Constanta

Constanta

Constanta County is situated in the southern part of the Dobrudja Plateau. The climate is temperate-continental. Constanţa county includes three cities i.e. Constanţa (capital city), Medgidia and Mangalia, as well as eight towns.

According to the last census (1992), the population of this county noted of 748,044 inhabitants, Constanţa being the fourth largest county in Romania.

The port of Constanta is situated on the western coast of the Black Sea, about 182 sea miles far from Bosphorus and about 85 sea miles away from the town of Sulina, where the Danube flows into the Black Sea.

The Mihail Kogălniceanu airport is 24 km far from Constanţa. In the summer there are flights to the main European cities. To Bucharest there are daily flights; some eleven trains cover the distance between the two cities in two hours and a half. The railway from Constanţa goes on to the north, to Tulcea, the gateway to the Danube Delta, with six trains daily. Other fourteen trains go towards Mangalia, south of Constanta, daily.

The city of Constanta, today a large port at the Black Sea, is actually the old town of Tomis. Constanţa is the capital city of the county by the same name. It was founded by the Greeks in the 6th century B.C. It flourished under the Roman sway. Tomis was rebuilt by Constantin the Great who changed its name to "Constantiana" (from which the present name of the city has been derived), in honour of his sister.

The only remains of the Roman town of Tomis are made by a fragment of the town's curtain wall, alongside the Butchers Tower (dating from the 6th century). In an open-air exhibition of the Victory Park, one can walk among old columns and amphores. The Ottoman rule left behind Mahmud II Mosque, and the Genovese lighthouse (13th century), which is still in operation (close to the port).

It is always pleasant to walk along the beach at Constanta, or spend some time at the Casino, a fine building built in the rococo style. Just in front of the Casino there is an Aquarium which exhibits about 4500 items of flora and fauna typical of the Black Sea. In Constanta there are also a Dolphinarium with daily shows, and a Planetarium.