iron Gate gorge on the Danube River. The city's economy relies on the manufacture of machinery, shipbuilding, timber production, and meat and food processing. Highways and railways serve the city. Tourist attractions in Drobeta-Turnu Severin include many historic sites. The remains of a bridge that was once the largest in the Roman Empire, built across the Danube during the reign (98-117) of the emperor Trajan, can be seen at low tide. Other Roman ruins include the castrum (fortified place) built to guard the bridge and a palestra (athletic training grounds). The remains of a 13th-century church and citadel also are here. The Museum of the Iron Gates features an aquarium with various species from the Danube.
The city that is now Drobeta-Turnu Severin was colonized by the Romans in the 2nd century BC. It was mentioned in the 2nd century AD by geographer Ptolemy of Alexandria as Drobeta. The name Turnu Severin (Tower of Severus) came from a tower built to commemorate a victory by Roman emperor Septimius Severus. In the early 11th century it became the center of a small principality, the Banat of Severin. In 1833 the inhabitants of nearby Cerneti evacuated their village, which was razed by the Ottomans, and moved to Turnu Severin. Drobeta joined with Turnu Severin in the 1970s and was renamed Drobeta-Turnu Severin. Population (1997 estimate) 117,882.
