Mangalia

Romania, Romania

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Mangalia is a historic port city and year-round spa resort on Romania’s Black Sea coast in Constanța County, founded by Greek colonists from Heraclea Pontica in the 6th century BC as the autonomous city-state Callatis.

The area has been inhabited since the Neolithic period and was later controlled by Romans, Genoese, and Turks, leaving visible remains from these empires throughout the city. Today it is Romania’s southernmost Black Sea resort, situated between Costinești to the north and Vama Veche to the south, with a mild Mediterranean-like climate that brings early springs and late autumns.

The city has about 37,000–43,000 residents, mostly Romanian with significant Turkish, Tatar, and Greek minorities, and is known for its 15th-century Turkish mosque, ancient tombs, and layered churches. Mangalia’s economy centers on tourism and shipbuilding, and it is unique among Romania’s seaside resorts for having mineral sulfur water springs in Mangalia Lake used to treat rheumatic diseases.