Galatz has developed from an ancient Dacian settlement in one of the Danube's fords, between the centuries Vl-V before Christ, while preparing the two wars fought by the Roman Emperor Traian, against the Dacians between 101-102 and 105-106, it wiel know the influence of Roman civilisation, because it probably depended on the Roman camp from Barbosi, an area which let christianism spread in Moldavia in the 3rd century.

The archeological sites prove the existance of this Romanian civil settlement from the Danube ford in the 7th century, which will be named Galatz in the following centuries, after the name of its founder, Galat (formed from the root "GaI" which means "black" and the Latin suffix "at"). It was situated at the crossroad of two important international roads which enabled the circulation of merchandise : from the northern to the southern Byzantine world, and also from the western Europe to the east, in Tartaria, which favoured the transformation of this settlement into a fair with craftsmen and rural population in the 14th century. The poor economical activity from this time will be amplified after the Turks conquer the citadels Chilia and Cetatea-Alba in July-August 1484. Thus, Galatz remains the only Moldavian harbour with an important role in the commerce between Polish and Turks.

The importance of Galatz harbour grows progressively in the Moldavian economy from the 18th and early 19th century and it increases after the Danube is turned into an international river due to the place treaty in Adrianopol on the 14th of September 1829. At the request of the people living in Galatz, the ruler Mihail Sturdza established the free port regime on the 1st of October 1836, which makes the European countries gain interest in the grain market of Galatz and then create consulates. The mechanical industry developes through factories and naval shipyards which work for foreign ship owners as well. At the peace treaty in Paris on the 30th of March 1856 it was decided to create The European Committee of the Danube to settle the navigation on the river, which stimulated the developement of the town and harbour (in 1863, 1147 foreign vessels moored here), a process amplified by the unification of Moldavia and Muntenia on the 24th of January 1859 and by the proclamation of Romania's Independence on the 10th of May 1877. Commerce expands through the activity of the many import-export houses and industry comes to be represented by 34 companies in 1904. Not long before The First World War breaks out on the 15th of July 1914, the French commercial attache in Galatz states that this town, one of the biggest harbours in Europe, trades with almost every country of the continent.

After two years of war between 1916-1918, Romania was finally united on the 1st of December 1918 and although the economical life clogs, at the end of the inter-war period the commerce made in Galatz represented one sixth of the national commerce. The end of The Second World War guided the economy in Galatz to the metallurgie industry, naval constructions. This brought the Shipyards and the Iron and Steel Works, opened In June 1968, into the public eye due to their great achievements. Nowadays, this economical cadre is completed by a large Free Zone and a vast cultural and university space.

All these create new opportunities for the ancient Danube harbour to develope .