Southern Dobruja in the context of "Balchik Municipality"

The East European Plain (also called the Russian Plain, or historically the Sarmatic Plain) is a vast interior plain extending east of the North European Plain, and comprising several plateaus stretching roughly from 25 degrees longitude eastward. It includes Volhynian-Podolian Upland on its westernmost fringe, the Central Russian Upland, and, on the eastern border, encompasses the Volga Upland. The plain includes also a series of major river basins such as the Dnieper Lowland, the Oka–Don Lowland, and the Volga Basin. At the southeastern point of the East European Plain are the Caucasus and Crimean mountain ranges. Together with the North European Plain (covering much of Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany and Poland), and covering the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania), European Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, southeastern Romania, and, at its southernmost point, the Danubian Plain in Northern Bulgaria (including Ludogorie and Southern Dobruja), it constitutes the majority of the Great European Plain (European Plain), the greatest mountain-free part of the European landscape. The plain spans approximately 4,000,000 km (2,000,000 sq mi) and averages about 170 m (560 ft) in elevation. The highest point of the plain (480 metres (1,574.8 ft)) is in the Bugulma-Belebey Upland, in the Eastern part of the plain, in the elevated area by the Ural Mountains (priyralie).

The Second Balkan War (29 June – 10 August 1913) was a conflict fought between the Kingdom of Bulgaria and its former Balkan League allies, Serbia and Greece, who were later joined by Romania and the Ottoman Empire. The war began when Bulgaria, unhappy with the division of territory after the First Balkan War, launched attacks on Serbian and Greek forces, who repelled the offensive and pushed into Bulgarian territory. With most of Bulgaria’s army committed in the south, Romania intervened from the north. The Ottoman Empire also took advantage of the situation to recover territories lost the previous year.

As Bulgaria suffered military setbacks on multiple fronts and Romanian forces advanced towards its capital, Sofia, it requested an armistice. The war ended with the Treaty of Bucharest, which compelled Bulgaria to cede significant territory: Southern Dobruja to Romania, parts of Macedonia to Serbia and Greece, and Adrianople (Edirne) to the Ottoman Empire under the separate Treaty of Constantinople.

Dobruja or Dobrudja (US: /ˈdoʊbrʊdʒə/; Bulgarian: Добруджа, romanized: Dobrudzha or Dobrudža; Romanian: Dobrogea, pronounced [ˈdobrodʒe̯a] or [doˈbrodʒe̯a]; Turkish: Dobruca; Ukrainian and Russian: Добруджа, romanized: Dobrudzha) is a geographical and historical region in Southeastern Europe that has been divided since the 19th century between the territories of Bulgaria and Romania. It is situated between the lower Danube River and the Black Sea, and includes the Danube Delta, the Romanian coast, and the northernmost part of the Bulgarian coast. The territory of Dobruja is made up of Northern Dobruja, which is a part of Romania, and Southern Dobruja, which is a part of Bulgaria.

The territory of the Romanian region Dobrogea is organised as the counties of Constanța and Tulcea, with a combined area of 15,588 km (6,019 sq mi) and, as of 2021, a population of slightly less than 850,000. Its main cities are Constanța, Tulcea, Medgidia, and Mangalia. Dobrogea is represented by dolphins in the coat of arms of Romania.

Carol I or Charles I of Romania (born Karl Eitel Friedrich Zephyrinus Ludwig von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen; 20 April 1839 – 10 October [O.S. 27 September] 1914), nicknamed the King of Independence (Romanian: Regele Independenței), was the monarch of Romania from 1866 to his death in 1914, ruling as Prince (Domnitor) from 1866 to 1881, and as King from 1881 to 1914. He was elected Prince of the Romanian United Principalities on 20 April 1866 after the overthrow of Alexandru Ioan Cuza by a palace coup d'état. In May 1877, Romania was proclaimed an independent and sovereign nation. The defeat of the Ottoman Empire (1878) in the Russo-Turkish War secured Romanian independence, and he was proclaimed King on 26 March [O.S. 14 March] 1881. He was the first ruler of the Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen dynasty, which ruled the country until the proclamation of a socialist republic in 1947.

During his reign, Carol I personally led Romanian troops during the Russo-Turkish War and assumed command of the Russo-Romanian army during the siege of Plevna. The country achieved internationally recognized independence via the Treaty of Berlin, 1878 and acquired Southern Dobruja from Bulgaria in 1913. In 1883 the king entered a top-secret military alliance with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, despite popular demands against Hungary. When World War I broke out he was unable to activate the alliance. Romania remained neutral and in 1916 joined the Allies.

The Romanian Old Kingdom (Romanian: Vechiul Regat or just Regat; German: Regat or Altreich) is a colloquial term referring to the territory covered by the first independent Romanian nation state, which was composed of the Romanian Principalities: Wallachia and Moldavia. The union of the two principalities was achieved when, under the auspices of the Treaty of Paris (1856), the ad hoc Divans of both countries, which were then under Ottoman Empire suzerainty, voted for Alexander Ioan Cuza as their prince. This process achieved a de facto unification under the name of the United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia. The region itself is defined by the result of that political act, followed by the Romanian War of Independence, the inclusion of Northern Dobruja and the transfer of the southern part of Bessarabia to the Russian Empire in 1878, the proclamation of the Kingdom of Romania in 1881, and the annexation of Southern Dobruja in 1913.

The term came into use after World War I, when the Old Kingdom became Greater Romania, after including Transylvania, Banat, Bessarabia, and Bukovina. The term now has mainly a historical relevance and is otherwise used as a common term for all regions in Romania included in both the Old Kingdom and the present borders (Wallachia, Moldavia, and Northern Dobruja).

Northern Dobruja (Romanian: Dobrogea de Nord or simply Dobrogea; Bulgarian: Северна Добруджа, Severna Dobrudzha) is the part of Dobruja within the borders of Romania. It lies between the lower Danube River and the Black Sea, bordered in the south by Southern Dobruja, which is a part of Bulgaria.

Kaliakra (Bulgarian: Калиакра) is a cape in the Southern Dobruja region of the northern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, which ends with a long and narrow headland 12 kilometres (7 mi) east of Kavarna, 60 kilometres (37 mi) northeast of Varna and 65 kilometres (40 mi) southwest of Mangalia. The coast is steep with vertical cliffs reaching 70 metres (230 ft) down to the sea.Kaliakra is a nature reserve, where dolphins and cormorants can be observed. It sits on the Via Pontica, a major bird migration route from Africa into Eastern and Northern Europe. Many rare and migrant birds can be seen here in spring and autumn and, like much of this coastline, is home to several rare breeding birds (e.g. pied wheatear and a local race of European shag). The rest of the reserve also has unusual breeding birds; saker falcon, lesser grey shrike and a host of others.

It also features the remnants of the fortified walls, water-main, baths and residence of Despot Dobrotitsa in the short-lived Despotate of Dobruja's medieval capital. The Bolata Cove with a small sheltered beach lies just north at the mouth of a picturesque canyon, also part of the nature reserve.

43°35′N 28°0′E / 43.583°N 28.000°E / 43.583; 28.000

Dobrich Province (Bulgarian: Област Добрич, Oblast Dobrich, former name Dobrich okrug) is a province in northeastern Bulgaria, part of Southern Dobruja geographical region. It is bounded on the east by the Black Sea, on the south by Varna Province, on the west by Shumen and Silistra provinces, and on the north by Romania. It is divided into eight municipalities. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 186,016.The province was part of Romania between 1913 and 1940.

The Treaty of Craiova (Bulgarian: Крайовска спогодба, romanized: Krayovska spogodba; Romanian: Tratatul de la Craiova) was signed on 7 September 1940 and ratified on 13 September 1940 by the Kingdom of Bulgaria and the Kingdom of Romania. Under its terms, Romania ceded Southern Dobruja back to Bulgaria, which Romania had gained after the 1913 Second Balkan War. Bulgaria had to pay 1 million lei as compensation for the investment provided to the region by Romania.

The treaty stipulated that a population exchange between Bulgaria and Romania had to be made. Thus, 103,711 Romanians, Aromanians and Megleno-Romanians living in Southern Dobruja were forced to move to Northern Dobruja (part of Romania), and 62,278 Bulgarians located in the north were forcibly moved to the south. The Dobrujan Germans, who were affected by these relocations, would eventually be transferred to Nazi Germany.