Alba Iulia
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| Alba Iulia | |||
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| Coordinates: | |||
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| Country |  Romania |
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| County | Alba County | ||
| Status | County capital | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor | Mircea Hava (Democratic Party) | ||
| Area | |||
| - Total | 103.65 km² (40 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2002) | |||
| - Total | 66,369 | ||
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) | ||
| Website: http://www.apulum.ro/ | |||
Alba Iulia (Latin: Apulum, German: Karlsburg/Weißenburg, Hungarian: Gyulafehérvár, former Turkish: Erdel Belgradı) is a city in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania with a population of 66,369, located on the Mureş River. The city is historically important for both Romanians and Hungarians .
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[edit] History
The modern city is located near the site of the important Dacian political, economic and social centre named Apulon (believed by many archaeologists to be the Dacian fortifications on top of Piatra Craivii), mentioned by the ancient Greek geographer Ptolemy. After the southern part of Dacia became a province of the Roman Empire, the capital of the Dacia Apulensis district was established here, and the city was known as Apulum. [1] Apulum was one of the largest centers in Roman Dacia and the seat of the XIII Gemina Legion.
In the 9th century, the city was mentioned under the name of Belgrad / Belograd ("White Castle" in Slavic languages), the Hungarian Gestas mention a ruler named Geula/Gyula/Jula that had discovered the city and made it the capital of his dukedom during 10th century. Following the establishment of the Catholic Transylvanian episcopacy after Stephen I of Hungary adopted Catholicism, the first cathedral was built in the 11th century. The present (Catholic) cathedral was built in the 12th or 13th centuries. In 1442, John Hunyadi, Voivod of Transylvania, used the citadel to make his preparations for a major battle against the Ottoman Turks. The cathedral was enlarged during his reign and served as his place of entombment after his death.
As Gyulafehérvár, Alba Iulia became the capital of the Principality of Transylvania in 1541, a status it was to retain until 1690. The Treaty of Weissenburg was signed in the town in 1551. It was during the reign of Prince Gabriel Bethlen that the city reached a high point in its cultural history, with the establishment of an academy. Further important milestones in the city's development include the creation of the Batthyanaeum Library in the 18th century, and the arrival of the railway in the 19th century.
In November 1599, Michael the Brave, Voivode of Wallachia, entered Alba Iulia following his victory in the Battle of Şelimbăr and became Voivode of Transylvania. In 1600 Michael gained control of Moldavia, thereby uniting the three principalities under his rule until his murder in 1601 by Giorgio Basta's agents. Michael's achievement has historic significance for the Romanians, representing the first unification of the three Romanian-populated principalities of Wallachia, Moldavia, and Transylvania for 3 years.
In 1918, tens of thousands of Romanians (the exact number is disputed between Romanian and Hungarian historians) and representatives of the Transylvanian Saxons and other minorities of Transylvania, gathered in Alba Iulia on December 1, now commemorated as the National Day in the post-communist Romania, to hear the proclamation of the union of Transylvania with the Kingdom of Romania. In 1922, Ferdinand of Romania was symbolically crowned King of Romania in Alba Iulia in an act which mirrored the achievement of Michael the Brave.
György Jakubinyi was appointed archbishop of the archdiocese of Alba Iulia by Pope John Paul II on April 8, 1994.
In September 2007 a meeting of AREV took place in Alba Iulia, in order to comment and refuse the EU Commissions reform project on Wine COM. The current COM is failing to achieve its aim of controlling surpluses, causing structural problems in the European wine market. [2]
[edit] Sights
The main historical area of Alba Iulia is the upper city, developed extensively by Charles VI of the Holy Roman Empire. The Habsburgs renamed the city Karlsburg in honor of Charles. The upper city's fortress with seven bastions, in a stelar shape, was constructed between 1716–1735 by Giovanni Morando Visconti, using the Vauban system—the largest of this kind in South-eastern Europe. Inside the fortress is the Gothic Catholic cathedral (the most representative building for the Medieval Gothic style in Transylvania), and the Batthyaneum, a library of rare manuscripts founded in 1794. The tomb of John Hunyadi is located in the cathedral, as is that of the Polish-born Isabella Jagiełło, Queen of Hungary.
[edit] Notable residents
- János Apáczai Csere, philosopher, writer
- Michael II Apafi, prince of Transylvania
- Isabella Jagiełło, Queen of Hungary
- John II Sigismund Zápolya, prince of Transylvania
- Christopher Báthory, prince of Transylvania
- Gabriel Bethlen, prince of Transylvania
- George I Rákóczi, prince of Transylvania
- Áron Márton, bishop of the Romanian Roman-Catholic Church
[edit] Sister cities
- Arnsberg, Germany
- Székesfehérvár, Hungary
- Aeghio, Greece
- Alcalá de Henares, Spain
- Sliven, Bulgaria
- Duzce, Turkey
- San Benedetto del Tronto, Italy
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- (English) Official site
- (Romanian) Alba Iulia photo gallery
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