It was founded in 1811 by a few Gagauz families, originally being named "Ilanlîk". Its current name literally means "Old customs", named so after Southern Dobruja had been included in Romania in 1913. In 1940, however, that region was transferred to Bulgaria, and the village has since lain once again near the border, but the name stuck. Even in Communist Romania, Vama Veche had the reputation of a non-mainstream tourist 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. It became a hangout for intellectuals during the '70s when students and professors coming from the University Babeș-Bolyai of Cluj Napoca used to spend their summers here; Accommodations consisted of tents or rooms rented from peasants or fishermen. In the summer of 1988 the wife of dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu, discovered the village when heading to Bulgaria and decided to demolish it as it appeared to her poor and inesthetic. Some of the houses, a school and a church were distroyed, but thanks to the '89 Romanian Revolution, the village escaped from the complete demolition. Alison Mutler, , Associated Press, 21 August 2003. Originally on the site of Human Rights Watch. Archived on Internet Archive20 February 2006. 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, 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, punkers and goths.
