The best museums Dobruja

This remarkable museum will introduce you to the history of the city and its region, from the Paleolithic to the present day. It is housed in a neo-Romanesque building dating from 1921. Here, you'll discover exceptional relics reflecting the archaeological wealth of Dobrogea: terracotta and bone objects, coloured glass, jewelry, tools, weapons, bronze helmets, Greek and Roman statues... Among the most valuable pieces is the Glycon (^2nd century AD), a snake divinity carved in marble, which has become the city's emblem. There are also ceramics from the Neolithic civilizations of Hamangia and Gumelnița, including the moving Hamangia Thinker and Seated Woman, two terracotta statuettes discovered in the Cernavodă necropolis.

Next to the museum is a gallery housing a Roman mosaic dating from the ^4th century AD. Discovered during construction work in 1959, it is unique in Europe for its size (some 400 square metres preserved, out of the original 2,000). The harmony of its colors - dominated by red, white, green and beige - and the beauty of its plant and geometric motifs have not been altered by time. The mosaic once occupied one of the terraces of a vast commercial building that linked the city to the port. From the gallery, you can enjoy a magnificent view of the port.

It is divided into four historical sections: ancient, medieval, modern and contemporary. You'll see old amphorae, all kinds of weapons, medals, uniforms, navigational instruments, old maps... Not forgetting the hundred or so ship models from all eras: ancient merchant ships, Ottoman galleys, Moldavian warships, ^20th-century boats and submarines. The park offers a breathtaking view of the harbour.

This museum (also known as Callatis) houses a fine collection of Roman sculptures, including a ^3rd-century marble Aphrodite. There are also fragments of columns, capitals and friezes, as well as ceramics and jewelry... At the entrance is the "papyrus tomb" dating from the ^4th century BC, discovered in 1959. Sent to Moscow for conservation, the papyrus went missing for decades and was only repatriated in 2011. In the outdoor park, other architectural fragments are on display, along with sarcophagi from the Roman era.

It consists of two adjoining buildings, one 19th century neoclassical, the other dating from the 1980s. Works by great Romanian masters, mainly from the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th, are exhibited: Nicolae Grigorescu, Theodor Aman, Ioan Andreescu, Ștefan Luchian, Frederic Storck... The museum gives pride of place to paintings of marine inspiration, with many Dobrogean landscapes in particular. It also manages a section dedicated to the sculptor Ion Jalea, a native of the region (strada Arhiepiscopiei, 26).

This museum is housed in the former town hall, a neo-Romanesque building dating from 1896, with a very oriental feel. The interior is in the same vein. Here you'll see a variety of handicrafts from all regions of the country: wooden and glass icons, ceramics, pearl jewelry... The collection of folk costumes and textiles is particularly rich. There's also a craft store. On your way out, take a detour to contemplate the nearby Hunchiar mosque. This Moorish-style mosque dates back to 1868.

The Tulcea Museum of Ethnography and Folk Art, which occupies an emblematic building in the city, reopened its doors in 2023 after renovation work. It features a collection of over 8,000 costumes and various objects that take us back to the multicultural Tulcea of yesteryear, and allow us to discover the folklore of local minorities. The museum also manages the house of the writer Panait Cerna, born in the commune of Cerna, the Panaghia house in the town of Babadag and the museum of the traditional village of Dobroudja, located in Enisala.

Below the monument to the Heroes of Independence, this museum boasts a fine collection of ancient ceramics and coins from Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Part of the exhibition focuses on the adoption of Christianity by the region's inhabitants and religious persecution in the first centuries AD. Ruins of the ancient fortress of Aegyssus, which dates back to antiquity, can be seen next to the museum.

This obelisk planted on top of the citadel hill, east of the city, was erected in 1900 by the sculptors Vasilescu and Bălăcescu, as a tribute to the dead of the War of Independence of 1877-1878. All the way up, after climbing a good flight of stairs, you will enjoy a 360-degree view of the river, the city and the surrounding fields. It is also on this hill that the giant letters forming the name of the city were erected.

This beautiful neoclassical building was constructed in 1870 by Ismaïl Pacha, then Ottoman governor of Tulcea. Recently modernized, it houses a fine collection of paintings, engravings and sculptures. Among them are contemporary works by Pallady, Aman, Baba, Brauner and Grigorescu. One room is dedicated to paintings depicting Tulcea and Dobrogea. You can also admire Russian and Lipoven icons, as well as fine pieces of European and Oriental decorative art: jewelry, furniture, carpets, Persian earthenware, dresses sewn with gold thread..