As of the2021 census, Constanța has a population of 263,688. TheConstanța metropolitan area includes 14 localities within 30 km (19 mi) of the city.[2] It is one of the largestmetropolitan areas in Romania. EthnicRomanians became a majority in the city in the early 20th century. The city still has smallTatar andGreek communities, which were substantial in previous centuries, as well asTurkish andRomani residents, among others. Constanța has a rich multicultural heritage, as, throughout history, it has been part of different cultures, including Roman, Byzantine, Bulgarian, and Ottoman. Following theRusso-Turkish War (1877–1878), Constanța became part of Romania, and the city, which at the time had a population of just over 5,000 inhabitants, grew significantly throughout the 20th century.
ThePort of Constanța has an area of 39.26 km2 (15.16 sq mi) and a length of about 30 km (19 mi).[10] It is the largest port on the Black Sea, and one of the largest ports in Europe.[11]
The site had the advantage of a fine harbour, the Carasu valley offering an inland shortcut from the sea to the Danube, and fertile land nearby.[13] The peninsula on which it was sited has high cliffs protecting Tomis from cold winds and from attack.[14]
Most of the ancient city is covered by the modern-day Constanța, making archaeology difficult.
In AD 8, the Roman poetOvid (43 BC–17 AD) was banished to Tomis by EmperorAugustus for the last eight years of his life.[17] He lamented his Tomisian exile in his poemsTristia andEpistulae ex Ponto. Tomis was "by his account a town located in a war-stricken cultural wasteland on the remotest margins of the empire".[18]
A number of inscriptions found in and around the city show that Constanța stands over the site of Tomis.[19] Some of these finds are now preserved in theBritish Museum in London.[20]
The city was afterwards included in the Province ofMoesia and, from the time ofDiocletian, inScythia Minor of which it was the capital.
In 269 the city was attacked by theGoths who succeeded in destroying only suburbs outside the walls.[21]
By the 14th century Italian nautical maps used the name Constanza.[22]
After almost 200 years as part of Bulgaria, and becoming subsequently an independent principality ofDobrotitsa/Dobrotici and ofWallachia underMircea I of Wallachia, Constanța fell underOttoman rule around 1411.
Constanța panorama in 1910Constanța Prefecture (nowadays the Constanța Military Circle) damaged during city's occupation by the Central Powers (1916–1918)Theport of Constanța in 1941
A railroad linking Constanța toCernavodă was laid in 1860. In spite of damage done by railway contractors, considerable remains of ancient walls, pillars, etc. came to light.[19] What is thought to have been a port building was excavated, and revealed the substantial remains of one of the longestmosaic pavements in the world.
In 1878, after theRomanian War of Independence, Constanța and the rest ofNorthern Dobruja were ceded by theOttoman Empire to Romania. The city became Romania's main seaport and the transit point for much of Romania's exports. TheConstanța Casino, a historic monument and a symbol of the modern city, was the first building constructed on the shore of the Black Sea after Dobruja came under Romanian administration, with the cornerstone being laid in 1880.[23]
On 22 October 1916 (duringWorld War I), theCentral Powers (German, Turkish and Bulgarian troops) occupied Constanța. According to theTreaty of Bucharest of May 1918, article X.b.[24] (a treaty never ratified by Romania), Constanța remained under the joint control of the Central Powers. The city came afterwards under Bulgarian rule after aprotocol regarding the transfer of the jointly administered zone in Northern Dobruja to Bulgaria had been signed in Berlin on 24 September 1918, by Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria.[25] The agreement was short-lived: five days later, on 29 September, Bulgaria capitulated after thesuccessful offensive on theMacedonian front (see theArmistice of Salonica), and the Allied troops liberated the city in 1918.
In the interwar years, the city became Romania's main commercial hub, so that by the 1930s over half of its exports were exiting via the port. DuringWorld War II, when Romania joined theAxis powers, Constanța was a major target for theAllied bombers. While the town was left relatively unscathed, the port suffered extensive damage, recovering only in the early 1950s.
Following the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the blockading of the Ukrainian Black Sea ports led to renewed interest in the port of Constanta as one possible outlet for transporting grain to the rest of the world.[26]
Constanța is the administrative center of the county with thesame name and the largest city in theSoutheastern development region of Romania. The city is located on theBlack Sea coast, with a beach length of 13 kilometres (8 miles).
TheEmperor Augustus exiled the Roman poetOvid to what was then Tomis in 8 AD. In 1887, the sculptorEttore Ferrari designed a statue of Ovid which gave its name to this square in the old town. In 1916, during the occupation of Dobruja by theCentral Powers, it was taken down byBulgarian troops, and was later reinstated by theGermans.[27]
Commissioned by King Carol I in 1910 and designed by architects Daniel Renard and Petre Antonescu right on the seashore, the derelictConstanța Casino features sumptuous Art Nouveau architecture. Once a huge attraction for European tourists, the casino lost its customers after the collapse of Communism. In 2021 renovation of the building finally began.[28]
Constanța has ahumid subtropical climate (Cfa inKöppen climate classification). Summer (early June to mid September) is hot and sunny, with a July and August average of 23 °C (73 °F). Most summer days see a gentle breeze refreshing the daytime temperatures. Nights are warm and somewhat muggy because of the heat stored by the sea.
Autumn starts in mid or late September with warm and sunny days. September can be warmer than June, owing to the warmth accumulated by the Black Sea during the summer. The first frost occurs on average in mid November.
Winter is milder than other cities in southern Romania. Snow is not abundant but the weather can be very windy and unpleasant. Winter arrives much later than inland and December weather is often mild with high temperatures reaching 8 °C (46 °F) – 12 °C (54 °F). The average January temperature is 1 °C (34 °F). Winter storms, which occur when the sea becomes particularly treacherous, are a common occurrence between December and March.
Spring arrives early but it is quite cool. Often in April and May the Black Sea coast is one of the coolest places in Romania found at an altitude lower than 500 m (1,640 ft).
Four of the warmest seven years from 1889 to 2008 have occurred after the year 2000 (2000, 2001, 2007 and 2008). As of September 2009, the winter and the summer of 2007 were respectively the warmest and the second warmest in recorded history with monthly averages for January (+6.5 °C) and June (+23.0 °C) breaking all-time records. Overall, 2007 was the warmest year since 1889 when weather recording began.
Climate data for Constanța (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1901-present)
As of 2021[update], 263,688 inhabitants live within the city limits,[2] a decrease from the figure recorded at the 2011 census.[38]
AfterBucharest, the capital city, Romania has a number of major cities that are roughly equal in size: Constanța,Iași,Cluj-Napoca, andTimișoara.
Themetropolitan area of Constanța has a permanent population of 425,916 inhabitants (2011),[38] i.e. 61% of the total population of the county, and a minimum average of 120,000 per day, tourists or seasonal workers, transient people during the high tourist season.
Drawing of the port in 1856.View toward Constanța shipyard
As of 1878, Constanța was called a "poor Turkish fishing village." As of 1920, it was called "flourishing", and was known for exporting oil and cereals.[48]
Constanța is one of Romania's main industrial, commercial and tourist centers.[49] During the first half of 2008, some 3,144 new companies were established in Constanța and its neighbouring localities, a number surpassed in Romania only in Bucharest and Cluj County.[50] The Port of Constanța is the largest on the Black Sea and the fourth largest in Europe.[51] The city also boasts a comparably large shipyard.[52]
Constanța has been promoted as a seaside resort since the time ofCarol I of Romania, the development of naval industry has had a detrimental effect on the city's beaches.[53]
The opening, in 1895, of the railway toBucharest, which crosses theDanube River at thebridge atCernavodă, brought Constanța considerable transit trade in grain and petroleum, which are largely exported; coal andcoke head the list of imports, followed by machinery, iron goods, cotton and woollen fabrics.[19]
Touristic port of Constanta
ThePort of Constanța includes the North Port and the South Port, and is the fourth largest in Europe. It is protected by breakwaters, with a lighthouse at the entrance. The port is sheltered from the northerly winds, but southerly winds can prove dangerous at times. The Black Sea squadron of theRomanian fleet is stationed here. A large canal (theDanube-Black Sea Canal) connects the Danube River to the Black Sea at Constanța.
One of Constanța's distinctive pinkMAZ buses, formerly running on Route 44
Constanța's public transport system is run byCT Bus (formerlyRegia Autonomă de Transport în Comun Constanța - RATC), and consists of 19 year-round bus lines, and two seasonal lines, including a sightseeingdouble decker open top bus line.
In the early 2000s, the city bought 130 newMAZ buses to replace the aging fleet ofDAC buses. There is also a fleet of double deckerVolvo buses that run in the summer, providing access to and from the resort ofMamaia. As of October 2013, the cost of a return ticket is 3 lei.[54]
Trams were active until the late 2000s when they were decommissioned in favour of long-wheelbase buses. Two trolley bus lines were active until the early 2010s – now also decommissioned and replaced by buses.
In 2019 Constanta's newMercedes-Benz minibusses entered service.
In October 2022 Constanta's newBYD electric buses entered service with CT Bus.
Constanța is one of the main focuses of theRail-2-Sea project which aims to connect it to the PolishBaltic Sea port ofGdańsk with a 3,663 kilometres (2,276 miles) long railway line passing through Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland.[55][56]
Born, Robert (2012).Die Christianisierung der Städte der Provinz Scythia Minor. Ein Beitrag zum spätantiken Urbanismus auf dem Balkan [The Christianisation of the cities of Scythia Minor. A contribution to late antique urbanism in the Balkans]. Wiesbaden: Reichert,ISBN978-3-89500-782-8, pp. 19–72.
Livia Buzoianu and Maria Barbulescu, "Tomis", in Dimitrios V. Grammenos and Elias K. Petropoulos (eds), Ancient Greek Colonies in the Black Sea, Vol. 1 (Oxford, Archaeopress, 2001) (BAR International Series; 1675 (1–2)), 287–336.
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