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Alba Iulia

Mayor

Gabriel Pleșa

Biography

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Located in the heart of Transylvania, the city of Alba Iulia boasts an urban tradition of almost 2000 years, since the time when the Romans discovered its potential. It had golden days in medieval times, it is the symbol of unification in modern times. Nowadays, it is the city with the largest fortress in Romania, Alba Iulia Fortress.

Alba Iulia tells the story of a city with a multi-millennial history, which has been the local capital since Roman times and is still today, also called the Other Capital of Romania. The strength of its cultural profile is also achieved by its exceptional cultural heritage, which needs to be rediscovered and retold to locals, as well as Romanian and foreign tourists.

Its European age begins with the Roman civilization that had a significant place and role here. The Romans founded two cities under the name Apulum (the Latin name of Alba Iulia). Each occupied a large area in the southern and eastern parts of the present city. The civil settlements of Apulum, formed around the Castrum of the 13th Gemina Legion, made up the most important urban center of Roman Dacia.

Alba Iulia was, for about 150 years, the political capital of the Principality of Transylvania (the period when Transylvania was quasi-independent), with the epicenter located in the Prince's Palace, within the fortress. This edifice lived its glory days during the time of the Principality of Transylvania when the fate of the region was directed from Alba Iulia.

After three centuries, Alba Iulia received the honor of being the city that gave Romania its identity! Here in 1918 the document by which Transylvania joined Romania was signed, which is why over the last century Alba Iulia has been regarded, as the symbolic capital of Romania. In this context, it recently received the tourist slogan „The Other Capital”. On 1 December 1918, Alba Iulia was the host of the most important event in the history of Romanians: The Great Union of Transylvania with Romania.

Alba Iulia has the most beautiful citadel in Romania: The Alba Carolina Fortress, which is the largest fortress in Romania, perfectly preserved for over 300 years.

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