Periprava

It’s incredible how time can change thing in such a way that you can’t find any traces of a place’s past. Old buildings make room for new ones, old swamps are turned into tennis fields.

[adsense]Something like that takes place in the village of Periprava. Historically, the place has always been isolated, being located far away on the Chilia branch of the Danube.

And if there is a dirt road there, it only leads to the neighboring villages of Letea, C.A Rosetti and Sfiștovca, which aren’t exactly the biggest road hubs of the Danube Delta.

But Periprava will forever remain in history for it was here that fifty years ago the communists agreed to create one of their main labor camps and send off their political enemies.

The Licostomo (Lycostomium) Fortress

Close to Periprava, researchers locate the medieval fortress of Licostomo. Its name means “Two Wolves’ Mouths”. It might as well be the village of Vâlcov, located in Ucraine.

[adsense]According to various sources, it was here that the Byzantine Regional Fleet had its headquarters around the ninth century. The fleet was dispatched here to police the mouths of the Danube which were frequently plundered by pirates. It was also frequently dispatched into various military expeditions.

Other sources say that it was built by the Genovese who were the main merchants in these parts starting with the XIth century.

Mircea the Elder conquered the city in 1404, but it completely disappeared from history after the Turks conquered Dobruija in 1418.

There are also a number of researchers who identify Licostomo with Kilia, claiming that the same settlement had two names. However, it is much more likely that they were separate as Kilia was a trade city, while Licostomo was mostly military.

Periprava and birdwatching

Today the village is one great place for birdwatchers. Although the Ukranian border is right north, going east or west takes you into some really interesting swamps and canals. These places are packed with all sorts of bird species.

With that in mind, a few years ago, a french guy came here and renovated all the old buldings of the former labour camp and turned the whole place into a five star resort, with birdwatchers in mind.

Also, just a few kilometers to the south you will find the Letea forest, which hosts one of the most diverse universe in Europe.