Constanta
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Constanţa (old names: Kustendji, Kustendja, Koestence, Constantza) is a seaport on the Black Sea and the capital of Constanţa county, Romania.
When the Dobrudja was ceded to Romania in 1878, Constanţa was partly rebuilt. In its clean and broad streets there are many synagogues, mosques and churches, for half the inhabitants are Roman Catholics, Muslims, Armenians or Jews; the remainder being Orthodox Romanians and Greekss.
In the vicinity there are mineral springs, and the sea-bathing also attracts many visitors in summer. 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 harbour, 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 Black Sea squadron of the Romanian fleet is stationed here.
Mamaia is a beach resort immediately to the north.
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History
Constanţa is the Constantiana which was founded in honour of Constantia, sister of Constantine the Great (274-337). It lies at the seaward end of the Great Wall of Trajan, and has evidently been surrounded by fortifications of its own. In spite of damage done by railway contractors there are considerable remains of ancient masonry walls, pillars, etc.
A number of inscriptions found in the town and its vicinity show that close by was Tomis, where the Roman poet Ovid (43 BC-17) spent his last eight years in exile. A statue of Ovid stands in the main square of Constanta.
Population
In 2002, the population of Constanţa city proper was 310,526. The urban area around Constanţa, however, includes the town of Năvodari, with a population of 32,400, increasing the total population of the Constanţa urban area to 342,926.
Historical population
External links
- [1] (only in Romanian)