Sulina
Selina · Sulina su-li-na
Romania's easternmost city, Danube free port.
Back to the Dobruja pageAbout the town
Sulina, in brief
Sulina is Romania's easternmost city, set where the Sulina branch of the Danube flows into the Black Sea. It has no road access by land: you can only reach it by boat, on the river, as a hundred years ago.
In the second half of the 19th century, Sulina was the seat of the European Commission of the Danube, the world's first modern international organisation, and a cosmopolitan free port where dozens of languages were spoken. The old lighthouse, churches of different rites and the multinational maritime cemetery preserve the memory of that era.
Today Sulina is a living museum city, with a wild beach between the Delta and the sea, the final point of journeys through the Biosphere Reserve. For us, it is the symbol of openness: a small port at the end of the world, through which the whole world passed.
History
Sulina through time
The moments that shaped the town, from the first settlements to today.
First attestation
Byzantine Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus mentions Selina in "De administrando imperio".
European Commission of the Danube
After the Crimean War, Sulina becomes the seat of the first modern international organisation.
Free port
The free port attracts Greek, Armenian, Jewish and Maltese merchants; the city flourishes cosmopolitan.
Anglican church and lighthouses
The golden age leaves behind lighthouses, consulates and places of worship of all rites.
Museum city in the Delta
Sulina lives from fishing and tourism, accessible only by water.
To see
What to see in Sulina
Old Lighthouse of the European Commission
The 1870 lighthouse, now a museum, symbol of the city.
The 21 m lighthouse raised by the European Commission of the Danube guided vessels towards the mouth of the Sulina for nearly a century. Left on dry land as the delta grew eastward, it is today a museum: the lamp room preserves the memory of pilot George Georgescu and writer Jean Bart, former harbour master.
The European Commission of the Danube builds the lighthouse at the mouth of the Sulina.
The delta grows eastward; the lighthouse remains on dry land, in the city.
Museum and symbol of Sulina.
Sulina Beach
Wild and wide beach, where the Danube meets the sea.
At the end of the city, beyond the dyke, stretches one of Romania's wildest beaches: kilometres of fine sand, shells and silence, where the waters of the Danube visibly mix with the sea. The sand grows year by year, brought by the river.
Danube alluvium widens the beach year by year.
Protected wild beach, in the Biosphere Reserve.
Maritime Cemetery
Graves of sailors from around the world, testimony to the free-port era.
In Sulina's multinational cemetery rest, side by side, Greek, English, Italian, Turkish and Jewish sailors, pilots of the European Commission and princesses from local legends. It is perhaps the most moving testimony to the era when the small port was a whole world.
The free-port era fills the cemetery with names from around the world.
Place of remembrance and history, visited by ever more travellers.
From the database
Places around Sulina
Iarna, Delta e tăcută; verifică orarul navelor înainte.
Map
Landmarks on the map
Pins open the place sheets for Sulina.
Iarna, Delta e tăcută; verifică orarul navelor înainte. Sezon de Deltă: aprilie–octombrie
Explore the region
Other towns in Dobruja
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 Sulina we build four free apps: iShopSync, Gym, iMemory and Daunomania.
See our apps