Alba Iulia (; german: Karlsburg or ''Carlsburg'', formerly ''Weißenburg''; hu, Gyulafehérvár; la,
Apulum) is a city that serves as the seat of
Alba County in the west-central part of
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
. Located on the
Mureș River Mureș may refer to:
* Mureș County, Romania
* Mureș (river) in Romania and Hungary (''Maros'')
* Mureș culture, a Bronze Age culture from Romania
See also
* Târgu Mureș, the capital of Mureș County
* Ocna Mureș
Ocna Mureș (; la, Sali ...
in the historical region of
Transylvania
Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...
, it has a population of 63,536 ().
During ancient times, the site was the location of the Roman camp
Apulum. Since the
High Middle Ages
The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1300. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended around AD 150 ...
, the city has been the seat of Transylvania's
Roman Catholic diocese
As of October 5, 2021, the Catholic Church in its entirety comprises 3,171 ecclesiastical jurisdictions, including over 652 archdioceses and 2,248 dioceses, as well as apostolic vicariates, apostolic exarchates, apostolic administrations, ap ...
. Between 1542 and 1690 it was the capital of the principality of
Transylvania
Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...
.
At one point it also was a center of the Eastern Orthodox Metropolitan of Transylvania with
suffragan to
Vad diocese.
[Maksym Mayorov. ]
Metropolitan of Kiev and other Eastern Orthodox Churches before 1686 (Київська митрополія та інші православні церкви перед 1686 роком )
Likbez. 16 December 2018 On 1 December 1918, the
Union of Transylvania with Romania
The union of Transylvania with Romania was declared on by the assembly of the delegates of ethnic Romanians held in Alba Iulia. The Great Union Day (also called ''Unification Day''), celebrated on 1 December, is a national holiday in Roman ...
was declared in Alba Iulia, and the Romania's
King Ferdinand I
Ferdinand I ( es, Fernando I; 10 March 1503 – 25 July 1564) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1556, King of Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia from 1526, and Archduke of Austria from 1521 until his death in 1564.Milan Kruhek: Cetin, grad izbornog sabo ...
and
Queen Marie were crowned in the
Alba Iulia Orthodox Cathedral, in 1922.
[
Alba Iulia is historically important for ]Romanians
The Romanians ( ro, români, ; dated exonym '' Vlachs'') are a Romance-speaking ethnic group. Sharing a common Romanian culture and ancestry, and speaking the Romanian language, they live primarily in Romania and Moldova. The 2011 Roman ...
, Hungarians
Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Urali ...
, and Transylvanian Saxons
The Transylvanian Saxons (german: Siebenbürger Sachsen; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjer Såksen''; ro, Sași ardeleni, sași transilvăneni/transilvani; hu, Erdélyi szászok) are a people of German ethnicity who settled in Transylvania ( ...
. In December 2018, Alba Iulia was officially declared ''Capital of the Great Union of Romania''.
The city administers four villages: Bărăbanț (''Borbánd''), Micești (''Ompolykisfalud''), Oarda (''Alsóváradja''), and Pâclișa (''Poklos'').
Names
During the Roman period the settlement was called Apulum (from the Dacian ''Apoulon'', mentioned by Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importance ...
).[ When the settlement upon Roman ruins became the seat of a dukedom in the 10th century, the population may have been Slavic. From the 9th to the 11th century the settlement bore the Slavic name ''Bălgrad'' (meaning "white castle" or "white town").][Adrian Room, ]
Placenames of the World: Origins And Meanings of the Names for 6,600 Countries, Cities, Territories, Natural Features and Historic Sites
', McFarland, 2006, p. 23 The old Romanian name of the town was ''Bălgrad'',[ originated from Slavic.
The Hungarian name ''Gyulafehérvár'' is a translation of the earlier Slavic form,][ meaning "white castle of the Gyula" or "white city of Julius".][ The current name, ''Alba Iulia'', is a Romanian language translation of this. ''Alba'', the Romanian feminine form of the word for ''White'', and ''Iulia'' ("Julius") referring to Gyula, a mid-tenth-century Hungarian warlord who was baptized in Constantinople.][Patrick Leigh Fermor, Between the woods and the water: on foot to Constantipole from the Hook of Holland : the middle Danube to the Iron Gates, Viking, 1986, p. 138, , Citations: "The Dacian Apulon became the Latin Apulum, and the place was full of traces of the old Roman colony. But both of these words were silenced when the hushed and muffling spread of the Slavs stifled the old names of Eastern Europe forever. They renamed it ''Bălgrad'' - the white town (one of many) - perhaps because of its pale walls and this white motif caught on. The Saxons called it Weissenburg and later Karlsburg, in honour of Emperor Charles VI, who built the great eighteenth-century fortress here. The Hungarians had already adopted the notion of whiteness, but another crept in too: the word 'Julius', after a mid-tenth-century (Hungarian?) prince who had visited Constantinople and been baptised there. In Hungarian, Gyulafehérvár, means "white city of Gyula". The Rumanians stuck to Bălgrad, then adopted the medieval Latin name of Alba Iulia."][
Among ]Ruthenians
Ruthenian and Ruthene are exonyms of Latin language, Latin origin, formerly used in Eastern and Central Europe as common ethnonyms for East Slavs, particularly during the late medieval and early modern periods. The Latin term Rutheni was used in ...
, the city was known as ''Bilhorod'' ("white city").[
The city's Latin name in the 10th century was ''Civitatem Albam in Ereel''.][Ferenc Léstyán]
MEGSZENTELT KÖVEK A KÖZÉPKORI ERDÉLYI PÜSPÖKSÉG TEMPLOMAI
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Alba Iulia, 2000, The first part of the name ''Alba'' denotes the ruins of the Roman fort ''Apulum'' (the pre-feudal white citadel).[ Later in the Middle Ages, different names occurred as ''Frank episcopus Belleggradienesis'' in 1071, ''Albae Civitatis'' in 1134, ''Belegrada'' in 1153, ''Albensis Ultrasilvanus'' in 1177, ''eccl. Micahelis'' in 1199, ''Albe Transilvane'' in 1200, ''Albe Transsilvane'' in 1201, ''castrum Albens'' in 1206, ''canonicis Albensibus'' in 1213, ''Albensis eccl. Transsylvane'' in 1219, ''B. Michaelis arch. Transsilv.'' in 1231, ''Alba... Civitas'' in 1242, ''Alba sedes eptus'' in 1245, ''Alba Jula'' in 1291, ''Feyrvar'' in 1572, ''Feyérvár'' in 1574, ''Weissenburg'' in 1576, Belugrad in 1579, ''Gyula Feyervár'' in 1619, ''Gyula Fehérvár'' in 1690, and ''Karlsburg'' in 1715.][
Under the influence of the Hungarian Gyulafehérvár, the town's Latin name eventually became ''Alba Julia'' or ''Alba Yulia''.][ Its modern name ''Alba Iulia'' is an adoption of the town's medieval Latin name.][ It started to spread in Romanian common speech in the 18th century. The modern name has been officially used since the town became part of Romania.
The sixteenth-century German name was ''Weyssenburg''.][ The Saxons later renamed the town to ''Karlsburg'' (Carlsburg) in honor of Charles VI (1685–1740).][ In Yiddish and Hebrew ''Karlsburg'' was prevalent; in Ladino sources ''Carlosburg''.][ ''Alba Carolina'' was also a ]medieval Latin
Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. In this region it served as the primary written language, though local languages were also written to varying degrees. Latin functione ...
form of its name.[
]
History
Ancient times
The modern city is located near the site of the important Dacia
Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It ...
n political, economic and social centre of '' Apulon'', which was mentioned by the ancient Greek geographer Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importance ...
and believed by some archaeologists to be the Dacian fortifications on top of Piatra Craivii. After Dacia became a province of the Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...
, the capital of Dacia Apulensis
Roman Dacia ( ; also known as Dacia Traiana, ; or Dacia Felix, 'Fertile/Happy Dacia') was a province of the Roman Empire from 106 to 271–275 AD. Its territory consisted of what are now the regions of Oltenia, Transylvania and Banat (today ...
was established here, and the city was known as ''Apulum''. Apulum was the largest city in Roman Dacia and was the seat of the XIII Gemina Legion
Legion may refer to:
Military
* Roman legion, the basic military unit of the ancient Roman army
* Spanish Legion, an elite military unit within the Spanish Army
* Legion of the United States, a reorganization of the United States Army from 179 ...
. Apulum is the largest castrum
In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a po ...
located in Romania, occupying (750 x 500 m2).
Middle Ages
The ''Gesta Hungarorum
''Gesta Hungarorum'', or ''The Deeds of the Hungarians'', is the earliest book about Hungarian history which has survived for posterity. Its genre is not chronicle, but ''gesta'', meaning "deeds" or "acts", which is a medieval entertaining li ...
'' mentions a Hungarian regent named Jula or Geulathe maternal grandfather of Stephen I of Hungary
Stephen I, also known as King Saint Stephen ( hu, Szent István király ; la, Sanctus Stephanus; sk, Štefan I. or Štefan Veľký; 975 – 15 August 1038), was the last Grand Prince of the Hungarians between 997 and 1000 or 1001, and the ...
and lord egentof Transylvaniawho built the capital of his dukedom there during the 10th century. Geula
Geula ( he, גאולה lit. ''Redemption'') is a neighborhood in the center of Jerusalem, populated mainly by Haredi Jews. Geula is bordered by Zikhron Moshe and Mekor Baruch on the west, the Bukharim neighborhood on the north, Mea Shearim on ...
was baptized in the Byzantine Empire and built around 950 in Alba Iulia the first church of Transylvania. The ruins of a church were discovered in 2011. According to Ioan Aurel Pop and other historians, here lived Hierotheos the first bishop of Transylvania, who accompanied Geula back to Hungary after Geula had been baptized in Constantinople around 950.
After Stephen I adopted Catholicism, and the establishment of the Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
Transylvanian bishopric, recent archaeological discoveries suggest that the first cathedral was built in the 11th century or possibly before. The present Catholic cathedral was built in the 12th or 13th century. In 1442, John Hunyadi
John Hunyadi (, , , ; 1406 – 11 August 1456) was a leading Hungarian military and political figure in Central and Southeastern Europe during the 15th century. According to most contemporary sources, he was the member of a noble family of ...
, Voivode of Transylvania
The Voivode of Transylvania (german: Vojwode von Siebenbürgen;Fallenbüchl 1988, p. 77. hu, erdélyi vajda;Zsoldos 2011, p. 36. la, voivoda Transsylvaniae; ro, voievodul Transilvaniei) was the highest-ranking official in Transylvania wit ...
, used the citadel to prepare for a major battle against the Ottoman Turks. The cathedral was enlarged during his reign and he was entombed there after his death.
Ottoman and Habsburg period
In 1542 — after the partition of the Kingdom of Hungary — Alba Iulia became the capital of Transylvania and some of its neighboring territories to the west (later known as Partium
Partium (from Latin '' partium'', the genitive of ''pars'' "part, portion") or ''Részek'' (in Hungarian) was a historical and geographical region in the Kingdom of Hungary during the early modern and modern periods. It consisted of the eastern a ...
), the autonomous Principality of Transylvania, and remained so until 1690. The Treaty of Weissenburg was signed in the town in 1551. During the reign of Prince Gábor Bethlen
Gabriel Bethlen ( hu, Bethlen Gábor; 15 November 1580 – 15 November 1629) was Prince of Transylvania from 1613 to 1629 and Duke of Opole from 1622 to 1625. He was also King-elect of Hungary from 1620 to 1621, but he never took control of ...
, the city reached a high point in its cultural history with the establishment of an academy. The former Ottoman Turkish equivalent was ''Erdel Belgradı'' or ''Belgrad-ı Erdel'' ("Belgrade of Transylvania" in English) where Erdel ( Erdély) was added to prevent confusion with Belgrat and Arnavut Belgradı ("Albanian Belgrade" in Turkish, early name of Berat during Ottoman rule).
In 29 November 1599, Michael the Brave
Michael the Brave ( ro, Mihai Viteazul or ; 1558 – 9 August 1601), born as Mihai Pătrașcu, was the Prince of Wallachia (as Michael II, 1593 – 1601), Prince of Moldavia (1600) and ''de facto'' ruler of Transylvania (1599 – 1600). ...
, Voivode of Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...
, entered Alba Iulia following his victory in the Battle of Șelimbăr
The Battle of Șelimbăr, or Battle of Sellenberk (; ), took place on 18 October 1599 between the Romanian army of Michael the Brave () and the Transylvanian-Kingdom of Hungary, Hungarian army of Andrew Báthory (). The battle was fought near t ...
and became Voivode of Transylvania. In 1600 he gained control of Moldavia
Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and for ...
, uniting the principalities of Wallachia, Moldavia and Transylvania under his rule, which lasted for a year and a half until he was murdered in 1601, by General Giorgio Basta
Giorgio Basta, Count of Huszt, Gjergj Basta or Gheorghe Basta (1550 – 1607) was an Italian general, diplomat, and writer of Arbëreshë origin, employed by the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II to command Habsburg forces in the Long War of 1591– ...
's agents.
Alba Iulia became part of the Habsburg Monarchy in 1690. The fortress ''Alba Carolina'', designed by architect Giovanni Morando Visconti, was built between 1716 and 1735, at the behest of Emperor Charles VI of Habsburg. The leaders of the Transylvanian peasant rebellion were executed in Alba Iulia in January 1785. Important milestones in the city's development include the creation of the Batthyaneum Library in 1780 and the arrival of the railway in the 19th century.
File:Alba Iulia, Salva tun.jpg, The Austrian Guard of the Citadel
File:AlbaIulia1556.jpg, Alba Iulia on a 1556 map
File:Alba Iulia - Muzeul Unirii.jpg, The Union Museum
20th and 21st centuries
At the end of World War I, representatives of the Romanian population of Transylvania, the National Assembly of Romanians of Transylvania and Hungary, gathered in Alba Iulia on 1 December 1918 to proclaim the Union of Transylvania with the Kingdom of Romania
The Kingdom of Romania ( ro, Regatul României) was a constitutional monarchy that existed in Romania from 13 March ( O.S.) / 25 March 1881 with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian ...
. The representatives of the Transylvanian Saxons
The Transylvanian Saxons (german: Siebenbürger Sachsen; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjer Såksen''; ro, Sași ardeleni, sași transilvăneni/transilvani; hu, Erdélyi szászok) are a people of German ethnicity who settled in Transylvania ( ...
decided to join this declaration on 8 January 1919.
In 1922, Ferdinand I of Romania
Ferdinand (Ferdinand Viktor Albert Meinrad; 24 August 1865 – 20 July 1927), nicknamed ''Întregitorul'' ("the Unifier"), was King of Romania from 1914 until his death in 1927. Ferdinand was the second son of Leopold, Prince of Hohenzollern and ...
was symbolically crowned King of Romania
The King of Romania (Romanian: ''Regele României'') or King of the Romanians (Romanian: ''Regele Românilor''), was the title of the monarch of the Kingdom of Romania from 1881 until 1947, when the Romanian Workers' Party proclaimed the Romani ...
in Alba Iulia. In October 2012, at the 90th anniversary of King Ferdinand's coronation, his great-granddaughter Princess Margarita of Romania visited Alba Iulia to commemorate the event.
Jewish history
The Jewish community, which was the first in Transylvania, was established in the mid-16th century. In the 17th century, a Sephardic community was founded. The 18th century saw an influx of Ashkenazim
Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...
from Hungary and Wallachia, as well as Sephardim. From 1754 to 1868, the town rabbi was the chief rabbi of Transylvania. A synagogue was built in 1840, with a Sephardic one following in 1874. Most local Jews in the 19th century worked in viticulture and bought land for growing vines; in the 20th century, they were mainly artisans. By 1930, the 1558 Jews of Alba Iulia represented nearly 13% of the town's population.[
In October 1940, during the ]National Legionary State
The National Legionary State was a totalitarian fascist regime which governed Romania for five months, from 14 September 1940 until its official dissolution on 14 February 1941. The regime was led by General Ion Antonescu in partnership with the ...
, the Iron Guard terrorized local Jews. The following year, the Ion Antonescu regime confiscated Jewish property and sent the men to forced labor. After World War II, the community was re-established but soon dwindled as Jews emigrated.[Shmuel Spector, Geoffrey Wigoder (eds.), ''The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life Before and During the Holocaust: A—J'', p. 25. ]New York University Press
New York University Press (or NYU Press) is a university press that is part of New York University.
History
NYU Press was founded in 1916 by the then chancellor of NYU, Elmer Ellsworth Brown.
Directors
* Arthur Huntington Nason, 1916–1 ...
, 2001,
Climate
Alba Iulia has a humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...
(''Cfb'' in the Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
).
Landmarks
The main historical area of Alba Iulia is the Upper Town region, developed by Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor in honour of whom the Habsburgs renamed the city Karlsburg. The fortress, with seven bastions in a stellar shape, was constructed between 1716 and 1735 by two Swiss fortification architects. The first was Giovanni Morandi Visconti, who built two old Italian-style bastions. The second was Nicolaus Doxat de Demoretnicknamed "Austrian Vauban". After 1720, the two architects radically transformed the medieval fortress shaped by the former Roman castrum into a seven-bastion baroque fortress, developing Menno van Coehorn's new Dutch system, of which the fortress of Alba Iulia is the best preserved example.
Inside the fortress are The Union Hall with the National Honour Gallery, The National History Museum of Unification, the Princely Palace (Voivodal Palace), the Orthodox cathedral, the Roman Catholic cathedral, the Batthyaneum Library, the Roman Catholic bishop's palace, the Apor Palace, and the University of Alba Iulia. Built in the 10th and 11th centuries, the Roman Catholic cathedral is the most representative building in the medieval Romanic style in Transylvania, and is considered to be an important monument of early Transylvanian medieval architecture. The tombs of John Hunyadi and Isabella Jagiełło
Isabella Jagiellon ( hu, Izabella királyné, links=no; pl, Izabela Jagiellonka, links=no; 18 January 1519 – 15 September 1559) was the Queen consort of Hungary. She was the oldest child of Polish King Sigismund I the Old, the Grand Duke of L ...
Queen of Hungary are located there.
The Batthyaneum Library is held in a former church built in Baroque style. In 1780, Ignác Batthyány
Ignác Batthyány (born 30 June 1741, Németújvár (present-day Güssing), Kingdom of Hungary; died 17 November 1798, Gyulafehérvár (present-day Alba Iulia), Principality of Transylvania) was a Roman Catholic Bishop of Transylvania.
He was l ...
, bishop of Transylvania, adapted the inside of the building for use as a library. It is famous for its series of manuscripts, incunabula and rare bookssuch as half of the 9th century Codex Aureus of Lorsch
The ''Codex Aureus of Lorsch'' or Lorsch Gospels (Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Pal. lat. 50, and Alba Iulia, Biblioteca Documenta Batthyaneum, s.n.) is an illuminated Gospel Book written in Latin between 778 and 820, roughly coinciding with t ...
, the 15th century Codex Burgundus and the 13th century Biblia Sacra
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacredness, sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of ...
(13th century). The first astronomical observatory in Transylvania was founded here in 1792. The Apor Palace, situated on the same street as the Bathyaneum Library, belonged to Prince Apor and was built in the second half of the 17th century. At the beginning of the 18th century it was the residence of the Austrian army leader Prince Steinville. The palace was renovated in 2007 under the supervision of the Romanian Ministry of Culture.
The Orthodox Unification Cathedral was built between 1921 and 1923, following the plans of architect D.G. Ștefănescu and built under the supervision of eng. T. Eremia. The frescoes were painted by Constantin in a traditional iconographic style. The first monarchs of the Unified Romania, King Ferdinand I and Queen Marie were crowned in the cathedral on 15 October 1922.
The National Museum of Unification in Alba Iulia is located in the "Babylon" Building. It was built between 1851 and 1853 for military purposes and became a museum in 1887. The museum exhibits over 130,000 pieces of artworks, organized chronologically. The Unification Hall, also part of the National History Museum, retains historical significance from having hosted, on 1 December 1918, the rally of the 1228 Romanian delegations from Transylvania who determined the province's union with the Kingdom of Romania. The building was used in 1895 as a military casino.
The Princely Palace (Palatul Principilor or Palatul Voievodal) was Michael the Brave's residence during the first political unification of the Romanians in 1600. Foreign chronicles pictured it as an extremely luxurious building, richly adorned with frescos and marble stairs, which later deteriorated. During the rule of Princes Gábor Bethlen
Gabriel Bethlen ( hu, Bethlen Gábor; 15 November 1580 – 15 November 1629) was Prince of Transylvania from 1613 to 1629 and Duke of Opole from 1622 to 1625. He was also King-elect of Hungary from 1620 to 1621, but he never took control of ...
and George II Rákóczi
en, George II Rákóczi, house=Rákóczi, father=, mother= Zsuzsanna Lorántffy, religion=CalvinismGeorge II Rákóczi (30 January 1621 – 7 June 1660), was a Hungarian nobleman, Prince of Transylvania (1648-1660), the eldest son of George I ...
the second palace was restored, but not to its previous condition. After 1716, the building was used as an Habsburg Imperial Army barracks.
Natives
* Francis I Rákóczi
Francis I Rákóczi (February 24, 1645, Gyulafehérvár, Transylvania – July 8, 1676, Zboró, Royal Hungary) was a Hungarian aristocrat, elected prince of Transylvania and father of Hungarian national hero Francis Rákóczi II.
Francis R ...
(1645–1676), elected prince of Transylvania
* Michael II Apafi (1676–1713), Prince of Transylvania 1690 to 1699
* Ernst Michael Mangel (1800–1887), musician and Philhellene
Philhellenism ("the love of Greek culture") was an intellectual movement prominent mostly at the turn of the 19th century. It contributed to the sentiments that led Europeans such as Lord Byron and Charles Nicolas Fabvier to advocate for Greek i ...
* Rudolf Züllich (1813–1890), sculptor
* Alexandru Borza (1887–1971), botanist and monk
* Ernest Krausz
Ernest (Kopul) Krausz (ארנסט קראוס; August 13, 1931 - December 10, 2018) was an Israeli professor of sociology who served as rector and Acting President of Bar Ilan University. He also taught at Netanya Academic College.
Biography
Ernes ...
(1931–2018), Israeli professor of sociology and President at Bar Ilan University
Bar-Ilan University (BIU, he, אוניברסיטת בר-אילן, ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academic i ...
* Dan Eugen Demco (1942–), physicist and member of the Romanian Academy
The Romanian Academy ( ro, Academia Română ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life.
According to its byl ...
* Ion Mărgineanu (1949–), writer and poet
* Marius Moga
Marius Moga () is a Romanian singer, songwriter, producer and television personality. He writes and produces music in various styles and genres, especially pop, R&B and club music. In 2011, he became the judge and mentor of the reality singing sho ...
(1981–), producer, composer, and singer
Other notable residents
* Johann Heinrich Alsted
Johann Heinrich Alsted (March 1588 – November 9, 1638), "the true parent of all the Encyclopædias", s:Budget of Paradoxes/O. was a German-born Transylvanian Saxon Calvinist minister and academic, known for his varied interests: in Ramism and ...
(1588–1638), German Calvinist minister and academic. Spent his last years and died there.
* David Friesenhausen David ben Meir Cohen Friesenhausen (1756–1828) was a German-Hungarian astronomer, ''maskil'', mathematician, and rabbi. Friesenhausen was one of the first proponents of ''Torah im Derech Eretz'', a philosophy of Orthodox Judaism that formalizes a ...
(1756–1828), Jewish writer, mathematician, and rabbi. Retired and died there.
Twin towns – sister cities
Alba Iulia is twinned with:
* Aigio
Aigio, also written as ''Aeghion, Aegion, Aegio, Egio'' ( el, Αίγιο, Aígio, ; la, Aegium), is a town and a former municipality in Achaea, West Greece, on the Peloponnese. Since the 2011 local government reform, it is part of the municipal ...
, Greece
* Alcalá de Henares, Spain
* Alessandria, Italy
* Arnsberg
Arnsberg (; wep, Arensperg) is a town in the Hochsauerland county, in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the location of the Regierungsbezirk Arnsberg administration and one of the three local administration offices of the Hoch ...
, Germany
* Biograd na Moru
Biograd na Moru (), shortened to simply Biograd (), is a town in northern Dalmatia, Croatia and is significant for being another capital of the medieval Kingdom of Croatia. Biograd is administratively part of the Zadar County. It is located on th ...
, Croatia
* Cetinje, Montenegro
* Chișinău, Moldova
* Düzce
Düzce is the capital city of Düzce Province, the eighty-first Province in Turkey. The population is 367,087 and in 2009 was 125,240, an increase from 61,878 in 1990.
Overview
Düzce is the eighty-first and the newest province of Turkey ...
, Turkey
* Lanzhou, China
* Nof HaGalil
Nof HaGalil ( he, נוֹף הַגָּלִיל, lit. ''View of Galilee''; ar, نوف هچليل) is a city in the Northern District of Israel with a population of .
Nof HaGalil was founded in 1957 as Nazareth Illit ( he, נָצְרַת עִלִ ...
, Israel
* Sliven
Sliven ( bg, Сливен ) is the eighth-largest city in Bulgaria and the administrative and industrial centre of Sliven Province and municipality in Northern Thrace.
Sliven is famous for its heroic Haiduts who fought against the Ottoman Turk ...
, Bulgaria
* Székesfehérvár, Hungary
* Varese
Varese ( , , or ; lmo, label= Varesino, Varés ; la, Baretium; archaic german: Väris) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 has reached 80,559.
It is the c ...
, Italy
* Viadana Viadana may refer to:
Surname
* Lodovico Grossi da Viadana (c. 1560 – 1627), Italian composer, teacher, and Franciscan friar
* Gilberto Viadana (born 1973), Italian figure skater
Other
* Viadana, Lombardy, a town in the province of Mantua, Lom ...
, Italy
Demographics
According to the 2011 census, there was a total population of 63,536 people living in this town. Of these, 95.3% were ethnic Romanians, 3.2% Romani, 1.9% Hungarians
Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Urali ...
, and 0.2% Germans
, native_name_lang = de
, region1 =
, pop1 = 72,650,269
, region2 =
, pop2 = 534,000
, region3 =
, pop3 = 157,000
3,322,405
, region4 =
, pop4 = ...
(more specifically Transylvanian Saxons
The Transylvanian Saxons (german: Siebenbürger Sachsen; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjer Såksen''; ro, Sași ardeleni, sași transilvăneni/transilvani; hu, Erdélyi szászok) are a people of German ethnicity who settled in Transylvania ( ...
).[
In 1850, Alba Iulia had 5,408 inhabitants, 2,530 of them being Romanians (46.78%), 1,009 Hungarians (18.67%), 748 Germans/Transylvanian Saxons (13.83%), and 1,121 (20.73%) others.
In 1891, the city had 8,167 residents, of which 3,482 were Hungarians (42.63%), 3,426 Romanians (41.94%), and 867 Germans/Transylvanian Saxons (10.62%). By 1910 the number of inhabitants increased to 11,616. 5,226 of them were Hungarians (45%), 5,170 Romanians (44.51%), and 792 Germans/Transylvanian Saxons (6.82%). At the 1930 census, 34.7% of the population were Romanian Orthodox, 28.1% Romanian Greek Catholic, 12.9% Roman Catholic, 12.7% Jews, 7.3% Reformed Protestant, 3.1% Lutheran.][ Recensământul general al populaţiei României din 29 Decemvrie 1930, vol. II, p. 522.]
Panoramas
Image gallery
File:Alba Iulia, Muzeul Unirii.jpg, Unirii Museum
File:Alba Iulia, Obeliscul lui Horea, Cloșca și Crișan.jpg, Horea, Cloșca & Crișan Obelisk
File:Alba Iulia, Poarta I (exterior, zi).jpg, Gate I
File:Alba Iulia, Poarta III.jpg, Gate III
File:Alba Iulia, Sala Unirii.jpg, Unirii Hall, view from Custozza Park
File:Alba Iulia, Salva tun.jpg, Cannon fire by the citadel's Austrian guard
File:Cetatea Alba Iulia 14.JPG, Michael the Brave Statue
File:Parcul Unirii - panoramio.jpg, Piața Unirii (Union Square)
Citations
Secondary sources
* Makkai, László (2001). "Transylvania in the medieval Hungarian kingdom (896–1526)", In: Béla Köpeczi, ''Historyof Transylvania Volume I: From the Beginnings to 1606'', Columbia University Press, New York, 2001,
External links
Official site
Alba Iulia photo gallery
{{Authority control
Populated places in Alba County
Cities in Romania
Fortified settlements
Roman sites in Romania
Roman towns and cities in Romania
Localities in Transylvania
Former capitals of Hungary
Capitals of Romanian counties
Capitals of the Principality of Transylvania
Roman legionary fortresses in Romania