Tourist attractions in Bihor County

Daniel Onea, 09.11.2017, 13:12

Today you are invited to join us in the
northwest of Romania, in Bihor County. We start in the city of Oradea, which
has a surprising architecture. It lies only 20 km away from the border with Hungary,
at a distance relatively equal from Vienna, Prague and Bucharest. It is a city
of narrow, medieval streets, and is the perfect romantic destination. The
buildings, while not impressive in size or opulence, are nevertheless beautiful
and charming.

Dumitru Nanes is a historian, and he told us
that for several centuries, Oradea has been the most important trade and
cultural centre in the area. In the Middle Ages, the city had an astronomical
observatory, and astronomers there used Oradea’s meridian as their zero
meridian:

This is the monument that is representative
for Oradea, for the city’s historical development, as well as for the county’s.
A significant part of the city’s history gravitated around this ensemble, both
in the early centuries, around the 11th century, and in the 16th
century, when it was a spiritual and religious centre. Then it became the
Renaissance cultural centre, also acting as an important military centre, with
its fortress.

The architectural jewel of Oradea is the Moon
Church built in 1784. The Cathedral of the Dormition, fondly nicknamed the Moon
Church by the locals, has a steeple rising 55 meters above ground. Beneath the
tower’s clock there is a sphere, 3 meters in diameter. It is painted half black
and half gold, representing the moon. It has a mechanism unique in Europe,
which replicates the Moon’s rotation around the Earth, representing all the
phases of the Moon. Going around the centre of the town you can admire the
beautiful buildings housing the State Theatre and the Philharmonic Orchestra.
In the evening, performances are held here, continuing a long tradition. Music
is universal, while theatre shows are in both Romanian and Hungarian. Adrian
Dubere, the head of the National Tourist Information and Promotion Centre of
Bihor, told us about the possibilities for tourism and the reasons for which
tourists should definitely make this a major destination:

Tourists should come here first and foremost
for the thermal baths, as well as for the historical buildings, which have been
restored. Oradea has undergone an architectural rebirth. Visitors have plenty
to see: the Art Nouveau architecture and its churches, which are testimony to
its multiculturality. It has the biggest Roman Catholic cathedral in southeast
Europe, outside of Hungary. You can also see the former Cris Museum, a
beautiful Baroque mansion. The Moon Church in Oradea mimics the phases of the
Moon with a very old clockwork system, still functional. We also have great
destinations around the county, such as Vartop holiday village, Stana de Vale,
as well as the Karst highland in Padis. We also have plenty of old wooden
churches.

We continue our trip in the mountain area of
Bihor county. Speleologist Viorel Lascu is also an entrepreneur, who started
restoring very old houses in the Padurea Craiului Mountains. It is a project
aiming at starting a rebirth of Romanian villages:

Around the 1980s, I was exploring the Padurea Craiului
area, around the village of Rosia. Some of the caves there are known as
prehistoric dwellings, with some of the oldest traces of human habitation in
Romania. In addition to the impressive scenery, we were impressed by the
centuries-old houses with thatched roofs, with roof beams and clay hearths. We
renovated based on experience gained with house renovation in Alsace, in
France. We started with the first house, which was the same way it had been
when it was built 200 years ago, flanked by two cherry trees which are probably
older than the house itself. We restored the houses to their original
appearance, with the old type of furniture, with their simplicity of
atmosphere, adapting them to modern needs with minimal intrusion upon the
environment, fitting them with running water, a heating system, and cooking
facilities.

Since the winter holidays are almost upon us,
don’t hesitate to get in touch with your travel agent and look up tourism
offers for Bihor County around the holidays. In the rural area the holiday
traditions are exceptional, and not to be missed.