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Olt (river)

river in Romania

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 12, 2026
Entity authorityQ126822
Source-derived summary

The Olt (Romanian and Hungarian; German: Alt; Latin: Aluta or Alutus, Turkish: Oltu, Ancient Greek: Ἄλυτος Alytos) is a river in Romania. It is 615 km (382 mi) long, and its basin area is 24,050 km2 (9,290 sq mi). It is the longest river flowing exclusively through Romania. Its average discharge at the mouth is 174 m3/s (6,100 cu ft/s). It originates in the Hășmaș Mountains of the eastern Carpathian Mountains, near Bălan, close to the headwaters of the river Mureș. The Olt flows through the Romanian counties of Harghita, Covasna, Brașov, Sibiu, Vâlcea, and Olt. The river was known as Alutus or Aluta in Roman antiquity. Olt County and the historical province of Oltenia are named after the river.

Sfântu Gheorghe, Râmnicu Vâlcea and Slatina are the main cities on the river Olt. The Olt flows into the Danube river near Turnu Măgurele.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Olt (river)” as river in Romania. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around river and Romania.

Editorial reviewMost useful as a place-based finding aid connecting the present description to earlier jurisdictions, maps and built evidence. The current 144-word lead offers orientation but no explicit four-digit date, so chronology should not be assumed. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with river and Romania providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Olt (river)”, the useful work is to connect “river in Romania” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 12, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q126822. VIAF identifies the subject as 234603872. The Library of Congress control number is n81103407. Authority coordinates are 46.721, 25.710. 3 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.

Critical limits

A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Olt (river)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Olt (river) primary sources, Olt (river) archive and river research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Olt (river)”?
  2. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
  3. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Olt (river)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.