Medgidia (Romanian pronunciation:[med͡ʒiˈdi.a]^ⓘor[med.d͡ʒiˈdi.a]; historical Turkish names:Karasu orCarasu,Mecidiye orMegidie) is acity inConstanța County,Northern Dobruja, south-easternRomania.

Medgidia
Municipality
Decebal Plaza in Medgidia
Coat of arms
Location in Constanța County
Medgidia Location in Romania
Coordinates:44°15′01″N28°15′41″E / 44.25028°N 28.26139°E /44.25028; 28.26139
Country	Romania
County	Constanța
Subdivisions	Remus Opreanu, Valea Dacilor
Government
• Mayor(2020–2024)	Valentin Vrabie[1] (PNL)
Area	90.17 km2 (34.81 sq mi)
Elevation	75 m (246 ft)
Population  (2021-12-01)[2]	34,612
• Density	380/km2 (990/sq mi)
Time zone	EET/EEST (UTC+2/+3)
Postal code	905600
Area code	(+40) 02 41
Vehicle reg.	CT
Website	primaria-medgidia.ro

Archaeological findings show that Dobruja was inhabited since theNeolithic period. Starting with 46 BC the region was administered by theRoman Empire. Acastrum was built in the Carasu Valley, becoming the cradle of the settlement.

In 1417, theTurks invadedDobruja. From the 15th century onwards, the region started to be colonized with aMuslim population. The settlement named "Karasu" (Turkish for "Black Water") was mentioned on the map of Iehuda ben Zara in 1497, in the notes of Paolo Giorgio (1590) andEvliya Çelebi (1653).^[3]

Modern Medgidia was built by theOttoman administration on the place of the old Karasu beginning with 1856. It was built as a planned city to accommodate refugees from theCrimean War and to serve as an economic hub for the central zone of Dobruja. The town was named in honour of thesultanAbdülmecid I, the Ottoman sovereign of the period.^[4]

After theRusso-Turkish War of 1877–1878,Northern Dobruja became part of Romania. Medgidia was the last capital ofSilistra Nouă County (1878–1879) before it was merged intoConstanța County.

Medgidia is located between theDanube and theBlack Sea, 39 km (24 mi) away fromConstanța. The city is crossed by theDanube–Black Sea Canal west to east; the riverMedgidia discharges into the Canal in Remus Opreanu village.

The general aspect of the relief is that of a low plateau with a limestone structure, covered with thick deposits ofloess. The natural resources in the area consist of limestone deposits and kaolin sand. The limestone structure of the earth permits a natural filtering of the groundwater.

The climate is temperate-continental, with short and cold winters and very hot summers.

Medgidia became amunicipality in 1994.

The town infrastructure is continuously developing and offers the inhabitants 4 high schools, 8 primary schools, 12 nurseries, 4 cultural centers with a hall for cultural activities, 2 show and cinema halls, 3 clubs and 5 libraries, a 30,000-seat stadium, a sports hall, and a swimming pool. Medgidia also houses a 500-bed hospital.

The following villages are administered by the municipality:

• Remus Opreanu (historical name:Alibei-Ceair,Turkish:Alibeyçayır) – renamed afterRemus Opreanu, the first Romanianprefect of Constanța County (1878–1881)
• Valea Dacilor (historical name:Endecarachioi,Turkish:Hendek Karaköy orHendek Kara Kuyusu)

The current mayor of Medgidia isValentin Vrabie [ro] (PNL).^[1] The Medgidia Municipal Council, elected in the2024 local government elections, consists of 18 councillors. TheNational Liberal Party holds 10 seats, theSocial Democratic Party holds 5 seats, theAlliance for the Union of Romanians holds 2 seats, and one seat is held by theS.O.S. Romania party.^[5]

The economic landscape spotlights the existence of a town fully involved in its progress. Out of 1,200 registered enterprises, only 30 are state-owned and 15 are joint ventures.

Beside the agricultural activities (milk-processing, milling, bakery and wine growing), the main industry deals in cement and building materials, agricultural machinery and forging equipment,wood processing and furniture factories.

Medgidia lies in the center of an agricultural area of several tens of millions hectares, with a fertile soil and provided with irrigation systems.

The area offers:

• a rich agricultural tradition and trained specialists
• a road network for the transport of goods
• relatively short transport distances, especially through the port
• access to other Romanian or European regions
• better climate conditions than in other parts of Romania (winter is shorter)
• an outstanding irrigation potential

TheMedgidia clinker storage facility was completed in 2009 and is the world's largest dome-typecement clinker storage facility.

TheRomanian Air Force operates aWSR-98D radar station in Medgidia. The facility is officially designated and operated as a civilian radar station by theNational Meteorological Administration, however the data is fed into theNATO Integrated Air Defense System as well.

The town is a road and rail node and an inland port to theDanube–Black Sea Canal. The Canal crosses the town for about 6 km (3.7 mi) of its length.

The Danube–Black Sea Canal has a capacity of 11.2 million tons/year and can admit ships of 5,000 tonnesdeadweight (DWT). Provided with road and rail links, the harbor offers storage facilities and cranes able to lift up to 16-ton weights. Beside aSNCFR marshaling yard, along the Canal there is a Free Trade Area in course of being finalized.

The A2highway fromBucharest toConstanța, partially financed by theEuropean Union, bypasses the town, allowing the development of associated services (hotels, petrol stations and a parking yard for trucks) in the area.

Also, the Medgidiatrain station is an important node on theCNCFRMain Line 800. The station provides rail service to several towns and cities, includingConstanța (35 km),Tulcea (144 km), andBucurești Nord (199 km).

It was opened in 1964 with exhibitions of Romanian contemporary painting, sculpture, and graphics, signedLucian Grigorescu,Marius Bunescu,Ion Jalea, and others. The permanent exhibition takes in classic and modern artworks but also works of contemporary art classics, including Lucian Grigorescu,Nicolae Tonitza,Francisc Șirato,Ștefan Dimitrescu, andIosif Iser. The museum also displays a collection of ceramic artworks.

In 1991 the museum was named after Lucian Grigorescu, a town native, who was deemed as the most Latin among the Romanian painters. The city honors the painter every year on 1 February, the anniversary of his birthday.

Because of low income due to few visitors and high maintenance costs, the museum was closed in 2009.

Built in 1860 by theOttoman Government, the mosque is an historic and architectural monument. It was named after the sultanAbdulmejid I, who reigned between 1839 and 1861.

The mosque is served by animam and amuezzin. The building respects the traditional form of the Muslim cultural placements, decorated in the interior with oriental ornaments and inscriptions in Arabic.

The church was built in a Roman-Greek style and it was raised with the contribution of the local Christians on the ruins of a Romancastrum.

In 1926, Medgidia commemorated the heroism of theFirst Serbian Volunteer Division, which fought in Dobruja duringWorld War I as a part of the bloodyRomanian theatre, by inaugurating a monument in the group's honor. The completedmemorial, featuring an iconicwhite marblepyramid, was the setting of a ceremony held with the participation of both Romanian andYugoslavian officials. Wreaths were laid at the base of the monument by members of the Serbian and Romanian royal families.

• Mihaela Albu (born 1994), volleyball player
• Stelian Carabaș (born 1974), football player
• Alexandru Cicâldău (born 1997), football player
• Titus Corlățean (born 1968), politician and diplomat, former Minister of Justice and of Foreign Affairs
• Tiberiu Curt (born 1975), football player
• Laurențiu Florea (born 1981), football player
• Tahsin Gemil (born 1943), historian, translator, diplomat, and politician
• Lucian Grigorescu (1894–1965), post-impressionist painter
• Emil Hoștină (born 1976), actor
• Marian Lazăr (born 1952), boxer
• Bogdan Mitache (born 1994), football player
• Bănică Oprea (born 1967), football player
• Silviana Sfiringu (born 2004), artistic gymnast

CS Medgidia is the city's sports club. Its professionalfootballclub currently play in theLiga IV. Apart from football, the club also competes inhandball,volleyball,wrestling,boxing,arm wrestling,swimming,chess, andrugby. The home ground for the club isStadionul Iftimie Ilisei; opened in 1978, the stadium holds 32,700 people.

The festival has been celebrated each year since 1999, at the end of October, and is attended by thousands of locals.

• Graiul Dobrogei (link Graiul Dobrogei), local newspaper
• Alpha Media, local TV channel
• Media TV, local TV channel
• Revista Dobrogeană, multilingual culture and history-themed periodical

Medgidia istwinned with:^[6]

•  Cahul,Moldova
•  Favara,Italy
•  Zhumadian,China
•  Yalova,Turkey