Fundulea


Fundulea is an agricultural town in Călărași County, Muntenia, Romania. It is on the Bărăgan Plain, approximately 30 km east of the capital Bucharest, in the historical region of Wallachia. It has a population of 6,217. The A2 freeway and Mostiștea River pass through its vicinity. Two villages are administered by the town: Alexandru Ioan Cuza and Gostilele.
Historically, Fundulea's outskirts housed a military base maintained by the Romanian Army. The town is home to an agricultural institute, the National Agricultural Research and Development Institute. A reservoir known as Lake Fundulea, fed by water from the Mostiștea, is a popular spot for sport fishing.

History

During the 19th century, the village of Fundulea housed the Sionu estate of writer Gheorghe Sion, which, through the 1923 marriage of his daughter Marica, became the property of eccentric novelist, poet, and heraldist Mateiu Caragiale. Caragiale intended to turn it into a private domain, and reportedly flew an ensign he had created for himself.
The INCDA was created in 1962, during the Communist period, through the merger between the Research Institute for Maize Cultivation and the Field Cultivation Department of the Romanian Agronomic Institute.
Fundulea is also the birthplace of novelist Mircea Nedelciu, in whose honor a local primary school was named in 2002.