Czech photographer captures beautiful, derelict Romanian casino

The Czech photographer Jakub Kynčl has published a series of photographs of the Constanta Casino, at the Romanian seaside. The casino was built in 1910. It was designed by Swiss Romanian architect Daniel Renard in the Art Nouveau style. The beautiful building is in a derelict state and in need of renovation. A third attempt to consolidate the building was blocked last year after the tender was contested by one of the bidders. At the beginning of this year, the building was included in on the list of the 12 European heritage sites shortlisted for the 2018 edition of the 7 Most Endangered program. The photographer had learned from the casino a few years ago, and also knew about it from his mother, who had vacationed in the Romanian seaside city of Constanta. “This building’s history was so incredible that I decided to go during January to underline the feeling of abandonment,” Kynčl told The Independent, which featured his work. The series on the Constanta Casino can be seen here. Kynčl is travel editor of Czech news site Novinky.cz. He contributes regularly to the Travel Digest magazine. More about him here. Constanta residents can decide how the rehabilitation of the city’s casino is done editor@romania-insider.com