Welcome to Constanţa in County Constanţa,
part of the Dobrogea region of Romania! Discover historic Constanţa and
surrounding villages, see things to do and understand the rich Dobrogea
culture unfolding in historic county Constanţa. Rest Romania will help
you find the perfect hotel or B&B in our section on Constanţa lodging, B&B
(bed and breakfast), or great activities further out in County Constanţa.
Check
out your transportation options in Constanţa in County Constanţa, part of
the region of Dobrogea in Romania. Find your accommodation options in
either Constanţa or Constanţa, with fun things to do from eoc-tourism, to
nearby hiking and even skiing.
The new
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Romania Gallery
has photos from our contributors showing the best of Romania!
Don't bother travelling to Athens or Rome if you
want to marvel in some amazing European history, because the
stunning archaeological finds from Greek and Roman days in
Constanţa rivals them all!
As the largest Romanian seaport on the Black Sea,
the de facto capital of
Dobrogea, and third-largest city in
România, Constanţa is a vibrant seaport and
regional centre since Greek and Roman times!
Marseilles on the Black Sea
European royalty have flocked to the fine sands of
the Black Sea coast since the early 1900s, when a rail line was
built from the Paris of the East, Bucharest to this sunny seaside
resort port.
Constanţa has the air of a
French seaside town in the 1950s in many ways. Even at the
height of summer, when alot of the residents go to the mountains for a
cool break or flock north or south to the adjacent resort towns of
Mamaia,
Eforie Nord and
the resorts further south.
You'll enjoy strolling through the old port part of
town, complete with a wild mix of mosques, Orthodox churches, a fine
old Catholic church, museums, and some attractive ornate
architecture.
The feel of the exotic pull of the Black Sea is strong in Constanţa. In what was once an Ottoman city of mostly ethnic Tatars and Greek
citizens, barely 1 in 20 Constanţa
residents were Romanian in the mid 1800s (now well over 90% today).
But because of this culturally rich history, Constanţa offers some architectural and
culinary delights to the traveller, from old mosques and some super
Turkish, Greek and ethnic Romanian restaurants, to just having an
authentic shaorma in the park under a cool shade tree.
Although the Turkish population has always been very low in the
city -- never more than 3%, despite the bevy of Turkish restaurants
now found in the old port town -- Constanţa has benefitted greatly
from it's long history as an Ottoman protectorate.
All this will surely settle the charm of Constanţa in
your hearts!
European royalty flocked to this fin de siecle monument to
luxury at the tip of the old quarter in Constanţa
originally built as a pavilion for Carmen Sylva, Romania's Queen
Elizabeth. Here in 1963, and below today.
The Lion House
There's Rococo and then there is Rococo. This building
really takes the cake in the old quarter of
Constanţa
Since Constanţa has been continuously inhabited for 2500 years, there
is a lot to see! Some recent archaeological digs have resulted in some
world-class finds from the Greek and Roman days.
The old Casino at the harbour was opened in 1911. It was built in a
fabulous Art Nouveau style and was conceived by two architects, Petre
Antonescu and Daniel Renard (born in Romania).
In AD 09 Ovid was sent in exile by the Roman emperor Augustus for
obscure reasons, which rather fortunately for history, resulted in
Ovid's "Tristia" works of poetry.
The statue of Ovid (or Ovidius), a famous Roman poet who died in Constanţa, then
known as Tomis, in AD 17. The statue by Ettore Ferrari was erected in
1887 after a public subscription (the same statue can be seen in Sulmona,
his birthplace).
The National Museum of History and Archaeology in Constanţa is
definitely worth a trip into town if you're staying at any of the
surrounding resorts. Better than most museums even in Bucharest, it is
an interesting place with foreign language guides available.
The National Museum of History and Archeology is a real
crowd-pleaser, and even the kids will have a few smiles at little
prehistoric stone dolls, mammoth tusks, and some seriously wild
sculptures and statues. Even if you've visited the best history
museums in Washington, London, Paris and Rome, you will be quite
impressed with the displays at Constanţa, ranging from
collections of the Greek and Roman antiquity including the Glycon
Snake, Fortuna and Pontos, Two-faced Nemesis and countless amphorae.
You'll be amazed at the very first few rooms, with significant
treasures from Constanţa's Greek and Roman times, including coins,
amphorae, statues and stunning rare glassware.
Stairway to Heaven
Even the interior stairwells are wonders to behold at the
National History Museum
The building itself is really quite a remarkable example of the
Brâncoveanu style of architecture. Spend some time in one of the
stairwells between the floors for a great sense of Romanian
architecture. Outside the museum are some marble tombs and artefacts,
and a nearby archaeological park nicely supplements this fine
world-class museum.
Perversely enough, the museum rather abruptly ends it's historical
displays at the end of Romania's Golden Era and World War II. It's
as if history stops at 1947 when the Communists took over, but hopefully
funding in the future will help to complete the National Museum of
History (5000BC - 1947).
The Original Roman Buildings
It's rather striking to think that all under most of the southern
port peninsula in Constanţa there exists still
the public buildings, baths, walls and residences of the Roman port city
of Tomis.
Just behind the National History museum on the sloping hill
just behind there) are the remains of an impressive
Roman public building,
thought to have originally been a port building, has been excavated, and
contains the substantial remains of one of the longest mosaic pavements in
the world.
The Ruins of Tomis
Pretty much at the heart of downtown Constanţa
where boulevards Tomis and Ferdinand meet, is an archaeological park,
which takes in a surprising breadth of ages, from the sixth century BC,
to early Roman walls and Byzantine fortifications. Get
a lunch somewhere nearby and wander through the area for a great lazy
afternoon.
Paradise Awaits
As vibrant as the Voroneţ blues,
the great dome interior at the Mahmudiye Mosque inspires and
delights.
The Great Mosque, at a stone's throw from Ovidiu Square, was the
first public building made of concrete in Romania (1910), a gift from
King Carol I to the small Moslem community.
There is a small kiosk just inside the entry gates in the forecourt
where you can make a donation (an obligatory donation that is) to take
in the view from the turret, or to have a look inside the main prayer
hall. The ceiling of the central dome (on right) is simply lovely.
Today there remain about 55,000 Muslims remaining throughout
Romanian Dobrogea, about 1% of the population.
As with any mosque, be respectful by wearing modest dress. For
women this normally includes covering arms and legs. Ask at the
entry kiosk for further advice.
Despite arguably better beaches to the north and south, the locals
in the city can be found on their own stretches of sand just a few
blocks from the city centre.
Near the marina and featuring quite shallow waters on a beautifully
warm gentle slope of sand (you can walk for 20-30 meters and the water
won't pass your knees) it's great for the kids. They'll get bored and
turn back before the water is particularly deep!
The main tourist marina features an aquatic park with dolphins, a
few terasa style restaurants featuring seafood from the local fisherman
(this is advertised at least).
You can get aboard a tour boat from the Tomis marine port which will
take you on a great morning or afternoon trip out into the Black Sea,
with super views along the coast!
The Art and History of Constanţa
Most tourists from America are blown away by the
collections in Contstanţa, arguably better
than those in Bucureşti!
The National History Museum and the Constanta Archeological
Museum
Piata Ovidiu nr.12, Constanta
Tel. : +40 (241) 614 562
The Constanţa Museum of Art
B-dul Tomis nr. 82 84, Constanta
Tel./Fax : +40 (241) 617 012
The Constanta Natural Sciences Museum Complex
B-dul Mamaia nr.255, Constanta
Tel. : +40 (241) 547 055
The Constanta Popular Art Museum
B-dul Tomis nr.32, Constanta
Tel. : +40 (241) 616 133
The Romanian Maritime Museum
Str. Traian nr. 53, Constanta
Tel./Fax : +40 (241) 619 035
The National Military Museum at Constanta
Str. Liliacului nr. 1 3, Constanta
Tel. : +40 (241) 674 359
A Day Out in the Old City
Constanţa benefits greatly from its nicely compact downtown area
with the immediately adjacent little southern peninsula containing most
of the historical and tourist sights. Lunch choices involve a cosy
little taverna off one of the pedestrianised main shopping streets, or a
seafood lunch down on the Tomis marina.
As with any Romanian town, large or small, a series of public parks
are dotted throughout the town, with the more popular one best for
people watching just in front of the Ovidiu theatre. In many ways, the
downtown area of Constanţa, with it's busy streets and little cafes, is
a lot like many French Mediterranean towns in the 1950s, or even many
little Florida towns in the same, simpler era.
Just down a couple of blocks from the main shopping area is a large
park mentioned above, with the remains of an old city wall from the late
Roman days, as well as the remains of a Byzantine tower.
Further down the hill is the Naval museum, which has some rather
illuminating models of ancient Greek sailing ships which plied the
coastline here well before the Christian era. The story of the
Romanian Navy is well mapped out, although, much like the National
History Museum in the old quarter of town, certain blocks of history are
given very light treatment, such as the WWII and Communist eras.
Museum of the Romanian Navy, Strada
Traian 53, Open daily except Mondays until 6pm.
A Streetside Shaorma Stand
Worth the four dollars, especially if it's late at night!
The Carol I Mosque
A great tower, and a rather grand interior, with superb ceiling work too!
Dobrogea (bordered by the Black Sea and the Danube River), really
does the best job of the Turkish-inspired street food like Kebabs (or
often, "Kebaps") and Shaorma, with grilled meats with what are basically
Black Sea rim spices and condiments.
The Shaorma is wrapped in a lipia, which is a sort of thin pancake,
usually filled with thinly sliced roast chicken breast, but sometimes
beef. The lamb option is not as popular in Romania, at least not
in the capital Bucharest.
At around four dollars each, they're a bargain and deeply satisfying.
Try out anywhere downtown around Piaţa Ovidiu for
a great sidewalk shaorma, and during the summer a few 24 hour pizza
joints too.
Going to a proper restaurant is almost silly
with these delicious local temptations around! If you do eat out, prices
are very reasonable even in the high seasons, and your bill can easily
glide in under $15 a head including drinks.
It would be a shame to be in Contanţa without
trying out one of the truly wonderful local Turkish restaurants, a menu
done rather well throughout Dobrogea due to it's long history in the
Ottoman Empire!
Do try the local wines from nearby Murfatlar, they're so good with
grilled meats and so very full of sunshine, you'd mistake some of them
for an Australian Shiraz more than anything else.
Americans and English alike will be bemused by the unlikely name of
the Glendale Multiplex cinema in the Tomis Mall on Str. Ştefan cel Mare (Nr.
36-40, Tel. +40 (241) 515-353).
Shopping
Yes, the ubiquitous mall has arrived on the scene on the Romania
Black Sea coast! You have your choice of the historically
named Tomis Mall,
The TOM Complex (with the Carrefour superstore and the BricoStore
homewares), The City Park Mall,
Constanţa Mall, and a whole
range of satellite community super centres from Practiker (hardware and
homewares) to Selgros (hypermarket), Metro, and more.
The Tomis
Mall is well-located downtown near the train station, and has the
typical western mix of stores, restaurants and coffee shops, a four-plex
cinema, a huge supermarket, 3 underground parking levels, and a Kids
land. It's not particularly Romanian, but offers a familiar
atmosphere for the English-speaking tourist, complete with Pizza Hut,
McDonalds, KFC and other western trappings. Note that they all
serve beer at least, although value-wise, you'll probably still do
better getting a shaorma by the park.
The City Park Mall
is the newest in Constanţa, just opened in July
2007, and touts itself as the first "real" mall in
Constanţa. With the obligatory 3000 m2 supermarket, the
City Park Mall also features a big multiplex cinema, bowling, and
electronics and IT centre, as well as a fairly large food court with
restaurants, bars, and cafes.
The over 100 shops are made up of the normal mix of fashion,
jewellers, gift shops, newsagents, banks, and chemists. City Park
also has an amusement area for kids, and boasts a
Senior’s Club, exterior skating
rink, and nearby nautical
sports in the neighborhood lake.
If you have some information for us about Constanţa or County Constanţa,
please
Let us know about it now! We appreciate all of your efforts!
Clubs in Constanţa have the fabulously
Romanian habit of decamping for the beaches at Mamaia during the summer
months.
Like a gypsy caravan, the barmen, staff and management move their club's
operations to their summer locations in Mamaia starting between the 1st
of May and around mid-June usually, moving back into town around
late-August or later.
If you just want some casual dancing with the tourists, any of the
little discos attached to the hotels will do or you can get some cabaret
at the Melody near the casino.
Top local clubs
in Contanţa year-round are the Bourbon
House, Oscar, Phoenix, Motor Club, Morgana, Megalos, Club 21, Amnesia, Oxford,
Exit Caffe - Club, No Problem, Two, Crush and
Domino, some of which have their Mamaia operations during summer months
(often called the "open air" location).
Megalos, is one of the clubs which moves its operations to Mamaia
during the summer months from early June through August.
Open since 1999, Club Megalos was an instant hit on the Constanţa club scene, striving to offer elegance and quality
in a spacious club attracting top showbiz names and acts.
Popular
in Romania tends to veer towards snob appeal more than low-down cool,
and Megalos and Kristal Club are two local leaders in these popularity
stakes.
Even more upscale (and snobbier perhaps) Cristal Club operates at
Castel in the summer months in Mamaia.
Fun interiors and comfortable seating at
La
Rocca make this upscale club a delight
(All club photos from respective
clubs)
Mamaia Clubs and Pubs
In addition to the major hotel discos and clubs, these are some of
the top ones along the sizzling sand strip of
Mamaia. Some
are extentions of the ones in town.
Club XXIin Mamaia Formerly Club Melody.
+40 (727) MEL ODY
La Mania
At the Club Hotel Lido and Ambasador in Mamaia+40
(241)611716
Heaven Club Capt. Dobrila Eugeniu
Street in Mamaia In the Tic-Tac zone in
Mamaia, open Thursday - Saturdays from 10pm until late
+40 (722) 151 475
Kristal Summer Club
in Mamaia The former Castel
Club, with pool, lounge area and adjoining restaurant
Kudos Beachin Mamaia, on the beach side of the boardwalk near Enigma.
The Kudos store is near the Casino
+40 (723) 585 069 Fax +40 (21) 316 8195
Terasa "Casa Ialomita"
In the Vacation Village
in Mamaia
Open Friday
from 9pm until the last dancer dances the last dance +40 (724) 561
118
Scandinavia Night Clubin Mamaia
This club in a resort complex is on the Lake Siutghiol
side, opposite the Rex hotel. Open 09:00 - 05:00
+40 (241) 607 000
Fax +40 (241) 607 001
Ultima Playa
on the north end of the beach in Mamaia Big area near the exit for
Năvodari
to the north, about 250 metres from the Hotel Lido
Constanţa Pubs and Clubs
Worth
the taxi ride into Constanţa for some of the towns more permanent clubs
and pubs.
Club Two
11 Marc Aureliu Street at Ovidiu Square in Constanţa
Club & restaurant
+40 (720) 122 122
Insomnia Clubin Constanţa
+40 (744) 434 502 or Reservations on +40 (720) 223 673
Megalos
155 Mamaia Blvd in Constanţa Open 24
hours with nonstop music and dance. Upscale 42 room hotel and good restaurant attached.
+40
(241) 516 362, +40 (721) 471 094 or +40 (788) 470
790
Oscar clubSarmisegetuza, nr 5
in Constanţa
Pleasant club with cafe attached.
Club:
+40 (721) 249 249
Cafe: +40 (729) 800 351 Open from noon to the last client.
No Limit
In the cellar at 194 Lapuşneanu Blvd in Constanţa
Open daily except
Mondays and Tuesdays from 10pm until late (or early if the sun is up).
+40
(241) 546 200; +40 (726) 265 900
Phoenix Club
1 Capt. Dobrila Eugeniu Street in Constanţa +40 (241) 667 408
Club Motor Mix,
218 Mamaia Blvd in Constanţa Open 24 hours
or
+40 (724) 831 855
Bourbon House
Ferdinand Blvd at Unirii Square in Constanţa Funky roadhouse style club with a usually full dance floor
+40 (721) 458 029 or +40 (722) 230 970 or +40 (241) 615166
DominoClub
105 Mircea cel Bătrân St.
in Constanţa Open 09:00 - 24:00
+40 (241) 665 888 +40 (728) 182 210
Kmy's Club
194 Alexandru Lapuşneanu Blvd in Constanţa
Open non stop+40
(241) 546 200 or +40 (726) 265 900
Hot Place Club Disco 113 Alexandru
Lapuşneanu Blvd in Constanţa Open 10:00 until the last
client
+40 (745) 091 005
Oxford Pub
202 Alexandru Lapuşneanu Blvd in Constanţa
Open 9am to Midnight
+40
(241) 606 510
Club - Caffe Exit
115 Tomis Blvd in Constanţa
+40 (723) 269 687
Scotch Pub
On the first floor (second for Americans) in the Ciresica Complex at 1 Dispensarului
Street in Constanţa Right across
from the roundabout
+40
(788) 323 488 or +40 (722) 945 615
La Rocca
On the first floor (second for Americans) in the Ciresica Complex at 26 Cişmelei Street
in Constanţa
A fun medieval theme combined with a fun
rococo look gives La Rocca class and whimsy
+40
(788) 170 656 or +40 (745) 505 506
Web Cafe
56 Tomis Blvd in ConstanţaJust
opposite city hall, ask about wireless +40 (341) 407 785
We're
waiting on e-mail or web information for the following clubs:
Discoteca Morgana
1 Alexandru Lapuşneanu Blvd in Constanţa +40 (241) 516 362 Fax +40 (241) 516362
Amnesia Ferdinand
Blvd at Unirii Square
in Constanţa Open 18:00 - 06:00 +40 (721) 458 029 +40 (722) 919 420
Asterix Pub
16 Cişmelei Street
in Constanţa Open 07:00 - 01:00 +40 (241) 667 258
Beta
6A Stefan cel Mare St.
in Constanţa +40 (241) 673 763
Epava -
107 Mircea Cel Bătrân St in Constanţa
Open 08:00 - 01:00
High Class Club Café 155 Mamaia Blvd
in Constanţa
Open 24 hours
New Orleans
At the Corner of Siretului Street and Mamaia Blvd.
Not quite
like the corner of Bourbon and Rue Dumaine however, so don't try to let
those bontemps roulez here. Open Noon to 2am weekdays, and
weekends 6am - 4am Fridays and Saturdays (they clean for 2 hours)
+40 (241) 609557
Nova Club Café Bar Mamaia
Blvd in Constanţa In a rather secure location opposite the
precinct police station, open 9am - Midnight.
No Problem At
the Dacia complex in Constanţa Open 22:00 - 05:00 +40 (241) 513 377
Off Duty Tomis
Blvd in the Capitol District Downtown in Constanţa
Open from 9am
until everyone goes home +40 (721) 285 688
Tabu Café
133 Tomis Blvd in the downtown Capitol district in
Constanţa Open 07:00 - 24:00
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Start your Romanian Riviera vacation on the new A2 "Freeway of the Sun", linking Constanţa
to Bucharest with 4-lanes to the Black Sea!
Drive the Sun Freeway!
With fully controlled access, overpasses and well graded exit ramps,
the freeway is almost 100% completed through to
Constanţa.
You'd almost think you're cruising along an interstate freeway in
America, so good is the standard of building along this section of road.
Indeed, much cheaper than flying and half the time of taking the train,
getting your own rental car makes alot of sense if you're in Bucharest
and want to spend some days on
the Romanian Riviera.
You can also fly into Constanţa
airporton several major carriers, and pick up a car from
EuropCar or
others, and drop off your rental car there and fly out of
Constanţa on your way back.
Busses, maxi-taxis and cars ply this route day and night, piercing
through some relatively boring alluvial plains before crossing the
Danube river and then twisting it's way through low hills to the port
city.
The 258km rail line from Bucharest to
Constanţa
continues south down the coast from
Constanţa to the southern resort towns ending in
Mangalia.
Another north-south line runs from Tulcea in the Danube Delta, down to
the Bulgarian border, crossing at
Medgidia.
There is a left luggage service at the train station in
Constanţa if you need to stow your main
gear for a while, as the station is about 2km southwest of the
city centre.
In addition to the copious maxi-taxis waiting all hours
outside the station, you can take a trolley-bus into town from
there along the main arterial road, Ferdinand Boulevard.
Constanţa Train
Station, Strada Victoriei 1 +40 (241) 617 930
A first class ticket on the excellent Blue Arrow service from Bucharest
to Constanţa city is about 25RON, and well worth the extra 10RON or so over second class.
The 120 minute ride from Bucharest's Obor train station runs three times
daily; you can get slower trains during other times of the day if needed,
or if you want to stop along the way (little need however).
The Rapid and Accelerat services take just over 4 hours and make 5 stops
on the way to Constanţa from Obor station in
eastern Bucharest.
Down the Coast
A couple of these services continue south along
the sea coast, offering first-class service to the southern Black Sea
city of Mangalia, stopping at
Eforie Nord, Eforie Sud Hm, Costinesti, Costineşti
Tabăra hc, and finally Neptun hc before terminating at Mangalia.
Get Personal!
If you are going down the Romanian Riviera by train, there are 10 stops going down to Mangalia, so if the Rapid
doesn't stop at your station, simply take the daily Personal class
train, which in addition to the above stations, stops at Agigea Nord,
Agigea Ecluza, Tuzla hc, Pescarus h and the other Neptun stop (there are
two).
Taking only an extra five or ten minutes to make the hour
and fifteen minute trip down the coast, the Personal trains have second
class carriages, which have the benefit of having a bit more room for
larger suitcases.
Other Services
Of course, in addition to the passenger traffic, the important
freight services to Bucharest carry the goods from the main seaport at
Constanţa from the Black Sea container ships to cities throughout
Romania and Europe. The train station closer in to the port
doesn't have passenger services.
In addition to the coastal rail line between
Constanţa and Medgidia, another north-south line runs slightly
more inland at Medgidia, going north to the Danube Delta town of Tulcea,
and south to Bulgaria.
Maxi-taxis arrive and depart from several locations throughout Constanţa,
from the train and bus stations, to the main downtown shopping streets,
the malls and the beach areas.
Most busses coming in from Bucharest or the resorts stop and depart in
at the south (main) bus station, although some services north to Tulcea
depart from the North Bus Station. You can catch a bus between
these two bus stations if you need to transfer from the train or
southern bus station to the northern one.
The New Pink MAB busses
The 44 Bus. Take the 41 in from the train
station to Mamaia or the 40 around Constanta's north side too.
At the main southern bus station, adjacent to the main train station,
taxis and maxi-taxis are easy to find in the lot just south of the main
train station.
Both have services locally and to all major near destinations such as
Bucureşti, Mangalia, Tulcea and all stops along the way.
HINT: Be nice to your local taxi or maxi taxi driver! This
is the best way for you to get to nearby villages and sites, and a
little tip might help to get some good information on where to find a
taxi for your return trip! Tipping is an art form in Romania, so
learn it fast, and you will have great transportation everywhere.
Dobrogea's main airport is amid the farms on
the gentle rolling hills at the commune of
Mihail Kogălniceanu, which serves County
Constanţa, the city of Constanţa,
and all of the Romanian Riviera.
Even though the main airports at Bucharest are only 90 minutes away by
maxi taxi, the Constanţa airport, about a half hour to the northwest
of the town centre, offers flights to Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Craiova, Iaşi,
Timişoara, and even Budapest.
The national carrier
Tarom offers
50-seater fast turboprop service to Constanţa from Bucharest
on ATR42 aircraft (see
below), and Carpatair flies their Saab
2000 turboprops to Craiova, en route to their Timişoara hub.
The opening in 1895 of the railway to Bucharest, which crosses the
Danube by a bridge at Cernavodă, brought Constanţa a considerable
transit trade in grain and petroleum, which are largely exported; coal
and coke head the list of imports, followed by machinery, iron goods,
and cotton and woollen fabrics.
Previously, much of this cargo went out to sea via the ports at
Brăila, Galaţi and Tulcea, where the river boat
cargo was moved over to ocean-going vessels for the Black Sea and
Mediterranean. The new-ish A2 freeway, linking Constanţa to
Bucharest is almost completed.
For those with a nautical bent, the Constanţa Seaport, protected by
breakwaters, with a lighthouse at the entrance, is well defended from
the North winds, but those from the South, South-East, and South-West
prove sometimes highly dangerous.
The Port of Constanţa is Romania's largest and
due to it's traffic from the Danube (nearly 90% of the Danube-Black Sea
ships go through the Port of Constanţa),
one of the most important on the Black Sea. The Danube-Black Sea Canal
is the widest and deepest
navigable channel in Europe, and surprisingly has yet to realise full
capacity in terms of ability to handle additional traffic and tonnage.
The Black Sea squadron of the Romanian fleet is stationed at
Constanţa -- don't miss the Maritime Museum near
the port if you have the time.
After a few years of intransigence on the route by
providing a bus (yes, a non-flying bus),
TAROM finally gave in towards the end of May 2007 and
started aircraft service to Constanţa's
Mihail Kogalniceanu's airport.
The summer is warm, dry and sunny with a July
average of 23 °C. Constanţa rarely experience very hot days often found
in the interior, because of the moderating influence of the Black Sea.
Summer settles around June 15 and ends in late September.
The autumn starts late September, and it's
long and relatively warm. Nights are still tropical (temperatures
over 20 °C) on an average of 10 days in September. September is
often warmer than June, because of the heat accumulated by the Black
Sea.
The first frost occurs on average on November 19. The winter is much balmier compared to other
cities in southern Romania. It has very little snow but can be very
windy and thus, unpleasant. Winter arrives much later than in the
interior and December weather is often balmy with high temperatures
reaching 12 °C. Average January temperature is +0.4 °C.
The spring arrives early but it's very cool.
Often thanks to fresh spring winds in April and May, the Black Sea
coast is even a bit cooler than the wide planes of Romania.
All of the phone numbers in Constanţa
start with (0241) or (0341), depending on whether the service is
through the old state-run operator RomTelecom, or from one of the newer
entrants into the market in Romania.
Dialling internationally into Constanţa,
you must
remove any leading zero from the county code portion of the phone
number, so that (0241) becomes (241). Dialling a mobile
number, you do the same, dropping the zero from the (07XX) part of the
number, to make it (7XX). Both landlines and mobiles have 6
digits following the initial county code.
The American style pizza restaurant "Pizza
Hut" is one of your better bets when in the port city of
Constanţa. Sleepy seaside summer-town Constanţa
is hardly the cosmopolitan hub, and the dearth of little cafe's with
wireless is noticeable amongst cafes and pubs.
The wireless location for
Pizza Hut is out at
the Carrefour mall:
Pizza Hut City Park, 401 Tomis Blvd. in
Constanţa
This Pizza Hut is part of the
City Park Mall attached to the Carrefour hypermarket in the food court area
(open until 9:30pm, 8pm Sundays), but indeed has the wi-fi, which
you can also pick up from one or two of the neighbouring
restaurants. +40
(241) 585 415 or +40
(749) 120 614
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This website is a
general tourist guide, designed to help English-speaking tourists
understand Romania, and as such, provides historical
information for the interest of our traveller readers. History
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e-mail us here
if you have questions or comments about anything in this history
section.
Uniting the principalities of Wallachia and
Moldova, the first modern Romania was born, shown here in
Constanţa, oddly enough, which was not
ceded until 1878 to the new Romanian nation.
A number of inscriptions found in the town and its vicinity show that
Constanţa lies where once Tomis stood.
Tomis (also called Tomi) was a Greek colony in the province of Scythia
on the Black Sea's shore, founded around 500 BC for commercial exchanges
with local Daco-Getic populations. Probably the name is derived from Greek
Τόμη meaning cut, section.
According to the Bibliotheke it was founded by Aeetes:
"When Aeetes discovered the daring deeds done by Medea, he started off
in pursuit of the ship; but when she saw him near, Medea murdered her
brother and cutting him limb from limb threw the pieces into the deep.
Gathering the child's limbs, Aeetes fell behind in the pursuit; wherefore
he turned back, and, having buried the rescued limbs of his child, he
called the place Tomi. "
(Bibliotheke I, ix, 24 )
According to Jordanes (after Cassiodorus), the founder of the city was a
Getae queen (Jord. De origine actibusque Getarum, "The origin and deeds of
the Goths"):
"After achieving this victory (against Cyrus the Great) and winning so
much booty from her enemies, Queen Tomyris crossed over into that part of
Moesia which is now called Lesser Scythia - a name borrowed from Great
Scythia -, and built on the Moesian shore of the Black Sea the city of
Tomi, named after herself."
In 29 BC the Romans captured the region from the Odryses, and annexed it
as far as the Danube, under the name of Limes Scythicus.
In AD 8, the Roman poet Ovid (43 BC-17) was banished here by Augustus,
where he wrote his last work, the bitter "Tristia". Ovid
would live out the remainder of his years in exile among "the barbaric
Getae". The last three books of the Tristia grow increasingly grim as
their author grows old, knowing that he will never return to his home.
At one point he sends his epitaph:
hic ego qui iaceo tenerorum lusor amorum
ingenio perii Naso poeta meo;
at tibi qui transis ne sit graue quisquis amasti
dicere "Nasonis molliter ossa cubent"
I that lie here, the bard of playful love,
The poet Ovid, perished for my play.
Oh passing lover, scorn not thou to pray
That no ill chance my restful bones may move.
The city was afterwards included in the Province of Moesia, and, from
the time of Diocletian, in Scythia Minor, of which it was the metropolis.
After the split of the Roman Empire, Tomis fell under the rule of
Byzantine Empire.
Tomis was later renamed to Constantiana in honour of Constantia, the
half-sister of Constantine the Great (274-337). The earliest known usage
of this name was "Κωνστάντια" ("Constantia") in 950. The city lay at the
seaward end of the Great Wall of Trajan, and has evidently been surrounded
by fortifications of its own.
After successively becoming part of the Bulgarian Empires, the
independent principality of Dobrotitsa/Dobrotici and of Wallachia under
Mircea the Elder, Constanţa fell under the Ottoman rule around 1419.
Queen Marie of Romania (born in Kent, eldest daughter of Prince
Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh), wrote of
Constanţa:
"In the days of Ovid, Constanţa went by
the name of Tomis, and was an important town in close connection with
the coasts of Asia Minor. In later times a bishop had residence in the
town, and one, John of Tomis, was a well-known Latin writer at the
beginning of the Middle Ages.
"The actual name of the town of Constanţa,
or Constantiniana, came to her through Constantine, emperor of the East,
who re-established her in the fifth century, and in the sixth century
she was still known as an important centre of the provinces of Scythia
Minor, under Justinian. Later she is only occasionally mentioned by the
Genoese as a port on their sea maps.
"The regions around about Constanţa, or
Kustendje as she is called by the Turks, are rich in old ruins, some of
which have but quite recently been dug out. "
A railroad linking Constanţa to Cernavodă was opened in 1860. In spite
of damage done by railway contractors there are considerable remains of
ancient masonry walls, pillars, etc.
In 1878, after the Romanian War of Independence, Constanţa and the rest
of Northern Dobruja was ceded by the Ottoman Empire to Romania. The city
became Romania's main seaport and transit point for much of Romania's
exports, and both freight and tourism boomed with the opening of the
rail bridge at Cernavodă in 1895.
On October 22, 1916 (during the World War I), Constanţa was occupied by
the Central Powers (German, Turkish and Bulgarian troops).
According to
the Treaty of Bucharest in May 1918, article 10.b (treaty which has never
been ratified by Romania), Constanţa remained under the joint control of
Central Powers. The city was liberated by the Allied troops in 1918 after
the successful offensive on the Thessaloniki front which knocked Bulgaria
out of the war.
According to the 2002 census, the population of Constanţa city
proper (the Municipality) was 310,471, although the immediate
metropolitan area tops 400,000.
The urban area around Constanţa, however,
includes the towns of Năvodari (32,400), Ovidiu (13,134) and Basarabi
(10,857) and the
communes Cumpăna (12,532), Lumina (7,858), Valu lui Traian (8,824) and Agigea
(5,482), increasing the total population of Constanţa's urban area
to 401,613. The population rise has been steady in the area since
the first modern census done in 1853, when the population of the seaport
town was just 5,200.
Since then, the ethnicity of Constanţa have changed rather
dramatically, when barely 1 in 20 Constanţa
residents were Romanian, versus well over 90% today. The Constanţa
of 1853 made up primarily of ethnic Tatars and Greek citizens of
what was then an Ottoman protectorate. The Turkish population has
always been very low in the city, at 2% then and just under 3% today.
The chief local industries are tanning and the
manufacture of petroleum drums.
The opening, in 1895, of the railway to Bucharest, which crosses
the Danube by a bridge at Cernavodă, brought Constanţa a
considerable transit trade in grain and petroleum, which are largely
exported; coal and coke head the list of imports, followed by
machinery, iron goods, and cotton and woollen fabrics.
The Lake Tăbăcărie Park
Looking south-east out to sea and northern
Constanţa
The Ovidiu Theatre
One of the cultural hot-spots of Constanţa,
in the main downtown park at the end of Str
Ştefan cel Mare
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You'll enjoy strolling through the old port part of
town, complete with a wild mix of mosques, Orthodox churches, a fine
old Catholic church, museums, and some attractive ornate
architecture.
See a Road Map of the Constanţa Area
Have more info? Please Let us know!
Constanţa Downtown
to or Weekly
to or Weekly
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Constanţa Downtown
Constanţa Downtown
Tomis Boulevard
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