3335 ROMANIA (Ialomiţa / Constanţa) - King Carol I Bridge

King Carol I Bridge (renamed during the communist period Anghel Saligny Bridge) was built between 1890 and 1895 to ensure the railway connection between Bucharest and Constanța. The railway section between Constanţa and Cernavodă was built in 1860, and in 1879, one year after Dobrudja became part of Romania, began the construction of the Bucharest-Feteşti section. Had to be realized only the connection between Feteşti and Cernavodă, about 21 km, including two bridges, over Borcea Branch and over the Danube. At that time the last bridge over the Danube was the Franz Josef Bridge in Novi Sad, located 955 km upstream and inaugurated in 1883.

2616 ROMANIA (Constanţa) - Mangalia

Mangalia is, competing with Constanţa, the oldest continuously inhabited city on the present territory of Romania. A Greek colony named Callatis was founded here, in the 6th century BC by the city of Heraclea Pontica. From the 9th century it was known by the Turks as Pangalia, by the Romanians as Tomisovara, and by the Greeks as Panglicara, and it was one of the most important ports on the west coast of the Black Sea. The name Mangalia appeared for the first time in 1593, and seems to be Tartarian.

2601 ROMANIA (Constanţa) - The Archaeological Park in Constanţa

Founded on the Black Sea coast around 600 BC by Greek colonists as Tomis, Constanţa is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Romania. In 29 BC the Romans conquered the region, and after the 5th century, the city fell under the rule of the Eastern Roman Empire. Tomis was later renamed to Constantiana in honour of Constantia, the half-sister of Roman Emperor Constantine the Great (274-337). The legend has it that Jason landed here with the Argonauts after finding the Golden Fleece.

2566 ROMANIA (Constanţa) - Neptun

Neptun is a summer resort on the Romanian seacoast, on the Black Sea, 6 km north of Mangalia, part of a string of such resorts, Olimp, Jupiter, Cap Aurora, and Venus (between Olimp and Jupitor). Situated in a very beautiful landscape, boarded by Comorova forest to the West and Lake Neptun to the East, Neptun resort hasn't lost its charm and elegance. It is crossed by a main street, wide enough, from where secondary streets and shady alleys come off. The resort is abundant in well taken care greenery which “hide” hotels, villas and restaurants.

2562 ROMANIA (Constanţa) - Cap Aurora

2562 Cap Aurora in 1980's

Cap Aurora is the youngest resort on the Romanian seaside, located in the Mangalia municipality, on a high peninsula between the neighbouring resorts of Jupiter and Venus. When it was inaugurated, in 1973, the resort was considered the "Queen of the Coastline", because of its modern architecture and the special conditions which it offered. A secluded but modern resort, with a special appearance, in contrast to the other seaside resorts.

1690, 1793, 2475 ROMANIA (Constanţa) - Eforie

1690 Eforie Sud beach

Posted on 24.06.2015, 30.07.2015, 20.04.2016
Eforie is a town and a holiday resort on the Black Sea shore, located at about 14km south of  Constanţa. It was founded by the aristocrat Ion Movilă in 1899, when he erected a hotel named Băile Movilă (Movilă Spa). In 1928, the spa was renamed Carmen-Sylva, after the pen name of Queen Elisabeth of Romania. In 1950, after the establishment of the Communist regime, the name of the city was changed again to Vasile Roaită to honor a railway worker shot dead during the Griviţa Strike of 1933. In 1962, the city was renamed yet again to Eforie Sud.

1793 Eforie Sud

In 1966, the city of Eforie was created by merging Eforie Sud with the northern resort Eforie Nord. Formally, the city is composed of Eforie Sud, the administrative centre, and Eforie Nord, a dependent village. Many other hotels were built here over the years, most of them during the communist regime. In the south-west is Techirghiol Lake , known for the healing properties of the mud, so that the recreational tourism combines with the spa tourism. It is a quiet town with wide streets, with many villas and houses that provide tourists good comfort at reasonable prices.

2475 Eforie Nord beach in 1980s

Narrow beach is stretched over a length of 2km, at the feet of the seafront, that reaches the greatest height of all the romanian resorts (30m). All along the beach the entry into the sea is made smoothly, and the sand has a bigger granulation that that of Mamaia resort. The resort is a pleasant destination for both relaxation and treatment. Eforie Nord, the second size seacoast resort from Romania, is well-known for its treatments with natural factors existing here, which are available all year round. The wooded areas, that surround the resort, bring freshness and relaxation in Eforie Nord.

1669, 2469 ROMANIA (Constanţa) - Costineşti

2469 Costineşti

Posted on 15.06.2015, 17.04.2016
Located on the shore of the Black Sea, about 30km south of Constanţa, Costineşti is a resort mostly frequented by youngsters. The settlement overlaps on the site of a small Greek colony called Parthenopolis. In the Middle Ages it was known as Stratoni in the time of the Byzantines, then Mangeapunar in the time of the Ottomans, with a modest population of Greek fishermen (and, later, Lipovans) and Mocans and Tatars shepherds. Between 1840 and 1940 the village was also populated by so-called Dobrujan Germans, who named it Büffelbrunnen.

1669 Costineşti - The Obelisk

The name Costineşti was taken from Emil Costinescu (landowner and politician of the late 19th century). In the 1960s it appears on the map as Dezrobirea (The Emancipation). In Costineşti, tourism started in the 1920s, with amateur of fishing and of archaeological research, but it began to flourish since 1949, with the inauguration of the first camp for Pioneers. Ten years later was opened the international students' camp, several hundred blue tents placed along the seafront. Soon, it evolved from a fishing village into a summer destination, popular especially among students.

2466 ROMANIA (Constanţa) - 2 Mai

2 Mai (May 2) is a village on the shore of the Black Sea, approximately 50 km south of Constanţa, between Mangalia and Vama Veche. The village was founded by Mihail Kogălniceanu in 1887 under the name Două Mai. Its first inhabitants were Russians from Bucharest, Iaşi and Galaţi. Later Lipovans from Tulcea County and Romanians from Argeş County settled here. The name comes from the day 2 May 1864, when Alexandru Ioan Cuza dissolved the legislative assembly of the Romanian United Principalities to promote its reforms.

2443, 2444 ROMANIA (Constanţa) - The Natural Sciences Museum Complex in Constanţa

2443 Natural Sciences Museum Complex in Constanţa -
Ni Ni & Chen Chen (Tursiops truncatus) at Dolphinarium

The Natural Sciences Museum Complex opened in 1958 when the Constanţa Aquarium emerged, after the renovation of the old building on the esplanade of the sea in the proximity of the Casino. Later, in 1969 the Planetarium was built, then in 1971 the Astronomic Observatory and the Museum of the Sea, and in 1972 the Dolphinarium. In 1973 all these were merged into a unique museum, placed on the west side of the Soveja market, in the Northeast part of the town.

2444 Natural Sciences Museum Complex in Constanţa - Pelicans in Microdelta

Over time the Dolphinarium grew with the Dolphinarium 2 (covered pool), the Microdelta and the bird house - exotic and decorative birds. The Microdelta is a body of water surrounded by willows and swamp vegetation, a piece of lacustrine ecosystem where can be found a number of 46 species, with more than 170 exemplars: pelicans, swans, ducks and wild geese, peacocks, pheasants and mammals (mouflons, fallow deer).

2289 ROMANIA (Constanţa) - Saturn

 

 

Saturn is not only a Roman agricultural deity and the sixth planet from the Sun, but also one of the six summer resorts located in area Comorova, on the Romanian coast of the Black Sea, at 43 km from Constanţa. Completed in 1972, the resort has two major beaches: Adras beach, located in the northern part of the resort, closer to Venus, and Diana beach in the south, located near the town of Mangalia, laced by numerous gulfs artificially created.

2215 ROMANIA (Constanţa) - Tomis marina

Tomis marina is Constanţa's tourist harbour, built in 1958 in the former Bay of Dolphins. The harbor basin was achieved by closing the bay with two dams: the northern one, Y-shaped, with an initial length of 400m, was extended in 2007 with a further portion of 200 m; the eastern one, which starts from the promenade of Casino, on a length of 500m. Three of its four sides (the eastern, southern and western) were provided with piers.

1948-1949, 2181 ROMANIA (Constanţa) - Constanţa Casino

1948 Constanţa Casino (1)

Posted on 10.10.2015, 03.01.2016
Located on Elisabeta Boulevard, along the Black Sea, the Constanţa Casino is considered a symbol of the city, even if, unfortunately, in the last 20 years it has been left to decay. The construction of an edifice like the great European casinos started in 1904 after the plans of the Romanian architect Petre Antonescu, who designed a building inspired by the traditions of Romanian art. After completion of the foundations, the authorities hired the French architect Daniel Renard, who changed the plans in Art Nouveau style.

1949 Constanţa Casino (2)

Built between 1908 and 1910, it functioned until WWI (1916), when it was converted into a military hospital. Bombed by German aviation, it was then devastated by German- Bulgarian troops. Restored in 1928, and in 1934 (by the same Daniel Renard), was bombed again at the beginning of WWII, and seriously damaged. After the war, the Soviet troops have looted the building. The communist regime transformed it in the House of Culture of the Unions since 1948, and in 1951 renovated the building.

2181 Constanţa Casino by night in 1970s

In 1986 was again renovated, this time by a group of Romanian artists. Were added Baroque frescoes, stucco, and stained glasses. The ground floor, surrounded by terraces with sea direct view, housed a billiards room and a room with round tables for card games. Upstairs, the ballroom was transformed from time to time in theater hall, and lovers of the nightscapes with moon mirrored in the sea waves could admire the view from the terraces, at the light of the lanterns.

2004 ROMANIA (Constanţa) - Vama Veche

Located on the Black Sea coast, near the border with Bulgaria, Vama Veche was founded in 1811 by a few Gagauz families, originally being named Ilanlîk. Its current name literally means "Old border checkpoint", named so after Southern Dobruja (the Cadrilater) had been included in Romania in 1913. In 1940, however, that region was returned to Bulgaria, and the village has since lain once again near the border, but the name stuck.

1971 ROMANIA (Constanţa) - Esmehan Sultan Mosque in Mangalia

For almost 500 years, from early 15th century to 1878, Mangalia belonged to the Ottoman Empire, together with all of Dobruja. During this period, the area, and implicit the town, were colonized by Muslim Turks and Tatars, who in time became a majority. Although Dobruja has been extensively colonized with Romanian after 1878, when it became part of Romania, so that in 2011 more than 82% of the population of Mangalia was Romanian, the town maintained a significant minority (7.52%) of Turks and Tartars Muslims.

1913 ROMANIA (Constanţa) - Tropaeum Traiani

Very soon after he became emperor, Trajan turned his gaze to Dacia, a kingdom stretched and rich, with a strategic position, at north of the Danube, which Roman Empire had failed to conquer it until then. One of the most important battles of the war which followed took place in the winter of 101-102 A.D. on the site where later will be built Civitas Tropaensium, the largest Roman city of Scythia Minor (Dobrogea), in nowadays Adamclisi, in modern Romania. The Romans were victorious in this battle, but with heavy losses.

After the conquest of Dacia following of the second war (105-106 A.D.), Trajan build in 109, on the battle's place, Tropaeum Traiani, inspired by the Augustus mausoleum, and dedicated to the god Mars Ultor (Mars the Avenger). Before Trajan's construction, an altar existed there, on the walls of which were inscribed the names of the 3,800 legionaries and auxilia (servicemen) who had died "fighting for the Republic". The present edifice is a reconstruction dating from 1977.

1890 ROMANIA (Constanţa) - Grand Mosque of Constanța

In 1878, when it became part of the Kingdom of Romania (newly indepedendent), after five centuries of Ottoman rule almost uninterrupted, the Northern Dobrogea had a very diverse ethnic composition and a majority Muslim population. As homage to the Muslim community in Constanţa, Romania's most important port on the Black Sea, Romanian King Carol I commissioned in 1910 the construction of a great mosque, inaugurated in 1913. Even today, the mosque is referred to by Constanţa's Islamic community as the King's Mosque (Romanian: Geamia Regelui, Turkish: Kral camisi).

1492 ROMANIA (Constanţa) - The Barque Mircea

Throughout history, the Romanians didn't have to much to do with the seas and oceans of the world, so they haven't developed special qualities of navigators and explorers as other peoples, such as the Greeks, the Spaniards, the Portuguese or the English. Romania has a stretch of coast of the Black Sea, but the Romanian Principalities, which formed Romania by their union, were landlocked for long periods, so the Romanian navigation history isn't so rich. Mircea is probably the best known Romanian ship and also the one with the longest history. In fact Mircea is the name of two ships in Romanian Navy, the first of them, a barque type ship built entirely of wood, operating from 1882 to 1944, and the second, made of metal, fitted with both sails and Diesel engine, was released in September 22, 1938 and is still in operation today as training ship.