RRI Live!

Listen to Radio Romania International Live

Heritage buildings in Constanta

While for most people Constanta is synonymous with the sun and the sea, the city is also home to many heritage buildings.

Heritage buildings in Constanta
Heritage buildings in Constanta

, 09.05.2015, 14:09


The beach, the sea, the Aquarium and the Casino are Constantas main tourist attractions. The citys historical and ethnic diversity is mirrored in its landmark buildings.



The Art Museum, for instance, hosts an impressive collection of works of art by renowned Romanian fine artists. The museum was set up in 1961 around a painting and sculpture exhibition, with items donated by the artists themselves or borrowed from the Town Halls art collection. The building that hosts the museum is also a heritage building. Designed by architect Ion Socolescu and built between 1891 and 1893, it originally hosted the Romanian School in Constanta. Paintings and sculptures by artists like Nicolae Grigorescu, Theodor Aman, Jean Steriadi, Ion Andreescu, Cornel Medrea, Dimitrie Paciurea, Ion Tuculescu, Ion Jalea, Vida Gheza, Theodor Pallady, Corneliu Baba and many others are on display in the two buildings.



The Art Museum in Constanta has been reopened recently, after a long period of refurbishment. Its director, Doina Pauleanu, tells us more about it:



“We have taken all the paintings out of the deposit in order to pick the most important and representative ones, or to create a highly coherent series of paintings. We now have dedicated rooms for almost every great Romanian modern artist. Having to remove one or several works from the permanent exhibition was a very difficult thing to do. Thats why we came up with the idea of a temporary exhibition, which shows in fact that in a large museum, the ratio between the exhibited and the stored items is in favor of the latter. The storage rooms include more items than the ones on display. Our storage room includes works by Tonitza, Sirato, Dimitrescu, Pallady, Petrascu and many others, which are now part of a temporary exhibition entitled The museum from the storage room. It gives visitors the chance to see works that have been displayed on rare occasions.”



Dating back to the end of the 19th Century, the building that currently hosts the Art Museum in Constanta was erected at a time when Dobruja was a prosperous area. After being part of the Ottoman Empire for a long time, the province once again joined Romania after the independence war of 1877-1878. Doina Pauleanu:



“Dobruja became a part of Romania again after the Independence War of 1878. People who came to this place from other parts of Romania used to feel exiled, but wanted to leave some marks of their presence there. Few people know that the sea front in Constanta is artificial, being the result of the reformist thinking of the Constanta-based engineer Scarlat Varnav, head of the National School of Bridges and Roads in Bucharest, and of the courage of Anghel Saligny, who took up such a difficult task, considering that he had already started construction works on the port. This is an extraordinary area, an area of confluences, a multiethnic space where empires were formed and dismantled and which migratory peoples had crossed on their way to Constantinople, the worlds capital at that time.”



In an inter-ethnic and inter-religious space, religious tolerance was crucial, and it was King Carol I who created the circumstances for its preservation. Doina Pauleanu:



“Symbolically, the two most important examples of religious architecture, after Dobrujas union with Romania, were the Cathedral of St. Apostles Peter and Paul and the Royal Mosque, erected with funds from the Romanian state on the location of an old mosque. Part of the old sacred furniture was left in the royal mosque. King Carol I had this initiative, in an attempt to prove that in Greater Romania, religious tolerance was extremely important. All the buildings in the city, since the Union and up until 1914, were erected thanks to the kings extraordinary openness towards this area and of his great understanding of Dobrujas geopolitical importance.”



For a better understanding of the culture and history of Constanta, a visit to the Art Museum must be followed by a walk through the citys old district.




Theodor Aman – Founder of the Romanian Fine Arts School
RRI Encyclopaedia Saturday, 02 November 2024

Theodor Aman – Founder of the Romanian Fine Arts School

Theodor Aman (1831-1891), the first great Romanian classical artist, was a Romanian painter, graphic designer, sculptor, pedagogue, and academician,...

Theodor Aman – Founder of the Romanian Fine Arts School
banner-Pro-Memoria.-960x540-1.jpg
RRI Encyclopaedia Sunday, 27 October 2024

Colțea Street

Over 1703-1707, Mihai Cantacuzino, a member of a famous noble family, built a hospital and a school on the estate of Colțea Doicescu. The first name...

Colțea Street
Axiopolis
RRI Encyclopaedia Saturday, 12 October 2024

The Cerchez family of architects

We’re more likely to come across the name of Cerchez, in the history of Romanian architecture, than other names of architects. The name of Cerchez...

The Cerchez family of architects
Ion Ratiu sursa foto: Copyright © 2024 Ratiu Family Charitable)
RRI Encyclopaedia Saturday, 05 October 2024

The Ratiu family, an important Romanian family in Transylvania

The Rațiu family (Rațiu of Noșlac in Turda) is one of the oldest and most respectable aristocratic families in Transylvania with a history...

The Ratiu family, an important Romanian family in Transylvania
RRI Encyclopaedia Sunday, 29 September 2024

Axiopolis

Dobrogea is considered the densest and most varied province of Romania from the point of view of the civilizations that inhabited it. On a territory...

Axiopolis
RRI Encyclopaedia Sunday, 22 September 2024

The Kiseleff Agora

Kiseleff Park in Bucharest has become a model of good practice in managing historical parks and gardens, thanks to a project called the Kiseleff...

The Kiseleff Agora
RRI Encyclopaedia Sunday, 11 August 2024

The neurologist Gheorghe Marinescu

Considered to be one of the most important Romanian physicians, Gheorghe Marinescu’s name is linked to the beginning of the study of mental...

The neurologist Gheorghe Marinescu
RRI Encyclopaedia Saturday, 27 July 2024

Old Romanian books

The printing press emerged in mid-15th century. It was arguably the most important revolution in the history of the book and the circulation of...

Old Romanian books

Partners

Muzeul Național al Țăranului Român Muzeul Național al Țăranului Român
Liga Studentilor Romani din Strainatate - LSRS Liga Studentilor Romani din Strainatate - LSRS
Modernism | The Leading Romanian Art Magazine Online Modernism | The Leading Romanian Art Magazine Online
Institului European din România Institului European din România
Institutul Francez din România – Bucureşti Institutul Francez din România – Bucureşti
Muzeul Național de Artă al României Muzeul Național de Artă al României
Le petit Journal Le petit Journal
Radio Prague International Radio Prague International
Muzeul Național de Istorie a României Muzeul Național de Istorie a României
ARCUB ARCUB
Radio Canada International Radio Canada International
Muzeul Național al Satului „Dimitrie Gusti” Muzeul Național al Satului „Dimitrie Gusti”
SWI swissinfo.ch SWI swissinfo.ch
UBB Radio ONLINE UBB Radio ONLINE
Strona główna - English Section - polskieradio.pl Strona główna - English Section - polskieradio.pl
creart - Centrul de Creație Artă și Tradiție al Municipiului Bucuresti creart - Centrul de Creație Artă și Tradiție al Municipiului Bucuresti
italradio italradio
Institutul Confucius Institutul Confucius
BUCPRESS - știri din Cernăuți BUCPRESS - știri din Cernăuți

Affiliates

Euranet Plus Euranet Plus
AIB | the trade association for international broadcasters AIB | the trade association for international broadcasters
Digital Radio Mondiale Digital Radio Mondiale
News and current affairs from Germany and around the world News and current affairs from Germany and around the world
Comunità radiotelevisiva italofona Comunità radiotelevisiva italofona

Providers

RADIOCOM RADIOCOM
Zeno Media - The Everything Audio Company Zeno Media - The Everything Audio Company