A trip to Alba County

Alba County attracts an important number of visitors every year mainly due to the beauty of its most important city, Alba Iulia.

Ștefan Baciu, 16.05.2019, 13:53

Alba County attracts an important number of visitors every year mainly due to the beauty of its most important city, Alba Iulia, which boasts many important and well preserved historical monuments. There are also many other attractions in the area such as caves and glaciers and a truly beautiful landscape.

Mihai Coser, a spokesman for Alba Iulia city hall, says that, once you visit Alba Iulia, you are sure to return: “Alba Iulia is a very choice for a holiday, for both tourists who want to relax and get some rest and for those who want to have fun. The city offers visitors the opportunity to travel back in time at least two thousand years, through the vestiges of three fortifications, from three different periods, built one after another on the same location, rendered more dynamic today by the vibrant life of the city. All these, part of the most beautiful and comprehensive story of historical reconstruction in an urban site of Alba Carolina citadel, the largest Vauban-type citadel in Eastern Europe. “

Once they enter the fortress, tourists discover places that seem to be part of another world, where each stone and each brick tells a story, and every stair and tunnel convinces them this is the other capital of Romania, the place where the country is in celebration every year, on December 1st.

Mihai Coser, spokesman for the Alba Iulia city hall tells us more: “We have several historical reenactment shows, daily tourist hotspots, held either in one of the bastions, or on the central street. Tourists then take walks on the Fortress Gates route. They start from Gate 1, heading for Gate 2 and so on until they reach Gate 7. Then, there is the Three Fortifications route offering tourists the chance to visit a protected area, as part of project between the city hall and a private company. In this area, elements of a Roman camp dating back to 106 and a part of the medieval fortress built between the 16th and 17th centuries, have been very well preserved. This is also the place where hundreds of foreign tourists come every day to see a show that is unique in Romania. The Changing of the Guard takes place daily at Gate 3. We now consider moving it towards the weekend and keep during work days a symbolic show held on the Three Fortifications route. “

There are many other things to see in the Alba Iulia fortress, such as its palaces. Mihai Coser: “The Episcopal Palace and the Apor Palace, are also worth visiting. The statue of Michael the Brave and the Batthynaeum Library are also popular attractions. The library bears the name of Ignatius Batthyany, an archbishop of Transylvania. It comprises around 8 thousand volumes and 50 thousand collection titles. A part of Codex Aureus can also be found here, with the other part being kept in a library in London. Then, there is the National Union Museum, the building that venued the meeting of December 1st 1910, where the creation of Romania, as we know we today, was decided. It is a 110-m area that can be visited either in two hours, by using specific tourist instruments or in two days, if visitors want to spend more time in Alba Iulia.”

From the city of Alba Iulia tourists can head to the Apuseni Mountains. Ampoiului Valley with a length of 20 km is located here, as well as five natural reserves, rocks, gorges and caves that can be visited. Mountain climbing can also be practiced here, with more and less difficult routes depending on the tourists’ preferences. The Rimetea village is also worth seeing, as many of its white houses, with beautiful gardens, have been turned into guest houses. In 1999, the European Union granted Rimetea the Europa Nostra award, under the rural restoration program with the same name.

Mihai Coser tells us what are the other tourist attractions of the area:

VM TRACK: “Alba County has two of the best golf courses in Romania. One of them is located in the Ciucut commune and the other in Pianu area, some 25 km away from Alba Iulia. (…) Let us not forget the tourists who love wine, as they can take the Wine Route and go to Jidvei and Cetatea de Alba that also boasts a famous castle. “

If we have convinced you to plan a trip to Alba County, you should know that Alba Iulia city hall jointly with the County Council will soon stage two important events:

VM TRACK: “The first one is Alba Fest, held between June 7 and 9, a city celebration that we have turned into a festival, dedicated mostly to the young people. The second event is the Music Celebration, unique in Romania, that will bring to Alba Iulia, on June 22 and 23, important names of the international music world, especially from the Francophone area. French artists will take the stage, as part of the Romania-France season this year. “