Mila 23

Mila 23 is a village of Crișan commune, Tulcea County, in the northern Danube Delta, about 53 km from Tulcea. It lies on the right bank of the Old Danube (Dunărea Veche), the old meandering course of the Sulina branch, where the Stipoc and Eracle canals meet. The village is protected to the south by a dyke and is practically reachable only by water. At the 2021 census it had 442 inhabitants, mostly Russian Lipovans, who live from fishing. The name comes from the old measurement in miles of the course of the Sulina branch. In the early 20th century the settlement had only 2-3 houses and 12 inhabitants, all fishermen. The village has an Old Rite (Lipovan) church dedicated to Saint John Chrysostom. Mila 23 has produced several canoe champions: Ivan Patzaichin (1949-2021), Serghei Covaliov, Agafia Constantin-Buhaev, Maria Popescu-Nichiforov, Vicol Calabiciov, Lavrente Calinov and Atanase Sciotnic. The Ivan Patzaichin - Mila 23 Association organises the Ivan Patzaichin - Rowmania Festival every year and runs the Ivan Patzaichin Community Innovation Centre in the village. The slow tourism route "Ivan's Delta", almost 50 km between Tulcea and Mila 23, is travelled in non-motorised boats and is, according to Agerpres, the first slow tourism route authorised in the Reserve. Mila 23 lies on the official DDBRA routes 1 (Tulcea → Șontea channel → Mila 23 → Crișan → Tulcea, with a variant via Gorgova) and 10 (Crișan → Mila 23 → Lake Trei Iezere → Crișan). Boats and occasional services run from Tulcea and Crișan. Any visit to the Biosphere Reserve requires the access permit issued by the DDBRA; it can be bought online (ddbra.ro), by SMS, at SelfPay terminals or at the DDBRA information centres in Crișan, Sulina and Murighiol. Children, pupils, students and pensioners receive it free of charge. Camping is allowed only at authorised sites. The village lies within the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve (UNESCO site since 1991, Ramsar site) and in the Natura 2000 sites ROSCI0065 Danube Delta and ROSPA0031 Danube Delta and Razim-Sinoie Complex. Did you know that Ivan Patzaichin, born in Mila 23 on 26 November 1949, won 7 Olympic medals (4 gold: 1968, 1972, 1980, 1984)? At the 1972 Olympics, in the heats of the C-1 1,000 m, his paddle broke at the start; he finished the race with the stump of the paddle, was readmitted to the repechage after the Romanian delegation's appeal, and went on to win the final. From the age of 16 he had worked as a fisherman's helper alongside his father, before leaving for Dinamo Bucharest in 1967.