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Coa_AlbaIulia_ROjpg
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Alba_Iulia_in_Romaniapng
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Alba County
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County capital
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Mircea Hava
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2000
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Democratic Party
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10365
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2002
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66,369
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640
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http://wwwapulumro/
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(,
Transylvania ,
Romania with a population of 66,369, located on the
Mureş River . The city is historically important for both
Hungarians and
Romanians .
The city was an important Dacian political, economic and social centre named , mentioned by the ancient Greek geographer
Ptolemy . After the southern part of
Dacia became a province of the
Roman Empire , the capital of the Dacia Apulensis district was established here, and the city was known as '''Apulum'''. Apulum was one of the largest centers in Roman Dacia and the seat of the
XIII Gemina Legion .
In the
9th Century , the city was mentioned under the name of ("White Citadel"), the
Hungarian Gestas mention a ruler named Geula/Gyyla/Jula that had discovered the city and made it the capital of his dukedom during
10th Century . Following the establishment of the Catholic Transylvanian episcopacy after
Stephen I Of Hungary adopted
Catholicism , the first cathedral was built in the
11th Century . The present (Catholic) cathedral was built in the
12th or
13th centuries. In
1442 John Hunyadi ,
Voivod of Transylvania, used the citadel to make his preparations for a major battle against the
Ottoman Turks . The cathedral was enlarged during his reign and served as his place of entombment after his death.
As , Alba Iulia became the capital of the Principality of Transylvania in
1541 , a status it was to retain until
1690 . It was during the reign of Prince
Gabriel Bethlen that the city reached a high point in its cultural history, with the establishment of an academy. Further important milestones in the city's development include the creation of the Batthyanaeum Library in the
18th Century , and the arrival of the railway in the
19th Century .
In November
1599 ,
Michael The Brave , Voivod of
Wallachia , entered Alba Iulia following his victory in the
Battle Of Şelimbăr and became governor of Transylvania. In
1600 Michael gained control of
Moldavia , thereby uniting the three principalities under his rule until his murder in
1601 by
Giorgio Basta 's agents. Michael's achievement has historic significance for Romanians, representing the first unification of the three Romanian-populated principalities of Wallachia, Moldavia, and Transylvania.
In
1918 , tens of thousands of Romanians (the exact number is disputed between Romanian and Hungarian historians) and representatives of the
Transylvanian Saxons and other minorities of Transylvania, gathered in Alba Iulia on
December 1 , now commemorated as
Union Day in Romania, to hear the proclamation of the union of Transylvania with the
Kingdom Of Romania . In
1922 ,
Ferdinand Of Romania was symbolically crowned
King Of Romania in Alba Iulia in an act which mirrored the achievement of Michael the Brave.
György Jakubinyi was appointed
Archbishop of the
Archdiocese of Alba Iulia by
Pope John Paul II on
April 8 ,
1994 .
The main historical area of Alba Iulia is the upper city, developed extensively by
Charles VI of the
Holy Roman Empire . The
Habsburgs renamed the city in honor of Charles. The upper city's
Citadel was constructed
1716 -
1735 , containing the
Gothic Catholic cathedral and the
Batthyaneum , a library of rare manuscripts founded in
1794 . The tomb of John Hunyadi is also located in the cathedral, as is that of the
Polish -born
Isabella Jagello , Queen of Hungary.
