Welcome to Oradea in County Bihor,
part of the Crişana region of Romania! Discover historic Oradea and
surrounding villages, see things to do and understand the rich Crişana
culture unfolding in historic county Bihor. Rest Romania will help
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Oradea is the
capital city of Bihor County, in Crişana, Romania.
The city proper
has a population of 206,614 as of 2002 census; this does not include
areas from the metropolitan area, outside the municipality; they
bring the total urban area population to approximately 240,000. Oradea is one of the most prosperous cities of Romania.
Oradea's architecture is a mix between Communist-era buildings,
mainly in the outer quarters, and beautiful historical buildings,
mainly in the Baroque style, remnants from the era when the city was
part of Austria-Hungary.
During the Communist period and in the first years of Romania's
post-Communist transition, many of the historical buildings became
derelict or were deteriorating. After 2002, when Romania entered
into an economic boom, many historical buildings in the city were
restored to their previous state and currently, the city is endowed
with a very historic and well-maintained feel.
The beautiful city centre is worth visiting, as are the Băile Felix
health spas, accessible by train or bus and located outside the city.
Other sites worth visiting are:
Muzeul Ţării Crişurilor – a wonderful Baroque museum
with 365 famous windows. It was the Roman Catholic bishop's palace until
1945, when the Communist regime took the building into public ownership.
It was returned to the Roman Catholic church in 2003. Its collection
includes many fossils of dinosaurs and birds from the bauxite mines at
Cornet-Brusturi.
Catedrala barocă – the biggest Baroque cathedral in
Romania.
Cetatea Oradea - Oradea's Fortress, with a pentagonal fort
Biserica cu Lună – a church unique in Europe, with a type
of astronomical clock depicting the phases of the moon
Pasajul "Vulturul Negru" – the "Black Eagle" Passage
"Ady Endre" Museum- a museum dedicated to one of the greatest Hungarian
poets
Teatrul de Stat – the State Theatre, plans for which were
designed by two Austrian architects who had built around 100 theatres and
opera houses in Europe by the end of the 19th century.
Str. Republicii, known to the locals as "Principala" (Main
Street) – one of the most beautiful streets of Transylvania, displaying an
incredible number of Sezession buildings (under restoration in 2006).
There are around 100 religious sites of different denominations in Oradea,
including three synagogues (however, only one is said to be still in use)
and the biggest Baptist church in Eastern Europe.
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The city lies at the meeting point of the Crişana plain and the
Crişul Repede's basin. It is situated 126 meters above sea-level,
surrounded on the north-eastern part by the hills of Oradea
belonging to the Ses hills.
The main part of the settlement is
situated on the floodplain and on the terraces situated down the
river Crişul Repede. Oradea is famous for its thermal springs. The
river Crişul Repede crosses the city right in the centre, providing
it with a picturesque beauty. Its output depends on the season; the
water containers (the dyke near Tileagd) have partly controlled it
ever since they were built in the early 1980s.
Oradea has long been one of the more prosperous cities in
Romania, due mainly to its location on the Hungarian border, making
it a gateway towards Western Europe. The GDP per capital of Oradea is
approximately 150% of the Romanian average.[1] After 1989, due to
its important base of consumers, Oradea enjoyed an economic renewal,
not so much in industry but rather in the services sector.
Oradea has an unemployment rate of 6.0%, slightly lower than the
Romanian average but much higher than Bihor County's average of
around 2%. Oradea currently produces around 63% of the industrial
production of Bihor County while accounting for around 34.5% of the
population of the county. Its main industries are furniture,
textiles and clothing, footwear and food.
Transport
The public transport network is run by OTL, a municipal agency. It
is made up of 3 tram lines (1R, 1N, 2, 3R, 3N) and some bus lines.
The city has three train stations: Central, West and East. The West
Station is located in the quarter of Ioşia, the Central station
(called simply Oradea) is located in the city centre, near the
quarter of Vie, while the East station is located in Velenţa.
Oradea is served by Oradea International Airport, which has
flights from major Romanian cities and well as some cities in
northern Italy.
Education
Oradea is one of the main education centres of Romania. The city is
home to the University of Oradea, one of the largest and most modern
universities in the country.
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This website is a
general tourist guide, designed to help English-speaking tourists
understand Romania, and as such, provides historical
information for the interest of our traveller readers. History
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clarification or correction is advisable. Please
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Early Oradea History
Statue of Mihai Viteazul
Oradea dates back to a small 10th century castle, while its bishopric
was founded during the 11th century by King Ladislaus I of Hungary. The
first documented mention of its name was in 1113 under the Latin name
Varadinum. The Citadel of Oradea, the ruins of which remain today, was
first mentioned in 1241 during the Mongol invasion.
However, it was not
until the 16th century that Oradea started growing as an urban area. In
the 18th century, the Viennese engineer Franz Anton Hillebrandt planned
the city in Baroque style and, starting from 1752, many landmarks were
constructed such as the Roman Catholic Cathedral and the Bishop's Palace,
presently the Muzeul Ţării Crişurilor ("The Museum of the Crişland").
After the Ottoman invasion of Hungary in the 16th century, the city was
administered at various times by the Principality of Transylvania, the
Ottoman Empire, and the Habsburg Monarchy.
In the second half of the 19th century literary nicknames for the town
included "Hungarian Compostela", "Felix civitas", "Paris on the River Pece",
"the City of Tomorrow", "Athens on the Körös", and "the City of
Yesterday". These nicknames are not widely used today, although "Paris on
the River Pece" is still utilised sometimes.
At the end of World War I, Oradea and Transylvania became part of the
Kingdom of Romania. The Second Vienna Award in 1940 returned northern
parts of Transylvania, including Oradea, to Hungary; this arrangement only
lasted until the end of World War II when the lands were again returned to
Romania.
After
World War I, successive governments of Romania engaged in a policy of
relocating Romanians to Transylvania, especially to Southern Transylvania,
to the Szekelyland and near the Hungarian-Romanian border. Out of 82,687
people (Oradea's total population in 1930), 13,775 were born abroad and
5,000 were born in Bukovina, Moldavia, Dobrogea and Oltenia. Only 35% of
the total population was native-born in 1930.
In 1925 the status of municipality was given to Oradea dissolving its
former civic autonomy. According to this ordinance it was also renamed
from Oradea-Mare ("Greater" Oradea) to Oradea.
Ethnic tensions often ran high in the area. Romanian nationalists believe
Oradea and the surrounding Bihor region have always been Romanian and were
finally restored to rightful Romanian control at the end of World War I.
Hungarian nationalists refer to the city's pre-war Magyar majority and
previous inclusion in the Kingdom of Hungary.
Nowadays, however, Oradea is
an example of tolerance and multiculturalism, in an authentic European
fashion. The different ethnic groups live in harmony, thriving on each
other's contributions to modern culture.
There are many mixed
(Romanian-Hungarian) families in Oradea, with children assimilating into
both of their parents' cultures and learning to speak both languages.
Before 1848, Oradea was made up of 4 separate towns: Várad-Újváros
(Villa Nova, former Vicus Zombathely), Várad-Olaszi (Villa Latinorum
Varadiensium), Várad-Velence (Vicus Venetia), Várad-Váralja (Civitas
Waradiensis). The names Vicus Venetia, Villa Latinorum, Vicus Bolognia,
Vicus Padua and others refer to the French, Walloon, and Italian
inhabitants who settled in the 13th century.
Today the city is made up of the following districts called quarters (cartiere
in Romanian):
Centru Oradea (city centre); * Nufărul; * Rogerius; * Velenţa; * Ioşia;
* Ioşia Nord; * Oncea; * Salca; * Seleuş; * Vie; * Iorga; * Olosig; *
Episcopia Bihor
The quarter named Vie is also known as Podgoria. "Vie" and "podgorie" mean
the same thing in Romanian, i.e. wine-growing estate.
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