Today you are invited to join us in the
\nnorthwest of Romania, in Bihor County. We start in the city of Oradea, which
\nhas a surprising architecture. It lies only 20 km away from the border with Hungary,
\nat a distance relatively equal from Vienna, Prague and Bucharest. It is a city
\nof narrow, medieval streets, and is the perfect romantic destination. The
\nbuildings, while not impressive in size or opulence, are nevertheless beautiful
\nand charming. <\/p>\n
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Dumitru Nanes is a historian, and he told us
\nthat for several centuries, Oradea has been the most important trade and
\ncultural centre in the area. In the Middle Ages, the city had an astronomical
\nobservatory, and astronomers there used Oradea’s meridian as their zero
\nmeridian: <\/p>\n
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This is the monument that is representative
\nfor Oradea, for the city’s historical development, as well as for the county’s.
\nA significant part of the city’s history gravitated around this ensemble, both
\nin the early centuries, around the 11th century, and in the 16th
\ncentury, when it was a spiritual and religious centre. Then it became the
\nRenaissance cultural centre, also acting as an important military centre, with
\nits fortress.<\/p>\n
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The architectural jewel of Oradea is the Moon
\nChurch built in 1784. The Cathedral of the Dormition, fondly nicknamed the Moon
\nChurch by the locals, has a steeple rising 55 meters above ground. Beneath the
\ntower’s clock there is a sphere, 3 meters in diameter. It is painted half black
\nand half gold, representing the moon. It has a mechanism unique in Europe,
\nwhich replicates the Moon’s rotation around the Earth, representing all the
\nphases of the Moon. Going around the centre of the town you can admire the
\nbeautiful buildings housing the State Theatre and the Philharmonic Orchestra.
\nIn the evening, performances are held here, continuing a long tradition. Music
\nis universal, while theatre shows are in both Romanian and Hungarian. Adrian
\nDubere, the head of the National Tourist Information and Promotion Centre of
\nBihor, told us about the possibilities for tourism and the reasons for which
\ntourists should definitely make this a major destination: <\/p>\n
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Tourists should come here first and foremost
\nfor the thermal baths, as well as for the historical buildings, which have been
\nrestored. Oradea has undergone an architectural rebirth. Visitors have plenty
\nto see: the Art Nouveau architecture and its churches, which are testimony to
\nits multiculturality. It has the biggest Roman Catholic cathedral in southeast
\nEurope, outside of Hungary. You can also see the former Cris Museum, a
\nbeautiful Baroque mansion. The Moon Church in Oradea mimics the phases of the
\nMoon with a very old clockwork system, still functional. We also have great
\ndestinations around the county, such as Vartop holiday village, Stana de Vale,
\nas well as the Karst highland in Padis. We also have plenty of old wooden
\nchurches.<\/p>\n
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We continue our trip in the mountain area of
\nBihor county. Speleologist Viorel Lascu is also an entrepreneur, who started
\nrestoring very old houses in the Padurea Craiului Mountains. It is a project
\naiming at starting a rebirth of Romanian villages: <\/p>\n
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Around the 1980s, I was exploring the Padurea Craiului
\narea, around the village of Rosia. Some of the caves there are known as
\nprehistoric dwellings, with some of the oldest traces of human habitation in
\nRomania. In addition to the impressive scenery, we were impressed by the
\ncenturies-old houses with thatched roofs, with roof beams and clay hearths. We
\nrenovated based on experience gained with house renovation in Alsace, in
\nFrance. We started with the first house, which was the same way it had been
\nwhen it was built 200 years ago, flanked by two cherry trees which are probably
\nolder than the house itself. We restored the houses to their original
\nappearance, with the old type of furniture, with their simplicity of
\natmosphere, adapting them to modern needs with minimal intrusion upon the
\nenvironment, fitting them with running water, a heating system, and cooking
\nfacilities.<\/p>\n
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Since the winter holidays are almost upon us,
\ndon’t hesitate to get in touch with your travel agent and look up tourism
\noffers for Bihor County around the holidays. In the rural area the holiday
\ntraditions are exceptional, and not to be missed. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Today you are invited to join us in the northwest of Romania, in Bihor County.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":128,"featured_media":149057,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43423],"tags":[44113],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-149056","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travellers-guide","tag-bihor"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n