The central plateau
Medgidia, Cernavodă, Adamclisi - plateau, wine, Roman monuments.
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The central plateau, in full
In the heart of Dobrogea, between the coast and the Danube, the central plateau is the land of fields, wine and great Roman monuments. Cernavodă with the Saligny bridge, Medgidia with the mosque and Murfatlar with the vineyards are its landmarks.
Adamclisi watches over the steppe for centuries: the Tropaeum Traiani, built by Traian in AD 109, is the most important Roman monument outside Italy. The carved metopes tell the story of the Daco-Roman wars like a film in stone.
The loess soil makes the central plateau one of the country's most productive agricultural areas: wheat, sunflowers, canola and extensive vineyards. Murfatlar, Ostrov and Băneasa are names known to Romanian wine lovers.
National roads DN22 and DN3 connect all Dobrogea regions here: to Constanța to the east, to Tulcea to the north, to Cernavodă and Bucharest to the west.
Timeline
The central plateau through time
From the making of the landscape to today, a timeline.
The Dacian Wars
Traian conquer Dobrogea; heavy fighting takes place on the central plateau.
Adamclisi
Traian erects the Tropaeum Traiani as a monument of victory.
Bridge Cernavodă
Anghel Saligny completes the bridge; Dobrogea is firmly connected to the rest of Romania.
Murfatlar
The wine resort Murfatlar is established on the limestone hills.
Bessarabians
The cave churches of Murfatlar, an enigmatic medieval monument, are discovered.
Granary and wine
Intensive agriculture, cultural tourism and renowned vineyards.
To see
Landmarks of the region
Tropaeum Traiani - Adamclisi
The triumphal monument of Traian, watch over the steppe for 1,900 years.
The 40 m diameter monument was visible from tens of kilometers away. The 54 carved metopes tell the story of the Daco-Roman battles; the originals are in the village museum. Next to the monument are the ruins of the Roman city Civitas Tropaensium.
Traian inaugurates the monument dedicated to Mars the Avenger.
The monument is reconstructed in the visible form today.
Museum, monument and Roman ruins at Adamclisi.
Vineyard Murfatlar
One of the most famous vineyards in Romania.
On the limestone hills between Medgidia and Constanța, the Dobrogean sun and the sea breeze ripen the grapes differently than in the rest of the country. The wineries of Murfatlar offer tastings; near the village are also the rock churches of Basarabi.
The Romanians bring vines to the Dobrogea hills.
The wine resort Murfatlar is established.
Tastings, wineries and vineyard tours.
Anghel Saligny Bridge
Symbol of Cernavoda and modern Romanian engineering.
The 4,088 m complex over the Danube and the Borcea reservoir was, at its inauguration, the longest in Europe. Saligny stood under the bridge, in the boat, during the endurance test in 1895. The old bridge is a historical monument, visible next to the new highway bridge.
Work begins on the bridge over the Danube.
Inauguration; Saligny stands under the bridge during the fire test.
Historic monument visible from DN22 and from Cernavodă.
The little churches of Basarabi
Medieval cave complex excavated in chalk, near Murfatlar.
Six small churches, cells and galleries carved into the chalk hill, with runic, Glagolitic and Cyrillic inscriptions on the walls. Discovered in 1957, they are one of Europe's most enigmatic early medieval monuments. Fragile chalk requires controlled access.
The monks dig the complex into the chalk hill.
Chance discovery in the chalk quarry.
Protected monument, organized visits.
Map
Landmarks on the map
Pins open a short preview. Details are on the place sheet.
Stepa e deschisă tot anul; vara e uscată, iarna bate vântul. Sezon de stepă: mai–iunie
Explore the region
Further through Dobruja
Villages in this area
Pages from recent rounds, in the same area.
Sub-regions in Steppe dobrogean
Macro-areas
Corector de sat
Dacă știi că un fapt de pe pagina asta e greșit, scrie-l. Redacția publică doar după verificare. Nu e chat.
Software rooted in these places
From the region of The central plateau we build four free apps: iShopSync, Gym, iMemory and Daunomania.
See our apps