“...it is strictly forbidden to appear at the station, especially during the hours when the Bucharest-Sinai diesel-electric train passes. : )) I'm sure that those from Turpravda, who are at least a little older, perfectly remember this magical phrase from the Soviet film "Nameless Star"!
And this “...depraved train full of women of easy virtue and gamblers” excited the minds of not only the students of the senior classes of the gymnasium of the provincial Romanian town of the 20s of the last century, but I also very much remembered it - at that time a student of the very junior classes of the usual secondary school. ; ) And the main impetus for such memorization was, probably, a very attractive, slightly vicious, “non-Soviet” word associated with the train - “casino”. It was there that the bulk of the passengers of the diesel-electric train were sent.
And now, at the present time, I happened to be in Romania - a country for our tourists is still exotic and unknown (well, perhaps, following land transport to Bulgaria, someone saw something through the window); )). True, I ended up not in the capital Bucharest and not even in the mountainous Sinai, but in the seaside Constanta. And imagine my quivering delight and genuine admiration when, at the end of the long city embankment, against the backdrop of a piercing blue cloudless sky and cobalt sea, I saw a magnificent snow-white building. It was a casino! ; ))
His history is quite interesting. The first casino (a modest wooden building) was built in Konstanz near the Genovian lighthouse in 1880 after the war of independence with the Ottoman Empire and was called Kursaal. Here the city elite gathered, for which balls were held every evening and celebrity concerts were regularly organized.
Among others, this building has experienced the charm of the music of the orchestra of Eduard Strauss, the brother of the great composer. In 1891, a strong storm destroyed the Kursaal and in 1893, already on the site of the current casino, a new building was built with a ballroom, games rooms and a terrace overlooking the sea.
In 1903, they decided to modernize the building, for which the French architect Daniel Renard was invited, who designed the magnificent building in the Art Nouveau style, which became a symbol and hallmark of the city for many years. They say that the Constanta casino is a copy of the Monte Carlo casino, although I somehow didn’t notice much of a resemblance.
The grand opening of the new casino took place on August 15.1910 in the presence of Prince Ferdinand. Elite and wealthy players from all over Europe began to gather here, remarkable passions sometimes boiled here and serious dramas played out, and unlucky players were taken into their arms by sea waves.
But from this the fame of the casino only increased, and the question of continuing or stopping its work was even on the agenda of the Romanian Parliament. ; )
Here in 1914 they met the family of the Russian emperor - one of his daughters was married to a Romanian prince. But during the performance there was an embarrassment - the scenery collapsed, and the royal family hurried to leave the city before the deadline, without completing the matchmaking. And in 1917, on the terrace of the casino, August von Mackensen, the commander of the occupation forces in Romania, was captured for posterity. During the years of the world wars of the last century, the casino was used as a hospital, and in the interwar period it continued to attract a magnificent audience.
At the end of World War II, the building was heavily bombed, and after the communists came to power, there was no question of any restoration of the gaming establishment - only as a meeting room for the local party council. ; ) In 1985
an attempt was made to renovate - the building was updated, furniture, chandeliers, and other decorations were replaced. But things did not go further than this and, unfortunately, to this day, due to disputes over ownership, the building is in an abandoned state and continues to deteriorate.
But if you suddenly find yourself in Constanta, be sure to take a walk along the embankment, admire the seascape, feel the special mood of this place and I’m sure that you can easily imagine how luxurious carriages are rolling up to the snow-white portico of Casino Constanta, delivering a fashionable audience to the big game, you will feel an unobtrusive aroma of expensive perfumes, and from somewhere deep in the building a light breeze will bring you the sounds of a waltz...: )))
And this “...depraved train full of women of easy virtue and gamblers” excited the minds of not only the students of the senior classes of the gymnasium of the provincial Romanian town of the 20s of the last century, but I also very much remembered it - at that time a student of the very junior classes of the usual secondary school. ; ) And the main impetus for such memorization was, probably, a very attractive, slightly vicious, “non-Soviet” word associated with the train - “casino”. It was there that the bulk of the passengers of the diesel-electric train were sent.
And now, at the present time, I happened to be in Romania - a country for our tourists is still exotic and unknown (well, perhaps, following land transport to Bulgaria, someone saw something through the window); )). True, I ended up not in the capital Bucharest and not even in the mountainous Sinai, but in the seaside Constanta. And imagine my quivering delight and genuine admiration when, at the end of the long city embankment, against the backdrop of a piercing blue cloudless sky and cobalt sea, I saw a magnificent snow-white building. It was a casino! ; ))
His history is quite interesting. The first casino (a modest wooden building) was built in Konstanz near the Genovian lighthouse in 1880 after the war of independence with the Ottoman Empire and was called Kursaal. Here the city elite gathered, for which balls were held every evening and celebrity concerts were regularly organized.
Among others, this building has experienced the charm of the music of the orchestra of Eduard Strauss, the brother of the great composer. In 1891, a strong storm destroyed the Kursaal and in 1893, already on the site of the current casino, a new building was built with a ballroom, games rooms and a terrace overlooking the sea.
In 1903, they decided to modernize the building, for which the French architect Daniel Renard was invited, who designed the magnificent building in the Art Nouveau style, which became a symbol and hallmark of the city for many years. They say that the Constanta casino is a copy of the Monte Carlo casino, although I somehow didn’t notice much of a resemblance.
The grand opening of the new casino took place on August 15.1910 in the presence of Prince Ferdinand. Elite and wealthy players from all over Europe began to gather here, remarkable passions sometimes boiled here and serious dramas played out, and unlucky players were taken into their arms by sea waves.
But from this the fame of the casino only increased, and the question of continuing or stopping its work was even on the agenda of the Romanian Parliament. ; )
Here in 1914 they met the family of the Russian emperor - one of his daughters was married to a Romanian prince. But during the performance there was an embarrassment - the scenery collapsed, and the royal family hurried to leave the city before the deadline, without completing the matchmaking. And in 1917, on the terrace of the casino, August von Mackensen, the commander of the occupation forces in Romania, was captured for posterity. During the years of the world wars of the last century, the casino was used as a hospital, and in the interwar period it continued to attract a magnificent audience.
At the end of World War II, the building was heavily bombed, and after the communists came to power, there was no question of any restoration of the gaming establishment - only as a meeting room for the local party council. ; ) In 1985
an attempt was made to renovate - the building was updated, furniture, chandeliers, and other decorations were replaced. But things did not go further than this and, unfortunately, to this day, due to disputes over ownership, the building is in an abandoned state and continues to deteriorate.
But if you suddenly find yourself in Constanta, be sure to take a walk along the embankment, admire the seascape, feel the special mood of this place and I’m sure that you can easily imagine how luxurious carriages are rolling up to the snow-white portico of Casino Constanta, delivering a fashionable audience to the big game, you will feel an unobtrusive aroma of expensive perfumes, and from somewhere deep in the building a light breeze will bring you the sounds of a waltz...: )))
Translated automatically from Russian. View original
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