Municipality of Mangalia – Beaches, Callatis and Nature

Coast and beaches

Neptun Beach lies as a strip of sand between the Black Sea and the two lakes of Neptun. Neptun’s main beach, known as “La Steaguri”, continues southward with Jupiter Beach; it is separated from Olimp Beach by an area owned by the Romanian government. On average, the beach is 30 to 100 metres wide, has fine sand and a gently sloping sandy seabed.

The visitor facilities at Cap Aurora include a natural beach, a waterfront promenade with views, green spaces and children’s playgrounds. Cap Aurora can be reached by road; minibuses run from Mangalia railway station to Cap Aurora and Jupiter.

Other places: Eforie, Corbu.

Culture

The “Esmahan Sultan” Mosque in Mangalia is Romania’s oldest Muslim place of worship and was built in 1575. It is a monument of Oriental architecture; surrounding it is a Muslim cemetery with gravestones that are 300 years old. According to ancient literary sources, Callatis was founded at the end of the 6th century BCE by Doric colonists from Heraclea Pontica.

The Mormântul cu papyrus de la Mangalia is a funerary archaeological find in Mangalia from the La Tène period, dated to the 4th to 1st century BCE. It was reconstructed between 1959 and 1961 and subsequently became part of a museum tour. The Callatis Archaeological Museum preserves the mosaic of a Hellenistic room as well as the contents of the papyrus tomb.

The Muzeul de Arheologie Callatis Mangalia offers visitors a wide range of cultural experiences, including a permanent exhibition, archaeological monuments in the Municipality of Mangalia and numerous cultural and scholarly activities at the museum. The permanent exhibition comprises monuments preserved in situ and a collection of approximately 4,000 objects. Its archaeological heritage spans the period from the Neolithic Age through the Greek and Roman periods to the Late Roman–Byzantine period.

The museum inside the hotel displays architectural fragments discovered in the Byzantine Building.

Geographical setting

In the immediate vicinity of the Municipality of Mangalia is the Biserica Ortodoxă Adormirea Maicii Domnului, an Orthodox church. Also nearby are the Muzeul de Arheologie Callatis, Peştera Movile, a cave, and the hills Movila Comorova and Movila Dulceşti.

The surroundings of the Municipality of Mangalia also include the Muzeul Marinei Române Mangalia, Peştera Limanu, a cave, and Mânăstirea Sfânta Elena de la Mare, a monastery.

Further experiences

Herghelia Mangalia is a leisure and tourism centre with a trotting and galloping racetrack. It is home to more than 200 purebred Arabians.

Nature

The area of Mangalia’s sulphide-bearing underwater springs is also home to habitat 1110-1, “Fine sands with Zostera noltii meadows”, which occurs in Romania only at this location.

For the higher-level travel overview: Constanta.