Constanta
Constanţa, Romānia — Panoramic view
Constanţa, formerly known as Kustendji or Kustendja, a seaport on the Black Sea, and capital of the department of Constanta (county), Romania.
When the Dobrudja was ceded to Romania in 1878, Constanta 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 Cernavoda, brought Constanta 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.
Constanta 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, &c. 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.
History
Population
In 2002, the population of Constanta city proper was 310,526. In 1900, it was 12,725. The urban area around Constanta, however, includes the town of Navodari, with a population of 32,400, increasing the total population of the Constanta urban area to 342,926.
Some information from 1911 encyclopedia
