casino constanta abandoned romania

Visiting The Abandoned Casino of Constanța

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Outside hallway.

Once this was the most glorious building of Romania but since 1990 it’s been abandoned and slowly but surely falling apart. The building is now listed as a historic monument by the Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs of Romania.

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View at the Black Sea.

I usually don’t share location specific information regarding the whereabouts of the building I’ve visited, but this is such a well known historical place that I’ve made an exception. This allows me to also share some of the history and facts of the city it’s located in, which is rather interesting. The casino is built in Constanța (formerly known as Tomis), Romania. The name of the city comes from the half-sister of the Roman emperor Constantine the Great. Constanța is the oldest city of Romania that’s been continuously inhabited and is founded around 600 before Christ. It is located at the coast of the Black Sea and is the largest city of the region. The city itself has nearly 300.000 citizens and attracts a lot of tourists in summer because of the large beaches and the fact that it’s one of the warmest cities in the country. The casino used to be the eye catcher (of the port) of the city, which is the largest port of the Black Sea coast and also one of the largest ports of Europe. The pedestrian area around the casino is a popular destination for couples and families because of it’s romantic and friendly atmosphere. A similar building has been constructed in Monte Carlo, Monaco, because of competition.

Massive ballroom / theater.
Massive ballroom / theater.

The casino is a 24/7 well guarded place and entering is nearly impossible without legal permission. Even though it’s guarded, the indecisive attitude of authorities causes the casino to fall in disrepair. Last major repairs took place in 1988. We talked to one of the guards the night before our appointment and he felt sad and angry because authorities seem to simply not care about renovation of the building. Nobody understands it.

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Beautiful staircase with an amazing chandelier.

The Art Nouveau building, with stunning 18th century Baroque accents, designed by Daniel Renard and Petre Antonescu, was first opened to the public in 1910, commissioned by the Romanian King Carol I. It was erected with money from the public. The original plan was to pay heritage to Romania’s artistic traditions, but while building was in progress it turned into an Art Nouveau palace for the Belle Epoque. Many wealthy travelers enjoyed their time playing games and dancing in the symbol of the city. The restaurant right across of the casino, which has actually been renovated and given another purpose ( I believe it’s an aquarium now), was the place to enjoy dinner. The city still offers some of the best restaurants of the country nowadays.

Amazing place to sit.
Amazing place to sit.

The iconic building survived two World Wars. During the 1914 visit of the Russian Imperial Family, the casino was host to a royal gala. Despite diplomatic negotiations, Grand Duchess Olga refused the proposed marriage to Prince Carol of Romania and the Russians sailed away. Olga was later killed by the Russians along with the rest of her family. During the second World War the building was used as a hospital. Under the post-war communist regime it even operated as a restaurant. Maintaining the structure quickly became too expensive and in 1990 the building was closed. It has been closed ever since.

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Pink room.

Rumor goes the government has set aside 9.5 million Euros for renovations, but they were scheduled to start in 2015 and nothing has happened yet. The latest investor who leased the building in 2007 canceled the concession contract. So far, no new inestors showed their interest in the casino.

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iPhone shot – setup

After setting one of the first steps inside a pigeon fell from the railing, dead. Cats that were inside quickly ran to the pigeon, dragged it into a corner and ate it. I was surprised. The amount of pigeon and cat feces was insanely high. It immediately hit my lungs having impact on my breathing and also causing a headache. Next to the feces there were also a lot of leftovers from food that were probably left there by visitors of the casino in the past years. I did not expect the place to be in this bad shape at all. Other than that Romania struck me as a very friendly and helpful country. Everyone spoken to tried to speak English to communicate, traffic was okay, the food in the Greek restaurant (Nikos) was lovely and the service from the rental car company near the airport was perfect.

 

 

I would like to share a few other pictures I made while exploring the casino. You can find them below.

Stairs from the side.
Stairs from the side.
Stairs from the top.
Stairs from the top.
Ballroom the other side.
Ballroom the other side.
Dressing rooms on stage.
Dressing rooms on stage.

 

View from the balcony.
View from the balcony.
Roof of the bar.
Roof of the bar.
The bar.
The bar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

6 Comments

Join the discussion and tell us your opinion.

Cazinoul Constanta – CreativeMonkeyzreply
April 28, 2016 at 4:01 pm

[…] cum ziceam, Roman Robroek a fost in Romania sa faca poze cazinoului si dupa cum afirma si in articolul lui, i-a placut totul atat de mult incat a trebuit sa scrie despre experienta lui pe meleagurile […]

Cazinoul Constanta – CreativeMonkeyzreply
April 28, 2016 at 4:05 pm

[…] cum ziceam, Roman Robroek a fost in Romania sa faca poze cazinoului si dupa cum afirma si in articolul lui, i-a placut totul atat de mult incat a trebuit sa scrie despre experienta lui pe meleagurile […]

Konstanca (10/2017) – Hatteria.pl – blogreply
December 9, 2017 at 5:00 pm

[…] doskonałymi, choć robiącymi przygnębiające wrażenie zdjęciami, można znaleźć tutaj: Kasyno w Konstancy – fotorelacja . Jej autorem jest holenderski fotograf urbanistyczny, Roman Robroek, w którego obiektywie […]

Markkureply
October 16, 2019 at 3:26 pm

There was a restaurant and a dance band played in the ballroom in summer 1972. OMG how it looks now!!!

Photographing Huize Ivicke in Wassenaar – Urban Photography by Roman Robroekreply
January 11, 2020 at 4:59 pm

[…] In the past years I’ve photographed different nominated sites for Europa Nostra, like the Casino in Constanta – Romania, the Buffer Zone in Nicosia – Cyprus and the Citadel of Alessandria – Italy.  During […]

Roman Robroek – Photographer of the Abandoned – PhotoClaimreply
February 24, 2020 at 4:16 pm

[…] My biggest jump into the photography industry was due to the publication of my article about the abandoned Casino in Constanta in the international press and winning the Art of Building 2016 award. This opened many doors to […]

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