The village of Islaz, near Turnu Măgurele, was the initial center of the 1848 Wallachian revolution ("see Proclamation of Islaz"). During the Romanian War of Independence, the town served as a base for the campaign in Bulgaria. After the administrative reform of 1968, it became a municipality. Starting with the 1960s, new apartment blocks were built in the town, however, in smaller numbers as compared to other towns and cities in the country. The newest neighborhood in the town is the Taberei housing estate, nicknamed among the locals as "Katanga", because it was built in the same time as the Katanga conflict in Congo.