The old casino, Constanta / LoRa Photography

2015© LoRa Photography

Originally commissioned by King Carol I around 1900, the Casino first opened to the public in 1910.
А dramatic location right on the waterfront of the Black Sea overlooking the ancient port at Constanta and quickly became the symbol of the city. Casino Constanta is an historic monument built in Art Nouveau style between 1904 -1910, to meet the needs of the Black Sea tourists in the period so called La belle Époque. The man who conceived this challenging project, very modern at that time, was Daniel Renard a young Romanian architect of Swiss origin.

Worsening circumstances in Romania over the 20th century saw it gradually fall into disrepair, briefly used as a hospital during World War II and eventually repurposed by the communist regime as a restaurant. Maintaining the elaborate structure quickly became prohibitively expensive, and the building was closed in 1990.

The Casino is challenging your imagination step by step, with every ornament, every broken mirror, and every crack in the wall producing an emotional roller coaster outlined by the magnificent view of the sea.

A pearl on the Black Sea shore: let’s hope the story of the Old Casino is “to be continued”…