Constanța, historically known as Tomis, is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Romania. It was founded around 600 BC. The city is located in the Dobruja region of Romania, on the Black Sea coast. It is the capital of Constanța County and the largest city in the region.

The Port of Constanța has an area of 39.26 km2 (15.16 sq mi) and a length of about 30 km (19 mi). It is the largest port on the Black Sea, and one of the largest ports in Europe.

History

According to Jordanes (after Cassiodorus), the foundation of the city was ascribed to Tomyris the queen of the Massagetae (The origin and deeds of the Goths):

"After achieving this victory (against Cyrus the Great) and winning so much booty from her enemies, Queen Tomyris crossed over into that part of Moesia which is now called Lesser Scythia - a name borrowed from Great Scythia, and built on the Moesian shore of the Black Sea the city of Tomi, named after herself."

In 29 BC the Romans captured the region from the Odryses, and annexed it as far as the Danube, under the name of Limes Scythicus ("Scythian Frontier").

In AD 8, the Roman poet Ovid (43 BC-17) was banished here by Augustus and it was where he spent the remaining eight years of his life. He laments his exile in Tomis in his poems: Tristia and Epistulae ex Ponto. Tomis was "by his account a town located in a war-stricken cultural wasteland on the remotest margins of the empire".

A statue of Ovid stands in the Ovid Square (Piața Ovidiu) of Constanța, in front of the History Museum (the former City Hall).

A number of inscriptions found in the city and its vicinity show that Constanța lies where Tomis once stood. Some of these are now preserved in the British Museum in London. The city was afterward included in the Province of Moesia, and, from the time of Diocletian, in Scythia Minor, of which it was the metropolis. After the 5th century, Tomis fell under the rule of the Eastern Roman Empire. During Maurice's Balkan campaigns, Tomis was besieged by the Avars in the winter of 597/598.

Tomis was later renamed to Constantiana in honor of Constantia, the half-sister of Roman Emperor Constantine the Great (274-337). The earliest known usage of this name was "Κωνστάντια" ("Constantia") in 950. The city lay at the seaward end of the Great Wall of Trajan and has evidently been surrounded by fortifications of its own. After successively becoming part of the Bulgarian Empire for over 500 years, and later of the independent principality of Dobrotitsa/Dobrotici and of Wallachia under Mircea I of Wallachia, Constanța fell under the Ottoman rule around 1419.

A railroad linking Constanța to Cernavodă was opened in 1860. In spite of the damage done by railway contractors, there are considerable remains of ancient masonry walls, pillars, etc. An impressive public building, thought to have originally been a port building, has been excavated and contains the substantial remains of one of the longest mosaic pavements in the world.

In 1878, after the Romanian War of Independence, Constanța and the rest of Northern Dobruja were ceded by the Ottoman Empire to Romania. The city became Romania's main seaport and transit point for much of Romania's exports.

On October 22, 1916 (during World War I), the Central Powers (German, Turkish and Bulgarian troops) occupied Constanța. According to the Treaty of Bucharest in May 1918, article 10.b (a treaty never ratified by Romania), Constanța remained under the joint control of the Central Powers. Allied troops liberated the city in 1918 after the successful offensive on the Thessaloniki front knocked Bulgaria out of the war.

In the interwar years, the city became Romania's main commercial hub, so that by the 1930s over half of the national exports were going through the port. During World War II, when Romania joined the Axis powers, Constanța was one of the country's main targets for the Allied bombers. While the town was left relatively undamaged, the port suffered extensive damage, recovering only in the early 1950s.

Geography

Constanța is the administrative center of the county with the same name and the largest city in the EU Southeastern development region of Romania. The city is located on the Black Sea coast, having a beach length of 13 kilometers (8 miles). Mamaia, an administrative district of Constanța, is the largest and most modern resort on the Romanian coast. Mineral springs in the surrounding area and sea bathing attract many visitors in the summer.

Climate

Constanța is one of the warmest cities in Romania. It has a moderate subtropical climate with considerable maritime and some continental influences. There are four distinct seasons during the year.

Summer (late May to mid-September) is warm, dry and sunny with a July and August average of 23 °C (73 °F). The beginning of summer brings plenty of precipitation, but by early July the weather becomes settled and dry. 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 heat accumulated by the Black Sea. The first frost occurs on average in mid-November.

Winter is much balmier compared to other cities in southern Romania. Snow is not abundant but the weather can be very windy and unpleasant. Winter arrives much later than in the interior 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 happen when the sea becomes particularly treacherous, are a common occurrence between December and March.

Spring arrives early but it's 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 (1,640.42 ft).

Four of the warmest 7 years since 1889 occurred after the year 2000 (2000, 2001, 2007 and 2008). 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.

Tourism

Situated at the crossroads of several commercial routes, Constanța lies on the western coast of the Black Sea, 185 miles (298 km) from the Bosphorus Strait. An ancient metropolis and Romania's largest seaport, Constanța traces its history some 2,500 years. Originally called Tomis, legend has it that Jason landed here with the Argonauts after finding the Golden Fleece.

One of the largest cities in Romania, Constanța is now an important cultural and economic center, worth exploring for its archeological treasures and the atmosphere of the old town center. Its historical monuments, ancient ruins, grand Casino, museums and shops, and proximity to beach resorts make it the focal point of Black Sea coast tourism. Open-air restaurants, nightclubs, and cabarets offer a wide variety of entertainment. Regional attractions include traditional villages, vineyards, ancient monuments, and the Danube Delta, the best-preserved delta in Europe.

"National History and Archaeology Museum" is located in the old City Hall, and has a very large collection of ancient art.