Constanţa

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Municipiul Constanţa

County	Constanţa
Mayor	Radu Ştefan Mazăre
Area	124.8 km²
Population - 2002 (census) - Density	310,471 (2002 census) 307,447 (as of July 1, 2004)[1] 2,486 inh/km²
Ethnic groups	Romanians, Turks, Tatars, Greeks, Germans, Aromanians
Working languages	Romanian
Sister cities	Sulmona, Turku, Yokohama, Brest, Istanbul, Rotterdam, Odessa, Boulogne-sur-Mer, Dobrich, Thessaloniki, Mobile, Trapani, Sidon, Lattakia, Heraklion, İzmir, Alexandria, Santos, Havana, Shanghai
Geographical co-ordinates	44°10′24″ N 28°38′18″ E (44.173333333333, 28.638333333333)
Postcode range	900xxx
Municipal Website: http://www.primaria-constanta.ro

Constanţa (pronunciation in Romanian: /kon'stan.ʦa/; historical names: Tomis, Greek: Κωνστάντια or Constantia, Turkish: Kustendje or Köstence) is the largest Romanian seaport on the Black Sea, the largest city in Dobruja and the capital of Constanţa County. It is also one of the biggest cities in Romania.

Contents 1 Geography 2 History 3 Politics 4 Population 4.1 Historical population 5 Transport 6 Climate 7 Quarters 8 Local media 8.1 Newspapers and magazines 8.2 Television Stations 9 Natives of Constanţa 10 Education 11 References 12 External links

[edit] Geography

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. Mamaia is a beach resort immediately to the north.

[edit] History

See also: History of Dobruja

A number of inscriptions found in the town and its vicinity show that Constanţa lies where once Tomis stood.

Tomis (also called Tomi) was a Greek colony in the province of Scythia on the Black Sea's shore, founded around 500 BC for commercial exchanges with local Daco-Getic populations. Probably the name is derived from Greek Τόμη meaning cut, section.

According to the Bibliotheke it was founded by Aeetes:

"When Aeetes discovered the daring deeds done by Medea, he started off in pursuit of the ship; but when she saw him near, Medea murdered her brother and cutting him limb from limb threw the pieces into the deep. Gathering the child's limbs, Aeetes fell behind in the pursuit; wherefore he turned back, and, having buried the rescued limbs of his child, he called the place Tomi. "

( Bibliotheke I, ix, 24 )

According to Jordanes (after Cassiodorus), the founder of the city was a Getae queen (Jord. De origine actibusque Getarum, "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.

In AD 8, the Roman poet Ovid (43 BC-17) was banished here by Augustus and died there eight years later, celebrating the town of Tomis in his poems. A statue of Ovid stands in the Ovid Square (Piaţa Ovidiu) of Constanţa, in front of the History Museum (the former City Hall).

The city was afterwards included in the Province of Moesia, and, from the time of Diocletian, in Scythia Minor, of which it was the metropolis. After the split of the Roman Empire, Tomis fell under the rule of Byzantine Empire.

Tomis was later renamed to Constantiana in honour of Constantia, the half-sister of 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 Empires, the independent principality of Dobrotitsa/Dobrotici and of Wallachia under Mircea I of Wallachia, Constanţa fell under the Ottoman rule around 1419.

A railroad linking Constanţa to Cernavodă was opened in 1860. In spite of 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, Constanţa 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 the World War I), Constanţa was occupied by the Central Powers (German, Turkish and Bulgarian troops). According to the Treaty of Bucharest in May 1918, article 10.b (treaty which has never been ratified by Romania), Constanţa remained under the joint control of the Central Powers. The city was liberated by the Allied troops in 1918 after the successful offensive on the Thessaloniki front which knocked Bulgaria out of the war.

[edit] Politics

The current mayor of Constanţa is Radu Ştefan Mazăre (Social Democratic Party).

The Constanţa Municipal Council, elected in the 2004 local government elections, is made up of 27 councilors, with the following party composition:

	Party	Seats	Current Council
	Social Democratic Party	15
	National Liberal Party	6
	Democratic Party	3
	Greater Romania Party	3

[edit] Population

According to the 2002 census, the population of Constanţa city proper (the Municipality) was 310,471. The urban area around Constanţa, however, includes the towns of Năvodari (with a population of 32,400), Ovidiu (with a population of 13,134) and Basarabi (with a population of 10,857) and the communes Cumpăna (with a population of 12,532), Lumina (with a population of 7,858 in 2004), Valu lui Traian (with a population of 8,824) and Agigea (with a population of 5,482), increasing the total population of Constanţa's urban area to 401,613.

Ethnicity	1853[2]	1913[3]	2002[4]
All	5,204	27,201	310,471
Romanian	279 (5.4%)	15,663 (57.6%)	286,332 (92.2%)
Tatar	1,853 (35.6%)	277 (1%)	8,724 (2.8%)
Greek	1,542 (29.6%)	3,170 (11.6%)	546 (0.17%)
Turkish	104 (2.0%)	2,451 (9%)	9,018 (2.9%)
Bulgarian	342 (6.5%)	940 (3.4%)	48 (0.01%)
Jewish	344 (6.6%)	1,266 (4.6%)	44 (0.01%)
Roma/Gypsy	127 (2.4%)	n/a	2,962 (0.95%)

[edit] Historical population

• 1853: 5,200
• 1900: 13,000
• 1910: 27,000
• 1930: 59,000
• 1950: 80,000
• 1970:172,000
• 1985:319,000

[edit] Transport

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 A2 freeway, linking Constanţa to Bucharest, is almost completed. Currently, it runs from Bucharest to Feteşti and is slated to open to Constanţa by 2007.

The city is served by the Mihail Kogălniceanu International Airport.

The Constanţa Seaport, 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. A large canal (the Danube-Black Sea Canal) connects the Danube River to the Black Sea at Constanţa.

Constanţa's public transport system is run by Regia Autonomă de Transport în Comun Constanţa (RATC), and consists of 17 bus lines, 2 tram lines and 2 trolleybus lines. In the early 2000s, the city bought 130 new MAZ buses, replacing the ageing DAC buses. 90% of its bus fleet is currently made up of the new buses, which are distinctly painted in bright colours, such as pink, yellow and green. Some bus lines run on decommissioned tram lines - the tram cars were considered too noisy and the concrete surfaces of the tram rails are used now as bus lanes.

[edit] Climate

Constanţa has four distinct seasons.

Summers are warm, dry and sunny with a July average of 23 °C. Constanţa rarely experiences very hot days often found in the interior, because of the moderating influence of the Black Sea. Summers settle around June 15 and end in late September.

Autumns start late September, and they're long and relatively warm. Nights are still tropical (temperatures over 20 °C) on an average of 10 days in September. September is often warmer than June, because of the heat accumulated by the Black Sea. The first frost occurs on average on November 19.

Winter is much balmier compared to other cities in southern Romania. It has very little snow but can be very windy and thus, unpleasant. Winter arrives much later than in the interior and December weather is often mild with high temperatures reaching 12 °C. Average January temperature is +0.4 °C.

Spring arrives early but it's very cool. Often in April and May the Black Sea coast is the coolest place in Romania (high mountains excluded).

[edit] Quarters

Abator Anadolchioi Casa de Cultură Centru C.E.T. Coiciu Constanţa Sud Energia

Faleză Nord Faleză Sud Far Gară Halta Traian I.C.I.L. I. C. Brătianu Inel I Inel II

Km. 4 Km. 4-5 Km. 5 Medeea Palas Peninsulă Pescărie Port

Tăbăcărie Tomis I Tomis II Tomis III Tomis IV Viile Noi Zona Industrială

[edit] Local media

[edit] Newspapers and magazines

• Cuget Liber
• Adolescentul
• Litoral
• Telegraf
• Observator de Constanţa
• Independent
• Atac de Constanţa
• Jurnalul de Constanţa
• Replica de Constanta

[edit] Television Stations

• TV Neptun
• Antena 1 Constanţa
• PRO TV Constanţa

[edit] Natives of Constanţa

• Haig Acterian, theatre critic, journalist, and fascist activist
• Simona Amânar, gymnast
• T. O. Bobe, writer
• Răzvan Florea, swimmer
• Andrei Gheorghe, journalist
• Andrei Pavel, tennis player
• Cătălina Ponor, gymnast
• Mitică Pricop, canoer
• Sebastian Stan, actor
• Daniela Şofronie, gymnast
• Harry Tavitian, jazz musician
• Krikor Zambaccian, art collector
• Ianis Zicu, football player

[edit] Education

• Universities
  • Ovidius University
  • Constanţa Maritime University (UMC)
  • "Mircea cel Bătrân" Naval Academy

• High schools
  • "Mircea cel Bătrân" National College (C.N.M.B.)
  • "Ovidius" High School
  • "Traian" Theoretical Highschool
  • "The International Computer Highschool of Constanta" (I.C.H.C.)
  • "Electrotechnical and Telecomunication Highschool of Constanta"

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official administration site
• Constanţa Seaport official site
• Map
• Map

	Constanţa County
Municipalities	Constanţa (county seat) | Mangalia | Medgidia
Towns	Basarabi | Băneasa | Cernavodă | Eforie | Hârşova | Năvodari | Negru Vodă | Ovidiu | Techirghiol
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