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Tulcea
Romania's Crescent
City
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In
County Tulcea
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 The photo immediately preceding this notice is Copyright (c)2005 - 2008 Rest
Romania SRL, All rights reserved.
Photo:
© REST ROMÂNIA
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In this Guide:
This City of Tulcea Guide covers all the city sites,
museums and the Danube Delta visitors centre, as well as the
Cătăloi airport area and nearby villages.
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Click anywhere on the
map for more great Rest Romania Guides for Tulcea!
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For Babadag and the Dobrogean Highlands,
see our Guide
to County Tulcea, along with the Delta Margin towns like
Murighiol. See
the Western
Tulcea guide for the wonderful
Măcin Mountains and
wine country, and our special guide to the
Danube Delta
covers flora, fauna and getting around the beautiful
Danube River
Delta expanse.
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The Port of Beginnings and Endings
Tulcea
is an amazing port city of many starts and finishes as land slowly yields
to water across the Danube Delta.
After 100km of a marshy wide flood plain studded with remnant lakes,
the Danube starts to fan out here to create Europe's newest land, across
finger lakes and man-made canals, ending the river's journey to the
Black Sea.
From Earth to Sea
The highway also ends in Tulcea, as does the trans-Dobrogean rail
line, which runs from the docks of Tulcea, directly south through the
heart of Romanian Dobrogea down to the Bulgarian border.
The high-speed ferries begin in Tulcea, speeding passengers
out to the outpost town of
Sulina, on the very
edge of the Delta, where the mainland European Union see's it's first
sunlight every day (technically,
islands like France's
Reunion
in the Indian Ocean see the sunlight first. Thank you to Rodney
Darryl of Las Vegas for that fact).
Romania's Crescent City
The mighty European watercourse starts deep in the Black Forest
of Germany, powering it's way 2850km through Austria, Slovakia, Hungary,
Croatia, and Serbia before entering Romania.
Romania enjoys the longest section of the Danube of any
country, with nearly one third of Western and Central Europe's longest
river, and of course, the only country with the Danube Delta.
Northern Dobrogea's Capital
Tulcea is in the perfect location for exploration of the widely
varying lands laid out to the east, south and west of the city.
The Danube River splits to form the northern
Chilia Arm and the southern Tulcea Arm just north of Tulcea.
The main Chilia Arm, which has most of the river's flow, travels out
to the Black Sea along the border with the Ukraine.
The southern Tulcea Arm flows south to Tulcea, and after a few short
bends, splits again to form the
Sulina Arm and the
Sfântu Gheorghe Arm. These 3
main arms are the main transportation by-ways of the
Danube Delta, making
Tulcea an important hub for the ferries, fast river boats and hydrofoils.
Localities in
Northern County Tulcea:
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Extending south-east from Tulcea a lone two-lane road trundles towards
the Delta, running along the last ground along the St. George Arm.
The City of Tulcea operates as a regional centre and market town
for the largely agrarian communities in this
Delta Margins area, which collects an assortment of Delta Russian
and Lippovan cultures and combines them with the Tatar and Turk remnant
populations. Fishing around
Uzlina in particular is nicely accessible from Murighiol.
The Highlands and Steppe
The City of Tulcea is also a highway and rail hub for southern County
Tulcea, and the mountainous
Western Tulcea region.
Featuring gently rolling hills and
wineries within a half hour drive from the Tulcea city centre, the
much dryer steppic topography and biogeography of the western portion
of County Tulcea offers unique areas where the confluence of Mediterranean,
Balcic, and Asiatic zones converge, all accessible from Tulcea City.
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THE DANUBE
RIVER IN EUROPE
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The Danube runs through five countries from the
Black Forest of Germany through Austria, Hungary and Serbia on it's
way to Romania, which has a third of it's 2860km run to the
Danube Delta. The river also forms a border for 5 other
countries.
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From the Black Forest
to the Black Sea
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If you have some information for us about Tulcea or
County Tulcea, please
Let us know about it now!
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Easy to Walk Downtown
 All
of the major attractions and views in Tulcea town are within two blocks
of each other, making it quite easy for you to hit the top four or five
in an easy morning or afternoon.
Plaza of the Republic (Piaţa Republicii)
is a great starting point, so head from the train station, bus station
or your accommodation to there and begin your tour around the various
museums, galleries and river and delta-related attractions that give
Tulcea it's riparian zeal.
Saint Nicholas Cathedral (built in1865)
It cannot be forgotten that as the northern-most city in the Dobrogea
region, Tulcea gained a rich Turkish heritage under Ottoman rule for
over 450 years.
Built in 1877 and restored in 1924, it's worth a quick trip at least
to the Azizia mosque, just a couple of blocks down-river from the main
Republic Plaza, and several sites (below) follow naturally on a little
loop around the eastern quarter of the downtown area.
The Independence Monument
The Independence Monument on Gloriei Street is in it's
own little park atop one of the hills of Tulcea town.
Built in 1899 to honour the war dead from the War of
Independence, which is what the Romanians call their part of the
Russo-Turkish wars.
Romania sided with Russia in the conflict which ended
in 1878, when the Ottoman Turks were forced out of
Dobrogea. The Turkish province of Dobruja
had been in the Ottoman Empire since 1420, which gives today's
Dobrogea it's diverse cultural history.
The grand granite obelisk points 22 metres skyward, bordered by
a bronze infantryman and an eagle. The views of the river and
town are wonderful here, so take the camera!
Originally carved in a studio near in Milan out of Bavenno
granite, the monument was paired with the bronze figures from a Venice
studio, and shipped and assembled on the Tulcean hill.
Also on this site you'll see the uncovered remains of
the Roman city which was similarly perched on the banks of the Danube.
Not quite as impressive as the finds at the old Greek and Roman port
city of Istria to the south, it's nonetheless worth a quick look.
The Rich History of Tulcea Town
The Tulcea History and Archaeology Museum
Just alongside the monument park is Tulcea's history
museum, stuffed with antiquities from medieval times which lay out the
rich heritage of Northern Dobrogea across nearly 90,000 artefacts, including
coin and epigraphs across collections focusing on ceramics, bronze,
and sculptural pieces. Some of Christendom's earliest
churches were in Tulcea county, with 4th century remains at Tulcea,
then Niculitel.
+40 (204) 513 626, Open Tues - Sunday, 8am - 4pm
The Tulcea Museum of Art is sited in a beautiful spot
on the cliffs overlooking the Danube.
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collections of art, engravings and contemporary sculpture are complimented
by an exceptional collection of interbellum avant garde, Surrealist,
Expressionist and Impressionist artwork, including pieces by Romanians
Gheorghe Petrascu, Nicolae Toniţa, Theodor Pallady,
Nicolae Grigorescu, Frederic Storck, Ion Jalea, Oscar Han, and Victor
Brauner, arguably one of the most important collections in the country
in it's number of top artists.
Local Treasures
As to be expected, one of the highlights are local paintings
of the Danube Delta region by local artists, as well as a few surprises
such as an oil of Queen Marie's beloved Balcic seaside town of Southern
Dobrogea (ceded to Bulgaria by the Nazis in 1940).
The building itself is worth a few photos, built 18 years
before Romania was gifted Dobrogea by Russia as war spoils after finally
defeating the Ottomans. The Turkish architect, Işmail Paşa,
managed to meld regional construction norms with Ottoman empire grandeur.
2 Grigore Antipa Street, next to the Delta Hotel.
+40 (240) 513 249
Open daily except Mondays, 8am - 4pm, later in summer months.
The Folk Art and Ethnographic Museum as been home to
numerous exhibits over the years showcasing the popular art and customs
of Dobrogea.
The ethnographic collection displays over 6,400 pieces
of local interest including traditional farm implements for rearing
animals, for fishing, brass objects and the like.
The folk art collection features woven tapestries and
decorative linens, as well as ornamental jewellery. The museum
also runs the Panait Cerna Memorial House for the famed Dobrogean, as
well as the Panaghia House in Babadag further south from Tulcea, where
there is a good collection of oriental art.
Tulcea Mementos
What trip to Romania would be complete without a few souvenirs to
mail back home before you leave?
At the Artisan Store,
You can find traditional objects with national and local motifs, folk
costumes and textiles, icons carved from wood, wooden sculptures, local
ceramics, and traditional woven Danube Delta items made from the local
bullrushes, and wicker craftwork too!
MAGAZIN DE ARTIZANAT, Str. Isaccei, Nr. 12.
+41 (740) 214 883, Open Daily except Sundays until 7pm weekdays, 2pm
Saturdays
Just up Isaccei street you can find various works
of art are for sale at the
Tulcea Art Gallery, which features permanent and rotating displays
of local artist, as well as a good selection of artworks for sale.
GALERIA DE ARTA TULCEA (Uniunea Artistilor
Plastici), Str. Isaccei, Bl. M1
Open weekdays until 5pm.
The Dobrogean Village Museum
If there is one type of ethnographic display which is
generally well done in Romania, it is the village museum, displaying
and preserving traditional peasant ways, wares and handicraft.
The Dobrogean Village Museum of
Enisala (a community south of Tulcea past the airport) features
peasant households conserved as they were found, highlighting the traditions
and daily ways of life of the Northern Dobrogean people of the land,
including pens for the animals, traditional sheds, a peasant kitchen
with the traditional summer oven, granary and water well.
#4, 9 Mai Street next to the Reiffeisen Bank.
+40 (204) 516 204, Open daily except Mondays from 8am to 4pm
Leisure Time in Tulcea
If you do need to overnight in Tulcea, or
are spending a few days there for whatever reason, it's a good idea
to live like the locals do, visiting the local piaţa
markets for your picnic lunches, and checking out the local life.
Due to the wide bend in the Danube River at Tulcea,
the good sand collects on the northern side, in the Tudor Vladimirescu
quarter. Home to only about 400 of Tulcea's 90,000 residents,
the sleepy little nook gives a village feel to your lazy day in Tulcea.
Shop for your picnic lunch on the "city" side, go down to the riverfront
near the main square (Piaţa Republicii) and catch the ferry (cheap)
and enjoy your morning on the river bank at Tudor Vladimirescu, watching
the river traffic and the city come to life, it's really quite entertaining
watching the various weird and wonderful river craft go by.
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Enjoy a walk through
a Tulcean neighbourhood to
understand the real pace of the old river town
The photo immediately preceding this notice is Copyright (c)2005 - 2008 Rest
Romania SRL, All rights reserved.
Photo:
© REST ROMÂNIA
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Wine in Dobrogea
Mainly red grapes are grown in the maritime
zone
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Tulcea still has residual traditions from the Turkish
days, and pastries in particular can be a very pleasant surprise.
Comparison shop between a few bakeries until you find the perfect
treats. Take some photos to show the folks back home what REAL
baking is like too!
During summer months, Tulcea is a very good
town to follow your nose if you're a bit peckish. Point yourself
to the riverfront, and listen for the sizzle of mici at a terasa, and
keep your eyes peeled for any flume of telltale brown smoke and steam
coming from a traditional little grill.
A Good Dinner and Good Wine
If you insist on spending a motza on dinner,
head for any of the top hotels, which all have competent restaurants,
some with great river views. A few top-notch restaurants
also congregate around the Hotels Delta, Egreta, and other stalwarts
of western life.
The area around Tulcea grow red grapes for table wines,
and a bit further to the west upriver, a few white grapes are also grown.
In the region extending down to Babadag, the
area around Tulcea along with the more well-known Murfatlar
region around Medgidia to the south make up one
of Romania's six and most maritime vine growing regions. Ask at
the tourist centre in the ARBDD building about possibly seeing a local
grower if you're interested.
Indeed where you have open plains, a Mediterranean climate and colourful
monasteries left and right, why not a few grape vines to make the day
perfect?
They realised the soil was great around Niculiţel
in 1954 and stuck some vines in the ground, now producing white
wines for the booming export market such as Aligoté, Italian style Riesling,
and White Fetească.
See more of this great little winery now!
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By Romanian-Lippovan Poet
Nichita Danilov
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Order New & Used Online:
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Rest Romania Recommended Reading
by Nichita Danilov, translated from the Romanian by
Sean Cotter
The people of Romanian poet Nichita Danilov, the Lippovans (Lipoveni),
were driven from Russia as Orthodox Church dissenters over two hundred
years ago. Settling in Romania along the Prut River and in the Danube
Delta, they have maintained strong religious traditions. Danilov's contribution
to contemporary Romanian poetry is to combine a historically rooted
spirituality with a surrealist poetics. The result has made Danilov
an important voice in Romanian literature.
Danilov's spiritual heritage gives these games a metaphysical depth.
He places himself in the tradition of mystics such as Meister Eckhart,
St. John of the Cross, and Pseudo-Dionysius.
Second-Hand Souls represents Danilov's attempts at capturing the
mystical relationship between Man and the Deity. It includes a selection
of his poetry, along with the original Romanian, and a selection of
his prose, offering us insight into a particularly Balkan combination
of history, spirituality, and innovative writing.
Sean Cotter has translated several books of Romanian poetry and
appeared in journals both in the United States and in Romania, including
Beacons, New Currents, Translation Review, Romania literari and Observator
cultural. He is currently finishing his dissertation on Romanian and
American Modernist Translation.
ISBN 8086264084 156 pp., 145 x 205mm , softcover poetry
& prose (the poetry bilingual)
See Romania Travel books and videos available
in
America
and UK
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From the Rest Romania Website at
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The photo immediately preceding this notice is Copyright (c)2005 - 2008 Rest
Romania SRL, All rights reserved.
Photo:
© REST ROMÂNIA
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Tulcea: Gateway to the
Delta
As an English-speaking tourist, a natural first stop
on your Delta tour is at the ARBDD (Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve Administration)
information centre in Tulcea, where you'll find helpful English-speaking
staff.
The Tulcea mayor's office runs the information centre
and highlights the stunning Danube Delta eco-system, which begins at
Tulcea. The centre can arrange tours by boat and by land
of the immediate Danube Delta area, as well as arranging for permits
for entry into the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve (recently raised to
).
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The Danube Delta Headquarters and the Riverboat Hotel
Hemingway
The long and luxurious Riverboat Hemingway
docked in front of the ARBDD Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve
Administration headquarters, where you'll find a great information
centre for your Delta holiday!
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(Scroll left-right for full boat length)
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The photo immediately preceding this notice is Copyright (c)2005 - 2008 Rest
Romania SRL, All rights reserved.
Photo:
© REST ROMÂNIA
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The ARBDD Delta Reserve office (above) approves hunting and fishing
licenses, and can point you to designated trails for tourists.
Some areas are indeed out-of-bounds for tourism, and some times of the
year are restricted for fishing and hunting as well.
The centre can help you find good camping areas in the
Delta (officially allowed at Crişan, Murighiol
and around Lake Roşu), as well as guide you in
the right direction to find current good restaurants, terraces and clubs
in Tulcea.
Also known as the Museum of the Danube Delta, you'll
find the most important species of flora and fauna of the Danube Delta
Biosphere Reserve here.
The lower level contains the primary attraction of the
museum, the aquarium which houses the collection of Danube fish, amphibians,
reptiles and aquatic invertebrates. It doesn't exactly have the
wow factor of the Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans, which deals
with similar delta displays (there for the Mississippi), but is worthwhile,
especially for the displays on the formation of the delta. Curiously,
there are also some species from the Atlantic and Indian oceans through
in for fun.
32 Progresului Street next to the St. Nicholas Cathedral.
+40 (240) 515 866, open daily except Mondays from 8am to 4pm
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Ducks
of a Different Colour in the Delta
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The photo immediately preceding this notice is Copyright (c)2005 - 2008 Rest
Romania SRL, All rights reserved.
Photo:
© REST ROMÂNIA
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Listed below are some local agents who can help you with bookings and organize local tours in the Tulcea area.
  0240-536.726
0240-515.965 0240-511279 FAX: +40 (240) 511279 0240-519214 FAX: +40 (240) 519214 0240-521.781 FAX: +40 (240) 521 781 0240-517.836 FAX: +40 (240) 517 636 FAX: +40 (204 514 753 0240-512.496 FAX: +40 (240) 516 842 0240-518.894 FAX: +40 (240) 518 953 0240-521624 FAX: +40 (240) 521 624 0240-51.96.18 FAX: +40 (240) 51 57 53 0240-51.50.91 FAX: +40 (240) 51 50 91 Transworld, Str. Mahmudiei, nr. 13 (langa Romtelecom), in Tulcea 0240-515.155 Balkan Tour, Strada Isaccei, nr. 97, Foaier Sala Polivalenta in Tulcea (02) 4051-5035 +40 (240) 513360
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for info on each town in CountyTulcea
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See More Maps of Romania
and Tulcea at
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Or a Single Street Map
from the local council
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From the Rest Romania Website at
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If you're
coming from Bucharest,
use the A2 Freeway, before
turning north at Medgidia to Tulcea
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The Last Highway in Europe!
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The European Union's last sealed
main road ends in Tulcea, the eastern-most point of the EU for
mainland road traffic.
Yes, a few dusty roads head out towards the
Delta, and yes, Sulina has a few roads too (but few cars), and
so do Crete and Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean!
But this is as far east as the mainland EU road transport system
goes!
Driving to the Delta
If you're coming from Bucharest, Tulcea is 343km using the
DN2 and DN22A (turn north at Hârsova
after you cross over the Danube river. If you pick up
your rental car in Galaţi, Tulcea is
just 93km downriver via Brăila (going south from
Galaţi on the DN2B transferring to the
DN22 east to Tulcea).
If you really want to spend some quality time in the Delta area,
we recommend that you simply fly straight into Tulcea (see options
below), or into
the airport at Constanţa (which has
more services). You can hire a car at either airport,
drive around the days you are there (or part of those days if
you're taking a boat out onto the Danube Delta), and then return
your car at the airport of your choice.
Once you get into Tulcea, you'll want to park, so
head to the Hotel Delta, Hotel Egreta, Hotel Select, the Casa
de Cultura or the train station to find fairly quick and easy
parking. You can also drive on to Murighiol or Chilia
Veche, but that's about it. Most travel in the Delta area
is by boat.
From the Rest Romania Website at
You will travel through time and cross the boundaries of
history on your train journeys from Bucharest
to Tulcea via Medgidia. The 343km trip begins on
the sweeping fertile plains of the Ialomiţa
countryside and crosses the mighty Danube into the different
world of hilly, wind-swept, sunny
Dobrogea.
The Tulcea Train Stations
Tulcea has two stations, at the "goods" station,
and the main station in the town. Just make sure
you look for the "Oraş" station
on the signs before disembarking.
In addition to the copious maxi-taxis waiting all
hours outside the station, you can take a taxi into
town.
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The Blue Arrow
These intercity trains run as far
as Medgidia, and unfortunately were removed from the
north-south Tulcea line in early 2007
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Constanţa
Train Station, Strada Victoriei 1
+40 (241) 617 930
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For a different flavour on your journey, you can stop and
spend time or an overnight in the historical city of
Medgidia,
first a Turkish regional centre in the late 1800s, and now at
the heart of Dobrogean country life. The InterCity train
across to Medgidia takes about four hours with first class service
and a dining car, getting in at 5:30 in the evening.
This makes Medgidia as your introduction to Dobrogea a good
stopping-off point, and the perfect excuse for a nice restaurant,
bed, bath and an early start north.
If you want an earlier start and a single-day journey, take
the Rapid service in the early morning from
Bucharest, change trains to an Accelerat service at Medgidia,
and make the whole journey in just over seven hours. There
is no dining car on this service, although first class is available
from 78RON with fully reserved seating, all fees included (about
). The Blue Arrow service is no longer available on the
second leg of the Bucharest to Tulcea journey.
From Constanţa
If you choose to fly into Constanţa,
you can take the maxi-taxi into Constanţa's
train station and then similarly transfer at Medgidia on your
way north to Tulcea, which takes about three hours across the
144km journey.
A first class ticket on the excellent Blue Arrow service
from Bucharest to Tulcea is about 45RON, and well worth the
extra 10RON or so over second class.
The ride from Bucharest's Gara de Nord train station
runs daily and makes for a great day's excursion. Of course,
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 Tulcea from the Gara de Nord station
in Bucharest.
From the Rest Romania Website at
Mini busses and busses alike ply the 270km route between Bucharest
and Tulcea, stopping mainly at Urziceni and Slobozia.
Catch a Tulcea bus from the Calea Plevnei nr
236 stop.
From Constanţa's northern bus station on Al. Lapusneanu
Boulevard, Tulcea is just 179km away,
and if your travelling from Galaţi, your
90km journey to Tulcea leaves from dock where the car ferry
crosses the Danube in the I.C. Bratianu area.
The Tulcea-Cataloi
airport is about 15 minutes south of
Tulcea
and offers a 2000m reinforced runway for jet traffic.
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Carpatair to Constanţa
Flights to Craoiva and on to Timişoara
about 3 or 4 times weekly. Check out
the
Carpatair website for more details.
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The main airport in Tulcea went in during the war years,
and recently had a million dollar upgrade by the local council,
including 5-star VIP lounge and state of the art control tower.
We don't currently have information on commercial flights into
Tulcea, so please e-mail us
here if you know something, thanks. For now,
the Constanţa airport seems to be the
closest for travellers wishing to fly into Tulcea. Again,
you can change trains at Medgidia or easier
yet, get a rental car.
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 Mihail Kogălniceanu International Airport is served by
the Romanian
airline Carpatair, the
national carrier TAROM, as well as the Hungarian carrier Malév.
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.
Jet traffic is seen mostly from the charter
services in the summer season, when some European cut-rate carriers fly tourists in from
northern Europe (often Hamburg, Dortmund, Cologne, and the like) to
enjoy the Black Sea warmth and the low prices! Check out
AirBerlin, the
national airline of fiesty Luxembourg, Luxair,
Lauda,
Danish discount carrier Sterling and
Hamburg International for seasonal flights and times.
From the Rest Romania Website at
         
+1(877) 940 6900  +44 (845) 758 5375 +40 (722) 211 518 FAX: +40 (241) 513933
+1(800) 654 3131 +44 (8708) 44 88 44 +40 (241) 661100 FAX: +40 (241) 661100
If you're renting in Bucharest, See Here
From the Rest Romania Website at
Transportation
History
Tulcea has always been well located as a river transit town,
with good firm land reaching out north into the Danube river
valley and delta.
The functional nodality of the river town became evident
in the late 19th century as the value of regular river traffic
increased, and Tulcea became the first and last solid land on
the Danube's journey to the Black Sea.
From the Rest Romania Website at
If you feel the need for speed (the price is worth it in
our opinion, unless you'd wanted to stop on the way), the fast
ferry Sulina makes a great overnight trip at just 90 minutes
to 2 hours all the way out the Delta to the shores of the Black
Sea.
The normal ferry services going out into the Delta from
Tulcea include the daily Tulcea to Sulina four hour service,
as well as the one to Old Chilia town
and to the Russian enclave at Periprava,
which takes four and a half hours.
Going more southerly, the ferry service down the "other"
main arm of the Danube Delta ends at Saint George
(Sfântu Gheorge) after four hours.
If you only wish to "dip your toe" in the Delta, some trips
from Tulcea take less time, being just an hour out to the curiously
named Mila 23 (Mile 23), or 90 minutes to two hours out to
Crişan.
If you are not interested in the slower pace and mingling
with the locals on your ferry on the four hour trip, take the
express service -- otherwise, love the photo opportunities,
and the great fun of watching river life, a real cultural trip.
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Nearing Tulcea on the Danube
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The photo immediately preceding this notice is Copyright (c)2005 - 2008 Rest
Romania SRL, All rights reserved.
Photo:
© REST ROMÂNIA
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From the Rest Romania Website at
Tulcea has four distinct seasons.
The summer is warm, dry and sunny with
a July average of 23 °C. Tulcea rarely experiences particularly
hot days due to the moderating influence of the Danube Delta
and 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 10 °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.
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A fun rustic restaurant
at the little lake on the
up-river end of Tulcea
near the train station,
super in the summer!
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The photo immediately preceding this notice is Copyright (c)2005 - 2008 Rest
Romania SRL, All rights reserved.
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Geography
Tulcea is happily sited at a great bend of the Danube, the last
major bend before the river splits. The river's work is not entirely
done here, and low bluffs remain where the river has yet failed to scour
away the higher ground.
Tulcea is on the border between higher agrarian lands to the south,
and a wide series of small shallow lakes and rivulets to the north of
the river in the two to three kilometre wide Danube floodplain, which
maintains it's width coming down from Galaţi.
Population
Tulcea is the county seat of County Tulcea, and with a population
of 91,875, it's considered a medium-sized city in Romania (only a few
cities are more than 150,000 in Romania).
Today the town is 91% Romanian, with the Lippovan people making
up the next most populous group, at 3% of the town's population.
About 1300 Turks and 1250 Gypsies remain in Tulcea, with 800 Aromanians
(from the south-western Balkans), and around 500 each Ukrainians, Russians,
and Greeks. About 50 each Germans, Italians and Hungarians have
decided to make Tulcea their homw, and the town reports one lone Albanian.
Everyone should have at least one after all.
Religion
In a region which was once mostly Muslim from it's Tatar and Turkish
inhabitants, the defeat of the Ottoman Empire saw a dramatic change
in the faith of the town from 1878 through the 1920s, when Turks were
repatriated and more Romanians moved in.
The town is well Romanianised now, with 96% of the population professing
the national Romanian Orthodox faith, with just 1.5% remaining of the
once majority Muslim community, 1.2% Old Rites Christian, and 350 Catholics,
150 Baptists, and a handful of others, including 2 Lutherans (well down
from the pre-war of Independence boom in Lutheran Germans in the area).
Check out more local
religion and
demographics in
the History of Dobrogea section of our
Guide to Dobrogea
now.
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From the Rest Romania Website at
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Dialling Tulcea
All of the phone numbers in Tulcea start with (267)
or (367), 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 into anywhere in County Tulcea,
you must remove any leading zero from the county code portion
of the phone number, so that (0267) becomes (267). Dialling
a mobile number (Vodaphone, Zapp, Orange, Cosmote, etc), 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.
Tulcea HotSpots
For a supposedly sleepy Danube Delta lands, where life should flow
as slowly as the water, Tulcea has a rather surprising
list of HotSpots in the capital city!
Deep 2, 40 Portului
Street in Tulcea
On the road
down to the port.
+40
(745) 075 813
Old Times Pub,
118 Pogoriilor Street in
Tulcea A
Romanian take on a classic English pub
+40
(743) 035 285
Pizzeria Datino,
34 Pogoriilor Street in
Tulcea In the ground
floor area, down the road from the Old Times Pub
Hotel Delta,
2 Isaccei Street in Tulcea
A rock-solid
favourite hotel with good wi-fi.
+40 (240) 514 720
Hotel Rex,
1 Toamnei Street in Tulcea
A modern megalith with equally
big amenities in the central financial district, with wireless too!
+40
(240) 511 354
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Internet Cafes
Future Games,
12 Isaccei Street in Tulcea
Just down
from the main square at Piaţa Republicii
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Pensiunea Nichy, Niculiţel in NiculitelThe pension is placed in the middle of the natur, in an oasis of quietness. 722 522955 Hotel Rex, Toamnei 1 in TulceaThe hotel is placed in the centre of the town, being the best accommodation option. 240 511351 FAX: 240 511354 Hotel Europolis, Păcii 20 in TulceaThe hotel is placed in the centre of the town, offering good quality services. 240 512443 FAX: 240 516649 Hotel Select, Păcii 6 in TulceaThe hotel has exceptional endowments and offers irreproachable services. 744 333080 FAX: 240 506180 Pensiunea Anda, Livezilor 13 in TulceaThe pension is place near the Cisliţa Lake, in a great area. 240 537774 FAX: 240 537774 Hotel Atlantis, Spitalului 32 in TulceaThe hotel was opened in 2006 and it is placed in the centre of the town. 240 531876 FAX: 240 531876 Hotel Casa Albastră, Portului in TulceaThe hotel is placed right next to the Ciuperca Lake. 240 535662 Hotel Delta, Isaccei 2 in TulceaAll the rooms offer a great view towards the Danube Delta. 240 514720 Pensiunea Troemsis, Turcoaia in TurcoaiaNothing compares with lazing in the sun in the middle of the nature. 240 572496 |
See also County Tulcea
for accommodation in other nearby towns
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The area code for County
Tulcea is (240) or (340)
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The Booming Port of Tulcea
Tulcea at the end of the 19th century
crowded the river with long series of docks for transhipping
into Bessarabia, Dobrogea, and all points west.
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Early Tulcea History
The Independence Monument
High atop a bluff overlooking the Danube,
the monument commemorates the Romanian soldiers who participated
in the final chapter of the long Russo-Turkish wars which at
last ousted the Turks from
Ottoman Dobrogea.
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Aegysus (Tulcea) in Scythia Minor
Here part of the early Byzantine empire,
Tulcea was long part of the cohesive Dobrogean region,
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It was founded in the 8th century BC under the name of
Aegyssos, mentioned in the documents of Diodorus.
Ovid referred to it in Ex Ponto, saying that its name would have
originated with that of its founder, a Dacian named Carpyus Aegyssus.
The Greeks established a port at the current site of Tulcea to serve
their shallow draft merchant ships, which were able to make it through
the main arms of the delta.
Aegysus became known as the "Threshold of the Delta" to Greek traders
and developed naturally as an important inland port city where goods
were trans-shipped to the nascent road network.
By the 1st century, Aegysus ceded to Roman control, and
the town's functional importance increased with Roman garissons being
established to defend the Empire's northeastern border and Danube shipping
trade. The Romans built their regulation citadel structures, with
tall defence walls and towers, many still visible atop Independence
hill.
The Roman empire melded into the the Byzantine Empire by the 8th
century, and the influence of the Genoese 10th - 13th century later
reigned.
Tulcea was part of the local Dobrogean polities of Balik/Balica,
Dobrotitsa/Dobrotici, and, for a brief while after 1390, ruled by the
Wallachian Prince Mircea cel Bătrân until the Turks finally took complete
control of the region in 1420, after Mircea's death.
Ottoman Tulcea 1420 - 1878
For 458 years, Tulcea remained as an important port city
in the Turkish Ottoman empire, and it's shipyard business was important
to river trade, a port for chandlery and vessel repair.
In addition to the ethnic Turks in the region, Tulcea in the 1600s
and 1700s was a regional centre for significant ethnic Russian, Wallachian,
Transilvanian, Bulgarian, and Tatar communities, which ringed Tulcea,
each with their own townships, a tradition which remained into the 1900s.
In the early 1840s, Germans began to immigrate to the northern Dobrogean
region under the Turkish government.
Known as the Dobrogean Germans, they established communities in
Tulcea, as well as the outlying communities of Cataloi to the south
(where Tulcea's airport is today), and at Malcoci to the east.
The Turkish government awarded Tulcea city status in
1860, when it became the provincial capital, and it's importance grew
through the war years of the mid 1800s when Russia to the north and
the new Romanian nation to the west united in a series of skirmishes
against Ottoman Dobrogea.
Romanian Dobrogea 1878 - Present
By 1878, the combined Russian and Romanian forces had succeeded
in ransacking Ottoman Dobrogea, and the entire region became war spoils
for the two victors.
Romania gave Russia it's Bessarabia territory to
the north and east of Tulcea in exchange for Russia allowing Romania
to occupy the Dobrogea region between the Danube and Black Sea for the
first time as a nation, and the first time under Wallachian rule since
1419.
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Read More about Tulcea at:
The Tulcea town hall
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From the Rest Romania Website at
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In
County Tulcea
See a Road Map of the Tulcea Area
Constanţa Airport
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