Dobrogea
Beyond the Danube Delta: old mountains and steppe, Greek and Roman cities, and the town of Tulcea.
Dobrogea is the land between the lower Danube and the Black Sea. Worn old mountains rise above the steppe, lagoons line the coast, and in the north the river ends in the Danube Delta. For more than two and a half thousand years Greeks, Romans, Byzantines and Ottomans built their cities and fortresses here, and many peoples still share the land today. These are the places we know best, close to Tulcea.
Places and history
Discover Dobrogea
3 min read
Macin Mountains National Park, the Old Mountains of Dobrogea
Among the oldest mountains in Romania, worn down to rocky ridges above the steppe: rare plants, birds of prey and quiet trails, close to...
4 min read
Argamum (Orgame), the Ancient City on Lake Razim
Founded by Greek settlers in the 7th century BC on a cliff above Lake Razim, Orgame is the first town in Romania named in...
3 min read
Histria, the Greek City on the Shore of Lake Sinoe
Founded by settlers from Miletus in the 7th century BC, Histria lived for thirteen centuries on the shore of a Black Sea gulf that...
2 min read
Capidava, the Roman Fortress at the Bend of the Danube
A Roman fort on a rocky bluff above the Danube, between Harsova and Cernavoda: walls, towers and a wide view over the river.
3 min read
Tulcea City Break: Museums, History and the Aquarium
A day in Tulcea, the gateway to the Danube Delta: the Monument Hill, the museums of history, folk art and fine art, and the...
The land between the Danube and the sea
About Dobrogea
Geography
Dobrogea lies between the last stretch of the Danube, to the west and north, and the Black Sea, to the east. The Romanian part is shared between two counties, Tulcea in the north and Constanta in the south, and the region continues south into Bulgaria. It is the driest part of Romania, with hot summers, little rain and wide open skies.
In the north west rise the Macin Mountains, among the oldest mountains in Romania, worn down over hundreds of millions of years to rocky ridges no higher than 467 metres. Around them stretch the hills and forests of the Babadag Plateau and the open steppe. Along the coast lie the great lagoons of Razim and Sinoe, once gulfs of the Black Sea, and in the north east the Danube splits into its three branches and builds the Danube Delta.
History
The Getae lived here long before the first Greek ships arrived. In the 7th century BC Greek settlers founded Orgame, today Argamum, and Histria, and later Tomis and Callatis, today Constanta and Mangalia. Under the Romans, Dobrogea became a frontier province on the Danube, defended by fortresses such as Capidava, and later the province of Scythia Minor, with early Christian basilicas in almost every town.
After the Byzantines came centuries of Ottoman rule, until 1878, when Dobrogea became part of Romania. The towns kept their mosques, the villages their many peoples: Romanians, Lipovan Russians, Turks and Tatars, Ukrainians and others, each with their own churches, customs and kitchens. Walking through Tulcea or the villages around the lagoons, you still meet this mix today.
Nature
Dobrogea brings together very different worlds within a short drive: the wetlands of the Danube Delta, the dry steppe, the oak forests, the rocky hills and the coast. Many plants and animals reach here the edge of their range, coming from the steppes of Asia, the Balkans or the Mediterranean, like the Spur-thighed Tortoise, the steppe peony or the Dobrogea bellflower.
For birds, Dobrogea is a crossroads. It lies on the Via Pontica, one of the great migration routes of Europe, and in spring and autumn birds of prey, storks and pelicans pass over in large numbers. In summer European Bee-eaters and European Rollers nest in the hills, and in winter the lagoons and fields hold flocks of wild geese, among them the Red-breasted Goose. Much of this nature is protected, in the Macin Mountains National Park and in the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve, which also includes the Razim and Sinoe lagoons.
See it with us