Location&History
Exploratory Workshop |
Location.
Alba Iulia - the capital of Alba County - is a city in Western Transylvania, Romania.
For information about Alba Iulia, you can see
www.apulum.ro/
containing also a map of the city
and a map of the historical citadel of Alba Iulia.
An interactive of Alba Iulia is available online at
http://www.hartaalbaiulia.ro/.
History.
Alba Iulia is the capital city of Alba County, situated in the center of the country,
crossed by the E80 road and by the IV-th Pan-European Railroad Corridor.
With a present population of 66,400 people and a total administrative area of 10,000 ha,
it represents the natural intersection of roads which connected organically the surroundings,
rich in precious metals, salt and famous vineyards, which sustained its demographic, urban and economic growth.
Alba Iulia dates from ancient times - the archaeology proving the existence of a settlement dated back in 5000 B.C.,
as well as the importance of a Thracian, Dacian, later a Roman urban center) and part of its long history is still preserved
in the structure of the Vauban fortress nuclei, surrounded by the modern city.
Important moments marked its history: 1541 - the year when Alba-Iulia became the capital of the autonomous
Principality of Transylvania (until 1690), 1599, November the 1st - the triumphal entering of Michael the Brave,
who unified the historic principalities of Moldavia, Muntenia and Transylvania, Alba Iulia becoming the capital of the new state.
The downtown will be built starting in the XVIII-th Century, new craftsmen districts appearing around the new churches.
The new fortress was built between 1715 and 1738, its fortifications following the model of those built by Vauban at the frontiers of France.
Alba Iulia is also the city of the Great Union of Transylvania with Romania of 1918, on the 1st of December,
and the city of the crowning of King Ferdinand and Queen Mary in the Cathedral of Reunification of People.
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