Alba Iulia

Alba Iulia

German  Karlsburg,  Hungarian  Gyulafehérvár,  

      city, capital of Alba judeţ (county), west-central Romania. It lies along the Mureş River, 170 miles (270 km) northwest of Bucharest. One of the oldest settlements in Romania, the site was selected by the Romans for a military camp. The remains of Apulum, an important city in Roman Dacia mentioned by Ptolemy in the 2nd century AD, are 6 miles (10 km) from Alba Iulia, and the Regional Museum has a rich collection of Roman antiquities. From the 9th to the 11th century the town bore the Slavic name Bălgrad. The Roman name was first documented in 1097, and the use of Alba Iulia in Latin documents ensured the survival of the name.

      From 1542 to 1690, Alba Iulia was the capital of the principality of Transylvania. In 1599 Michael the Brave (Mihai Viteazul) proclaimed himself prince of Walachia, Transylvania, and Moldavia at Alba Iulia—achieving for the first time the union of the three great provinces of Romania. The town became a centre of Romanian nationalism and an important Romanian-language printing centre. It was at Alba Iulia that the union of Transylvania with Romania was pronounced on Dec. 1, 1918; Romania's King Ferdinand and Queen Marie were crowned in the Orthodox cathedral in 1922.

      The city also has a 13th-century Roman Catholic cathedral (Romanesque), an 18th-century fortress, and the Batthyáneum Library, founded in 1784 by Ignatius Batthyány, a Catholic bishop, and containing many incunabula and old manuscripts of great value, notably the Codex Aureus from the 8th century. Industries in Alba Iulia include leatherworking and food processing and the production of footwear, construction materials, and wine. Pop. (2007 est.) 66,842.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Alba Iulia — Karlsburg Gyulafehérvár …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Alba-Iulia — Karlsburg Gyulafehérvár …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Alba Iulia — Alba Iulia …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Alba-Iulia —  Roumanie Judeţ de Alba Alba Iulia Statut : Chef lieu …   Wikipédia en Français

  • ALBA IULIA — (in the Roman period Apulum; Hung. Gyulafehérvár; medieval Latin Alba Carolina; Ger. Karlsburg, also Weyssenburg; referred to in Yiddish and Hebrew sources by the German name Karlsburg; in Ladino sources Carlosburg), city in Transylvania. Alba… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Alba Iulia — Escudo …   Wikipedia Español

  • Alba Iulia — (Romanian), Alba Julia (French), Alba Julija Алба Јулија (Macedonian), Apulon (Dacian), Apulum (Latin), Bălgrad (former name), Gyulafehérvár (Hungarian), Karlsburg (German), Weißenburg (former German) …   Names of cities in different languages

  • Alba Iulia — v. de Roumanie; 51 000 hab.; ch. l. de district (Transylvanie). Industr. alim. Cath. romano gothique (XIIIe s.), citadelle reconstruite au XVIIIe s. (musée archéol.), bibliothèque. Le 1er déc. 1918 y fut proclamée l union de la Transylvanie… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Alba Iulia — Paclisa redirects here. For the village of Păclişa in Hunedoara County, see Toteşti. Alba Iulia   County capital   …   Wikipedia

  • Alba Iulia — Original name in latin Alba Iulia Name in other language Alba Iulia, Alba Julija, Alba Julija, Almpa Ioulia, Balgrad, Blgrad, Gyulafehervar, Gyulafehrvr, Karlsburg, QAY, Weissenburg, Weisskirchen, Weienburg, Weikirchen, a er ba you li ya, alba… …   Cities with a population over 1000 database

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