Olt River

Olt at Turnu Rosu

Course of the Olt Romania

Olt reservoir with the Southern Carpathians in the background ( near the town of Avrig )

The Olt ( Old German, Hungarian Olt, from Latin lut = clay, Roman Aluta ) is a left tributary of the Danube River in Romania with a length of 615 kilometers. Just before the confluence with the Danube, the river reaches a water flow of 190 m³ / s He is also the namesake of the Romanian Olt circle.

The Olt flows entirely on Romanian territory, he rises in the Eastern Carpathians and flows through Transylvania, the Fagaras Country and leaves Transylvania by the Red Tower Pass towards Wallachia, where he 5km west of Turnu Măgurele flows into the Danube in the extreme south of the country.

From the Eastern Carpathians the Olt flows south to Bod, where he makes a bow crosses the persani Mountains and then continues to flow in a westerly direction.

In Transylvania the villages Hărman, Bod, Feldioara, Sercaia, Cincşor, Fagaras, Carta, Avrig and Talmaciu on Olt lie.

In Talmaciu opens the right tributary Cibin in the Olt before this then changes direction and the Southern Carpathians traversed by the Red Tower Pass to the south.

Economic Importance

The river is dammed to a total of 24 dams that were built for the purpose of electricity generation. The first is located near Fagaras. The length of the reservoirs varies and is generally towards the mouth longer. Most lakes are enclosed by a wall. The dams with the power plants are all of the same model. Until the 19th century shipping was operated on the river.