Arad, Romania
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Arad (pronunciation in Romanian: /a'rad/; Hungarian: Arad) is the capital city of Arad County, in western Romania, in Crişana, Ardeal.
It is situated on the right bank of the river Mureş, and consists of the inner city and five suburbs. Arad is a modern-built city, and contains many handsome private and public buildings, including a cathedral. It is the seat of a Romanian Orthodox bishop, and features a Romanian Orthodox theological seminary, two training schools for teachers (a Romanian one and a Hungarian one), and a music conservatory.
Population
The municipality of Arad is home to 183,939 inhabitants, the ethnic breakdown of the city is as follows:
along with 2,105 of other nationalities.
History
Arad was mentioned in documents for the first time in the 11th century. The Mongol invasion in 1241 showed that defensive fortifications were needed and in the second half of the 13th century stone fortresses at Soimos, Siria and Dezna were built. The Ottoman Empire conquered the region in 1551 and kept it until the Peace of Karlowitz of 1699. After 1699, the city was ruled by the Habsburg Monarchy. According to 1720 data, the population of the city was composed of 177 Romanian families, 162 Serbian and 35 Hungarian.
The new fortress, built between 1763 and 1783, although small, was formidable, and played a great role in the Hungarian struggle for independence in 1849, and the city possesses a museum containing relics of this war of independence. Bravely defended by the Austrian general Berger until the end of July 1849, it was then captured by the Hungarian rebels, who made it their headquarters during the latter part of the insurrection. It was from Arad that Lajos Kossuth issued his famous proclamation (August 11, 1849), and it was here that he handed over the supreme military and civil power to Artúr Görgey. The fortress was recaptured shortly after the surrender of Görgey to the Russians at Şiria, and is now used as an ammunition depot. Here there were executed 13 rebel generals on 6 October 1849, by order of the Austrian general Haynau. These men are known collectively as the 13 Martyrs of Arad. One of the public squares contains a martyrs' monument, erected in their memory. It consists of a colossal figure of Hungary, with four allegorical groups, and medallions of the executed generals.
Arad enjoyed a great economic development. In 1834 it was declared a "free royal town" by Emperor Francis I of Austria.
Aradu Nou ("New Arad"), situated on the opposite bank of the Mureş, is a suburb of Arad, to which it is connected by a bridge. It was founded during the Turkish wars of the 17th century. The works erected by the Turks for the capture of the fortress of Arad formed the nucleus of the new settlement.
In 1910 the town had 63166 inhabitants: 46085 (73%) Hungarians, 10279 (16,2%) Romanians, 4365 (7%) Germans.Atlas and Gazetteer of Historic Hungary 1914, [Talma Kiadó]
Chronology
- 1028 - First time the area was mentioned
- 1078 - 1081 - The first mention of the town
- 1131 - Arad is mentioned in The Painted chronicle from Vienna
- 1551 - 1552 - The town was occupied by Ottoman Empire
- 1702 - The furriers' guild was registered - the oldest one
- 1715 - Camil Hofflich, a minorite monk, set up the first school - German language
- 1765 - 1783 - A new fortress was build, in Vauban style
- 1812 - The foundation of Preparandia - the first Romanian pedagogy school in Transylvania
- 1817 - Hirschl Theatre was build - the first stone made theatre in the country
- *1868 - Mihai Eminescu participated as prompter
- 1833 - The sixth European Music School was set up in Arad, after Paris, Prague, Brussels, Vienna and London - Arader Musik Conservatorium
- 1834 – Arad obtained the "free royal town" statute
- 6 October1849 - The Hungarian revolution was stoped
- 1890 - The founding of The Philharmonic Society
- *1846 - Franz Liszt performed
- *1847 - Johann Strauss the Son performed
- *1877 - Pablo Sarasate and Henryk Wieniawski performed
- *1922 - George Enescu performed
- *1924 - Bela Bartok performed
- 15 august 1899 - The first official football game in Romania was held in Arad
- 10 April1913 – Arad - Podgoria, the first electrical railway in the Eastern Europe and the 8th in the world was build in Arad
- 1918 - Arad becomes the headquarters of The Romanian National Central Council and a non-official capital of Transylvania
- *13-15 May - Iuliu Maniu expresses the decision of separation from Hungary and the union of Transylvania with Romania
- 1937 – Arad was the most important economic centre in Transylvania and occupied the 4th position in Romania
- 1989 – Arad was the second town in Romania to rise against communism
- 1990 - The foundation of the University of the West Vasile Goldiş
- 1991 – The foundation of the Aurel Vlaicu University
- 1999 - The Arad Industrial Zone was inaugurated
Economy
With a rich industrial and commercial tradition, Arad is one of the most prosperous towns in Romania. Thanks to numerous investments Arad has a booming economy.
The main industries are: freight and passenger railcars, clothing and textiles, food industry, furniture and accessories for furniture, equipment for the car industry, electric components, meters, shoes industry.
Transport
Arad is the most important trans-European road and rail transportation junction point in western Romania, included in the 4th Pan-European Corridor linking Western Europe to South-Eastern European and Middle Eastern countries. The International Airport, with a cargo terminal, is situated at 4 km from the civic centre of Arad.Employees by Occupation
- Industry - 41.5%
- Commerce - 13.75%
- Transport and telecommunications - 9.27%
- Construction - 7.92%
- Education - 5.99%
- Health and social services- 5.14%
- Utilities - 3.16%
- Public administration- 2.28%
- Agriculture - 1.97%
- Credit and Insurance institutions- 1.70%
Some tourist attractions
Architectural monuments
- The Fortified Town of Arad is one of the Transylvanian fotresses built in the Vauban star-shaped style, in the second half of the 18th century. It was used as a prison for the rebels led by Horia, Cloşca and Crişan
- Administrative Palace, built in 1872-1874, renaissance architecture
- "Ioan Slavici" Classical Theatre, built in 1874, neoclassical architecture, architect Antoniu Czigler
- Neuman Palace, built in 1891, eclecticism
- Judiciary Palace, built in 1892, eclecticism
- Cenad Palace, built in 1894, eclecticism and neoclassical architecture
- National Bank Palace, built in 1906, neoclassical architecture
- Bohuş Palace built in 1910, Vienna Secession. For the first time in Arad, it was used reinforced concrete.
- Szantay Palace, built in 1911, Vienna Secession
- Cultural Palace, built in 1913, neoclassical, gothic, renaissance architecture and corinthian capitals
- Cloşca Street, Vienna Secession
Historical buildings
- The House with Cannon Balls, built in 1800. Its name derives from the fights between 1848-1849. Seventeen cannon balls are incorporated in its walls.
- The High Teacher Training School (Clădirea Preparandiei) , the first school for Romanian-language teachers from Transylvania, 1812
- The House with the Padlock, built in 1815
- The Old Theatre (Hirschl), built by Jacob Hirschl in 1817, the oldest stone theatre of Romania
- Water Tower, built in 1896, medieval dungeon architectural style
- The Old Custom House, built in 1907, used as a customs point for goods entering the Arad markets
Monuments
- The Statue of St. John of Nepomuk, raised in 1729, baroque sculpture
- The monument of the Holy Trinity, raised in 1746 to commemorate the plague that swept the town in 1738-1740
- The walkway of Arad's famous personalities - Alexandru D. Xenopol, George Coşbuc, Petre Pipoş, Ioan Russu Şirianu, Gheoghe Popa of Teiuş, Mircea V. Stănescu
- Reconciliation Park
- * The Statue of Liberty, raised in 1890 by György Zala in the memory of the heroes of the Hungarian revolutionary army
- * The Arch of Triumph, raised in 2004 by Ioan Bolborea in memory of the heroes of the 1848 - 1849 Romanian Revolution
- Martyrs' Cross, raised in 1936, in memory of the priests martyred between November 1918 and spring 1919
- The Bust of Vasile Goldiş (1862 – 1934) - The coryphaeus of Romania
- The Bust of Moise Nicoară (1784 – 1861)
Religious tourism
- The "St. Peter and Paul" Serbian Church, raised in 1698-1702, early Baroque architecture
- "St. Simon" Monastery , raised in 1762, Baroque architecture
- The "Birth of Saint John the Baptist" Cathedral (Romanian Orthodox), raised in 1862-1865, Baroque architecture, architect Antoniu Czigler. The mural painter, Anastase Damian, started his work in 1957 and finished it one year later
- "St. Anthony of Padua" Cathedral (Roman Catholic). The Order of Minorite Monks raised this cathedral in 1904, in arenaissance architecture style
- The Red Church (Evangelical-Lutheran), built in 1906, Neo-gothic architecture
- The Neolog Synagogue, built in 1834, Greek, Tuscan architectural style
Museums and Exhibitions
- Arad Museum Complex
- * History Department
- * Natural Sciences Department
- * Art Department
- Vasile Goldiş Memorial Museum
- Doina and Baruţu Arghezi Art Colection
- Delta Gallery, with three major events of Arad artistic life: The International Biennial Drawing Saloon, The Biennial Small Sculpture Saloon, The Annual Art Saloon.
- Alfa Gallery
- Clio Gallery
- Water Tower Gallery
- Takács Gallery
- Carola's Gallery
- Expo Arad, The Exhibition Centre of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of the County of Arad.
Pleasure Tourism
- Neptun Swimming Place, one of the most beautiful places of amusement of this kind in Romania
- The Mureş Embankment
- The Grove
- The Ceala Forest with Moltăreţ Lake and Mureş Isle
- The Vladimirescu Forest
- Ghioroc Lake
- Miniş - Măderat Vineyard, situated at about 30 kilometers east of Arad
External relations
Sister cities
Atlit, IsraelFushun, China Gyula, Hungary Hodmezovasarhely, Hungary Givataym, Israel
Partner cities
Kirklees, EnglandDitzingen, Germany Würzburg, Germany Trencin, Slovakia Tatabánya, Hungary Pécs, Hungary
Sports
The UT Arad football team was founded in 1946 and won six Romanian championships.Notes
References
External links
| Localities in Arad County, Romania |
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