The first construction was built at a time when folk were not ready for greatness and had little insight of what the future would bring. Enter the “Kursaal”, that actually meant relaxation room. Raised around 1880, close to the Genovese Lighthouse, was made entirely out of wood. It attracted the crème of the crop at the time and it did gather some foreign interest.
You could have easily walked down the stairs to the sea and enjoy a couple of hours of fishing. Its glory lasted until the 1890’s when a heavy storm literally tore the building apart. That laid the foundation of what Romania’s very own Monte Carlo would soon be built.
Casin – Constanta Casino’s Little Brother
After the storm washed the Kursaal, the second edifice was soon planned. This one would feature a stone foundation and 2 terraces facing the sea and the port. If you ever walked down by the seaside, you might have seen the Aquarium, on the Queen Elisabeth Boulevard. That was the chosen spot for the construction of Casin.
The biggest architect at the time was none other than Horia Creanga, the nephew of the famous writer Ion Creanga. Although it lasted for just 10 years, it was just enough for the right people to get a taste of what it would mean to have their own casino. At this time, more and more foreign customers had made a habit of coming to the casino and leaving big piles of money behind. Hey, who knew casinos made so much money?
The Constanta Casino would feature a few gambling rooms, hosting mostly card games and a huge ballroom, where the latest outfits and dance moves would be displayed. It has been decided that even a bigger edifice was needed and so the project and the mission of building a casino to rival the French Riviera was commissioned to Daniel Renard.
Romanian on the mother’s side and swiss by the father’s side, D. Renard was born in the city of Neamt and studied in Paris. He designed several hotels and buildings before being trusted with such a project and his love for the non-conformist style called Art Nouveau is what made his work so appreciated.
The opposing political party met his project with scepticism, of course, but the architect’s vision prevailed and the beautiful new casino was officially opened for business on the 15th of August 1910. King Ferdinand was the one who witnessed the grand opening and at that time the Constanta Casino was the biggest of its kind in Romania.
The building would feature a huge welcoming room, interior staircases, several upper levels, an office for the building manager, a permanent orchestra, several gaming rooms, a room designed for snooker, a ballroom and a showroom. The wardrobe could be found downstairs, next to a reading room where you could read local and foreign press and a buffet with its own laboratory. Ladies and Gentlemen, it was luxury redefined!
The Constanta Casino – Golden Years
One year after its official opening, more tables were added and gambling was officially promoted internationally, from Romania, despite the local critics. Soon after, the Constanta Casino became one of the most respected establishments of its kind, featuring a unique location and superb architectural style.
The inside of the casino screamed luxury and fine taste, starting with exquisite furniture and incredible chandeliers. Of course, only the wealthy were allowed inside and it was not long until gamblers from all over the world started to enjoy long gaming sessions by the Black Sea.
Vast fortunes were made and lost every day and the unlucky ones would often end their lives by throwing themselves in the waves below, only to be claimed by the unforgiving sea. After the 1st World War began, the Casino was re-purposed by the Red Cross around 1916 and used as a hospital to treat wounded soldiers.
We called it the stone guardian earlier because even though the casino was severely bombed in two World Wars, it did manage to save the lives of the injured that took shelter inside. For some time the Constanta Casino saw its former glory and in 1934 D. Renard, the architect was summoned yet again for repairs.
It was bombed again in 1941 when it was sheltering German troops inside but stood its ground and 10 years later, in 1951, it was repaired from the ground up. The ownership of the Casino was given to the Labor party and its syndicates around 1950 and then trusted to a company that was handling the tourists coming to spend their holiday at the Black Sea.
And now, for the sad news: the latest maintenance work done on the beautiful establishment was done in 1989 and if in this point you’re lost for words We don’t blame you.
The Ruin That Left Us Wondering What If
It’s worth seeing and just by walking inside you are surrounded by the eerie glow of luxury from the 20th century Romania. When politics failed and there was nobody left to take care of its restoration, we were all left with a what-if kind of question.
What if we could venture to Romania to spend a week in the Constanta Casino? What if we were able to enjoy the most luxurious edifice in Europe? It’s not like the local government did not try to bring it to its former glory.
In 2007 the City hall concessioned the casino to an investment group for a period of 50 years. The company announced that it would invest a hefty sum of money in the first 5 years alone but soon cancelled the project.
Then the Ministry of Tourism wanted to begin work on the restoration of the beautiful edifice, but over a 1-year span, nothing had happened. In 2013 the city hall had announced that it would repair the casino using European funding, but the project never started.
Later, even the acting mayor at the time personally went to Switzerland to meet with the representatives of the biggest European casino, but in fear of political misunderstandings, the project never came to fruition.
Step inside and marvel at the magnificent testimony of a revolutionary architectural style. A guide and a few pigeons will keep you company. You may want to listen closely as the walls will tell you tales of an era long gone. As you turn around and walk away salute the stone guardian for one last time and his one true company, the sea.
The Latest About Constanta Casino
The year 2020 brought to life an exciting new project aiming for the restoration of Constanta Casino. After the restoration work is done, this could potentially bring a new lease of life to the once beautiful structure. The month of Januray saw the project kick off. If everything goes by the numbers, the restoration works will start in April and take no less than 27 months. Ambitious or not, the deadline is July 15 2020. By then, the casino’s facade will have been renovated, project managers believe.
That’s a much-needed change, given that 1986 saw the last renovation works on the Constanta Casino. Meanwhile, local media report of a ferris wheel project that’s interconnected with the refurbishment project. Taking both endeavours into account, we can’t help but think that’s one very ambitious effort to bring back Constanta seaside’s former glory.
