Discover Dobrogea

Tag: Romania

The Constanta Casino and its fabulous history

All those who love the architecture of the Constanta Casino have been waiting for ages for the derelict symbolic building of the city to be rehabilitated. One can shoot a film out of the dramas of the Constanta Casino’s life that could beat the box office record. It has known glory and decay for many times, it knows what it is like to be wealthy, but also dirt poor. Its problems have started ever since it was in the design phase and are still going on. It is a unique building in the world and could be a goldmine for authorities.

During World War I, the Casino was destroyed by a bomb and was rehabilitated despite the economic problems

I was saying that the history of the Casino repeats itself. During World War I, the most beautiful building of the city by the sea was a field hospital. The Casino was destroyed after a bomb had fallen on it. It was hardly rebuilt because it was thought that repairing the Casino would be a frivolous thing in the situation in which hospitals, schools and other buildings had to be repaired with public funds. Even now the economic situation is not too good, but the rehabilitation of the building is a priority, since it is a historic monument with a unique architecture in the world.

The Casino, the only building in the world with three foundations

As early as the design phase, the Casino has faced problems. It is the only building in the world that has three foundations, so it cannot be eclipsed by any other building from this point of view. It was raised on a headland drawn from the sea. The first foundation was designed by architect Daniel Renard. Then, Daniel Renard left with the liberals from the city’s leadership, and the conservatives came. Mayor Ion Bănescu chose architect Petre Antonescu to continue the work. He had another vision, another national style project, and made a second set of foundations to put his work into practice. Petre Antonescu is the author of the Sinaia Casino, which is also very beautiful. The mandate was over, the elections came, the conservatives left, and the liberals came back in charge. Daniel Renard was called upon to continue his work, and when he saw that his project had been changed, he said: “My foundations have been damaged!” So, a third row of foundations were made. This is one of the things that individualizes the Casino.

The Constanta Casino is built on a patch of land drawn from the sea

The Casino is original and unique in the world because it is built on a patch of land drawn from the sea before 1910. Thus, no other building can compete, from this point of view, with the gem of Constanta. Prior to the start of the works, the city used to end high up, where there is Queen Elizabeth Boulevard now, and where the boardwalk and the Casino are currently, it was the sea. The promenade on the seashore where we walk fondly, inhabitants and tourists alike, was a grand project designed by the prefect of those times, Scarlat Vârnav. Anghel Saligny was the one who had the courage to deliver it since 1903. Back then, Saligny coordinated the construction works of the Port of Constanta. In order to make the boardwalk outside the Casino, both his genius and the experience of the port engineers, as well as the equipment that had been brought from the port on this occasion were necessary.

The Casino was not an appreciated building, and architect Renard was permanently offended

Architect Daniel Renard was given many invectives. The Casino was made either profiterole, or a hearse. An entire denigration campaign was carried out. It was a building too modern for the people of those times. It was 1903, and Art Nouveau appeared in Paris at the end of the nineteenth century. This project synchronized with what was the newest in Europe at that time. This novelty came in a city where there were elements that felt we should get back to our national architecture and not to things related to this modernist language.

Even after the opening of the Casino, the building was accompanied by tons of invectives. Certainly, the situation would have been much easier for architect Daniel Renard, had he known that a century later, everyone would appreciate that his work was the most beautiful building of Constanta.

The Casino was the place where the high society went to balls, gambling or plays

At the beginning of the last century, balls were the main means of entertainment for inhabitants and tourists. At the Casino, people used to dance, socialize, meet or plan getting married, people from different social categories got to know each other. Theatre plays were also performed there. There was a large hall for theatre plays, despite the poor acoustics everyone was complaining about. In support of Daniel Renard came Victor Ştefănescu, an important architect whose father founded the Bucharest Opera and knew exactly what to do. However, acoustics could not be bettered, because it was, however, a casino.

The Casino used to have multiple functions and at various times

It could also be a meeting place for inhabitants and tourists, and a place for shows, balls or conferences, but at the same time it kept its function as a casino, having its halls intended for gambling.

Over the years, in the Constanta Casino, there were elite restaurants, confectioneries and bars. An example of this is given in Cezar Petrescu’s novel “Darkness”, which starts with a table that was taken at the Constanta Casino, where the waiters came from the Athénée Palace. It was a place where the reputable names of the age flaunted themselves, clothes and jewels were displayed, a space of mundanity as well as bohemian life. These two coordinates should the Casino follow again and it would perform its functions on behalf of which it was designed and raised on the seashore.

Currently, the Casino is in advanced deterioration state. It is going to be rehabilitated and the authorities will decide what functions the edifice will have, and whether some of them are to be profitable.

May 3, 2019
6 good reasons to visit Dobrogea attractions

Dobrogea is the only area from Romania, located between the Danube and the Black Sea. This region, placed in the southeastern part of the country, is an amazing land with ancient ruins, beaches and vineyards, an unique destination, a dream place for any visitor. No matter if we talk about Constanţa or Tulcea, in this area there are one of a kind landscapes in Europe, countless traces of ancient civilization “spiced” with a strong religious spirit and an ethnic diversity worthy of envy.

1. Constanța, the oldest city on the current Romanian map, inhabited uninterruptedly

Constanța is the oldest city with continuous dwelling on the Romanian territory. The historians would say some kind of palimpsest (a parchment or papyrus from which the initial writing has been deleted or erased so as to be used again and on which you can still see the traces of that initial writing). The first documentation on this place goes back to the 657 BC, when, on the territory of the current peninsula the Greek colony of Tomis was formed.

The place was conquered by the Romans in the year 71 BC and renamed Constantiana after the sister of the Emperor Constantin the Great. Constanța suffered a big decline during the Ottoman administration and became a simple village of Greek fishermen and Tatar breeders of horse and sheep. After the Independence War between 1877 and 1878, when Dobrogea became part of Romania once again, the King Carol the First of Romania developed a real country project in this region.

2.Histria Fortress, the oldest urban settlement in the country

The current Istria village was in antiquity the prosperous city of Histria, founded by the Greek colonists coming from the famous Milet and had a continuous development for almost 1300 years, from the Greek period up to the Byzantine one. The city of Histria was abandoned in the VII-th century AC because of the clogging of the old golf from the Black Sea in which the Port was set up and eventually became the lagoon complex Razelm-Sinoe.

The historians say that the first silver coins on the current Romanian territory were made in Histria. The oldest urban settlement in the country, Histria, was discovered as a result of the archeological excavations started in 1914 by the historian and archeologist Vasile Pârvan. These excavations had as a result, aside from the walls inside, a series of important monuments dating from different periods of the fortress life.

3.The Danube Delta, the most divers ecosystem in Europe

The Danube Delta’s ecosystem is unique in Europe. Over 300 species of birds, 130 species of fish and 1150 species of plants can be found in this fabulous land of water.

The Delta is alive and it’s three canals: Chilia, Sulina and Sf. Gheorghe, surrounded by reed and rush and decorated with white and yellow waterlilies, create a world of story for all who visit it.

4.In Dobrogea is the biggest ancient architectural monument in the country, Tropaeum Traiani

The monument Tropaeum Traiani, was built between 106 and 109 AC, in honor of the emperor Traian, to commemorate the 3800 roman soldiers which lost their lives in the Battle of Adamclisi.

It is the most important and the most imposing ancient architectural construction from Romania and was built to represent a symbol of Traian‘s victory in the wars for conquering Dacia. The height of the monument is 40 meters and it’s approximately equal to the diameter of the base.

5.Port of Constanța and Cernavodă Bridge, the country project of King Carol I for Dobrogea

Kiustenge, today’s Constanța was a sleepy village deep into oblivion in 1878 when Dobrogea became once again part of the country. In that year Constanța had only a couple of houses and the rest were huts. There were intense discussions, that year, between the liberals in power and the conservatives who where in opposition to establish if we should take Dobrogea, which was annexed to us according to the Peace Treaty from Berlin. King Carol I, Mihail Kogălniceanu and Ion C. Brătianu understood the great benefit that Romania could have from the exit to the Black Sea and have capitalized on this opportunity.

Kogălniceanu was saying: “The sea represents the lungs of a country”, I.C. Brătianu was convinced that we would connect with the whole world and Carol I was thinking that: “without the sea, our country has less commercial, economical and even spiritual and cultural opportunities.” King Carol I had for Dobrogea a real country project, which has materialized through unprecedented constructions including: Port of Constanța and Cernavodă Bridge, designed by Anghel Saligny.

6.Constanța Casino, the oldest building in the Art Nouveau style from Romania

The last but not least attraction from Dobrogea, is the Casino, a piece of art whose rehabilitation is awaited by the whole country, and even by foreign tourists for over a decade. Casino, the symbol of the city of Constanta is one of my favorite objectives for wich Dobrogea deserves to be visited. This eclectic piece of architecture is the only building in the world with three foundations, so it cannot be competed by any other building from this point of view. The three foundations were designed by two architects Daniel Renard and Petre Antonescu, being projected under different governments. Daniel Renard was supported by the liberals and Petre Antonescu by the conservatives. This two having different point of views, each of them demolished the other’s foundation, so that in the end the construction we know today is the one that, at last, Daniel Renard designed.

The Casino is original, unique in the world because of a multitude of reasons. One of this reasons is that it has been built on a large part of land extracted from the sea. No other construction in the world can compete from this point of view with the jewel of Constanța. Anghel Saligny was the one which had the guts to put it in practice, starting with the year 1903. At those times he was the one coordinated the works for the Port of Constanța and to realize the cliff in front of the Casino it took both his genius and the experience of the port engineers, as well as the machinery brought from the port on this occasion.

There are much more wonderful attractions in Dobrogea, but for sure you will find all those in the articles to follow.

April 12, 2019
Sarichioi, the village with happy people and beautiful traditions

If anybody would have told me that Tulcea’s town, Sarichioi is a dream place I wouldn’t have believed it, but I’ve seen it with my own eyes and it imprinted into my soul. I promised myself that I will return there to stay a while, to learn the place by heart.

The fishermen harbor of Sarichioi was the first that I noticed upon arriving and, honestly, it was very difficult to go from there and continue my trip. I caught the harbor at the sunset and the place was very beautiful under the orange light. The boats left by the village fishermens to rest, were sitting quietly on the shore of the lake Razim. They looked like they were aligned there especially for the photo session that followed.

Flowers in all colors in front of the local backyards

I hadn’t had enough of the wonderful harbor when I passed through the village. I swear I’ve never seen more flowers in front of houses as I did here. You would think they were having a contest. All colors and all kinds were sitting there proud making the passing through the village even more pleasant. Late in the evening I was sorry I didn’t take some pictures, I was just so taken with the place that I forgot to open the camera.

The old rite church from Sarichioi

On the shore of the same Razim Lake I found the Lipovans old rite Church from Sarichioi. I am not fool for places of worship, but this one is really something else. On the shore of the Razim Lake, the building is painted white and light blue and wears haughtily golden domes, ending with the cross sign different from the usual cross sign. The Lipovans cross has eight heads instead of four and is made from three wood sticks instead of only one.

The Lipovans respect with holiness their traditions

In Sarichioi lives the greatest community of Lipovans fromRomania, and their traditions are respected there with holiness. The weddings here are very beautiful and there are some customs here known only by the locals. The wedding starts on Sunday morning, very early. At 5 o’clock in the morning a group of women come from the bride’s to be gate to the grooms house to wake him up for going after the bride. He will go, together with other people to “buy” his darling and the negotiation is done by the bride’s girlfriends. At the religious ceremony the bride wears her hair braided in one and eventually will put her hair up in a bun with a small hat embroiled with beads. The women are not allowed into the old rite church without wearing something on their head. From the church the newlywed and the procession go to the groom’s house to eat and then, all together go to the restaurant, singing and dancing all the way.

The people of Sarichioi are as happy as the lottery winners

I told you the Lipovans are very happy people. I’ve seen them in different circumstances and their faces are always smiling. They are extremely energetic people, always with their “batteries charged”, I am still sure they discovered the external battery with the highest possible amperage. I got to study the members of the Ensemble Landâș when they sang one night at the Uzlina hotel. They had such happy faces, as if they just learned they won the lottery. I get to meet many people daily, but I really never seen anybody as happy as these people are. Including the mayor of the Sarichioi town, Finoghen Vitali-Cristian, which sang, danced and smiled all night, even though it was a Monday and he had come after a tiring day of work to be with the Ensemble Landâș.

I would never want to see these people upset, but, I confess, I am curious to see if they would still be smiling. Corina Davidov, the spokesperson of the The Touristic Destination Management Association Danube’s Delta danced together with the women and men of the Ensemble Landâș in a gorgeous outfit that took everyone’s attention, and after some time, even though it was late night and the show was over, she was beaming with happiness. She told us she is also from Sarichioi and the locals have extremely beautiful traditions. I don’t know what these people eat, but I would really have some too. The gossipers say that liquor makes the Lipovans so happy, but I didn’t see them to even touch alcohol. I was so struck by their ecstatic state, that I will try to find their secret. They made me really curios. If they will reveal it to me you will be the first ones find out. Be happy and loved!

April 12, 2019