Constanta
From Ovid's exile at Greek Tomis to Europe's leading grain export port, connecting the Danube to global shipping via 64km canal.
Constanta County exists because Greeks needed a Black Sea colony and Romania needed a port. Founded as Tomis by Milesian Greeks in the 6th century BC, the city hosted Ovid's eight-year exile (8 AD onwards) - he lamented his fate in Tristia and Epistulae ex Ponto. Emperor Constantine renamed it Constantiana for his half-sister. Genoese merchants dominated during the 13th century before Ottoman conquest brought centuries of decline. Romania gained Constanta and Northern Dobrudja in 1878 after the War of Independence. Engineers Gheorghe Duca and Anghel Saligny built the port, which opened in 1909 with storage basins, oil reservoirs, and grain silos. Today the Port of Constanta is the Black Sea's largest and Europe's 17th largest, handling 100+ million tons annually. The 1984 Danube-Black Sea Canal (64.4km) connects Cernavoda to Agigea, bypassing the delta and linking Central European river traffic to global shipping. The 2022 Ukraine war blockade renewed Constanta's importance for grain transit. Romania's oldest continuously inhabited city (2,500+ years) now serves as logistics gateway to EU markets. By 2026, Ukraine transit and manufacturing investment will expand the port's strategic role.