Once upon a time there was Mamaia...

With a history of more than a century since its documentary attestation, Mamaia was and still is a "star" of the Romanian seaside. From old, sensitive legends to new, sometimes controversial architectural and urbanistic "challenges", Mamaia has always remained at the forefront of Romanian tourism on the Black Sea.

I gratefully owe the publication of this article to the organizers of this issue of Arhitectura Magazine, who urged me to present something of the older history of the resort, based on a historical urban development study conducted in 2013.

The origin of the resort's name

So... according to legend, Mamaia is a sand dune into which a woman was transformed by God when she wanted to save her daughter from drowning in a moment of great danger. It was at the time of the battles with the Turks, and the woman, the descendant of her husband killed in the fighting, was very brave and attracted the attention of the Pasha, who rewarded his captive wi