Vama Veche (historical names: ''Ilanlâk'', ''Ilanlâc'', ) is a village in Constanţa County,

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, on the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

coast, near the border with Bulgaria, at 28.57 E

longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east- west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek lett ...

, 43.75 N

latitude In geography, latitude is a geographic coordinate system, geographic coordinate that specifies the north-south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from −90° at t ...

. It is part of the commune of Limanu and in 2002, it had a population of 178.

Geography

Vama Veche administratively belongs to the commune Limanu. The town is located in Dobrogea, on the shore of the

, less than one

kilometer The kilometre ( SI symbol: km; or ), spelt kilometer in American and Philippine English, is a unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), equal to one thousand metres (kilo- being the SI prefix for ). It is the preferred mea ...

from the border with

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

History

It was founded in 1811 by a few Gagauz families, originally being named "Ilanlîk". Its current name literally means "Old border checkpoint", named so after

Southern Dobruja Southern Dobruja or South Dobruja ( or simply , ; or , ), also the Quadrilateral (), is an area of north-eastern Bulgaria comprising Dobrich and Silistra provinces, part of the historical region of Dobruja. It has an area of 7,412 square km an ...

(the Cadrilater) had been included in

in 1913. In 1940, however, that region was returned to Bulgaria, and the village has since lain once again near the border, but the name stuck. Even in

Communist Romania The Socialist Republic of Romania (, RSR) was a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist One-party state, one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989 (see Revolutions of 1989). From 1947 to 1965, the state was ...

, Vama Veche had the reputation of a non-mainstream

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity on ...

destination, which has only grown since the Romanian Revolution of 1989. During the communist era, concern for border patrol sight lines spared Vama Veche the development that occurred in other

Romanian Black Sea resorts The Romanian Black Sea resorts, or the Romanian Riviera, stretch along the Black Sea coast from the Danube Delta at the northern end down to the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast in the south, along 275 kilometers of coastline. The most important r ...

. It became a hangout for intellectuals; for reasons that are not exactly clear, the generally repressive regime of

Nicolae Ceauşescu Nicolae may refer to: * Nicolae (name), an Aromanian and Romanian name * ''Nicolae'' (novel), a 1997 novel See also *Nicolai (disambiguation) *Nicolao Nicolao is an Italian given name and a surname. It may refer to the following: Given name *Ni ...

chose to tolerate this

countercultural A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Ho ...

oasis, as long as people had their identity papers with them. Accommodations consisted of tents or rooms rented from peasants or fishermen. While camping is theoretically not permitted, to this day, many visitors or semi-permanent residents still stay in tents on the beach.

Recent developments

Famous for its

nude beach A nude beach, sometimes called a clothing-optional or free beach, is a beach where users are at liberty to be nude. Nude beaches usually have mixed bathing. Such beaches are usually on public lands, and any member of the public is allowed to us ...

, since the late 1990s Vama Veche has experienced development and gentrification, which has led to a "Save Vama Veche" campaign that is lobbying for the area's environmental conservation and a halt to development and mass tourism. Nudism is still common on the beach today, especially on the Northern part where the beach ends and the area is less crowded. A major part of the "Save Vama Veche" campaign is the 2003 founding of the Stufstock music festival. Both "Save Vama Veche" campaign and Stufstock Festival were initiated by the "Association for the Conservation of Bio-Cultural Protected Areas" NGO. The August 2003 festival drew a crowd of about 10,000. The 2004 edition drew about 20,000 people. The 2005 Stufstock drew a record 40,000-large crowd, formed mainly by rockers, bohemians,

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

ers and goths. In 2004, allegedly as a result of the campaign, legislation was enacted, limiting construction of new housing and roads or paving of existing roads. As of 2006, this seems to be enforced, with no visible new permanent structures being built within the preceding year. Given the fact that it was considered an outlaw's beach and a nice hippie place to spend your vacation, for many years it was considered an aquatic heaven But now, because the toxic waste is out of control, people tend to throw even old fridges and medical waste in the water. What is more, the DDT, a toxic pesticide that was used more than 15 years ago, is still present in the water. Thirty years ago, dolphins and sea horses were the main symbol of Vama Veche, but now, due to pollution they all are part of the endangered species. Also, in the 80's, there were 20 species of commercial used fish in that area of the Black Sea, while now, there still are 5-6. In the annual report from the National Institute for Marine Development- Grigore Antipa, is stipulated that, as we speak, in Vama Veche are 220 species with different grades of endangerment, while 23% are extinct due to human and toxic waste. Still, you can still go scuba diving if you want to see the last species standing. In 2012 it is still ideal for backpackers, the village provides numerous accommodation options including free camping on the beach.

Notes

Image gallery

File:Plaja Vama Veche.jpg, Vama Veche 2010 File:Vama Veche mare.JPG, Corsarul 2010 File:Pescari in Vama Veche.jpg, Fishermen in Vama Veche File:Barca pe plaja in Vama.JPG, Boat {{coord, 43, 45, N, 28, 34, E, display=title, region:RO_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki Seaside resorts in Romania Bulgaria–Romania border crossings Populated coastal places in Romania