Oradea

Historical center:

The actual center of the city is dominated by two large squares on both sides of the river Crisul Repede. At the Unity Square (“Piate Unirii”) stands the 18th century Moon-church, the neoclassical town hall and the imposing secession building the black eagle.

On the other bank of the river is the Ferdinand Square, where the famous coffee-houses were located and where the States-theater stands, an eclectic structure after the Buddha's example.

The main shopping street (Calea Republicii) begins on this square, which also offers monumental buildings.

Baroque neighborhood:

The most important baroque monuments of Oradea are located just outside the center, so that the buildings of the secession characterize Oradea more than those of the baroque. The baroque is represented by the eighteenth-century cathedral, the largest Roman Catholic church in Romania.

Next to it is the episcopal palace from 1750-1779 (architect: Franz Hillebrandt), which today houses the regional museum (history, art, ethnography and natural history). The building is considered to be the most important late baroque building in Romania.

The city Oradea was founded in the 11th century when a castle was built by the Hungarian king Ladislaus I. The regions (Banat and Crisana) were already in the 6th century BC inhabited by tribes from the Daciers and later by the Romans who baptized the province Dacia.

The city was governed by the Hungarians from the 9th century and was important - several Hungarian kings were buried here and it was a very important strategic crossroad for trade. In the 13th century "Oradea" was destroyed by the Mongols and the first Turkish siege followed in the year 1474. In the mid-16th century the Turks would conquer almost the entire Kingdom of Hungary.

Oradea was added to Transylvania in 1570 and became an independent principality. Thirty years later the Turks would once again attack the city and take it - this situation remained so until the end of the 17th century when the Turks entrusted Hungary to Austria. The city was fought over and in 1692 it was conquered by the Habsburg army. Until 1919, the regions Banat and Crisana would remain Habsburgs - from 1867 the city was Hungarian because the double monarchy ensured that the two countries were aligned. Banat province in particular was used to establish "settlers" and use them as a buffer zone. From about 1850 was for Oradea a flowering period; the city could be seen as the 3rd most important in Hungary (which was much larger than it is now) and had already a tramway, water and electricity. 

According to the Treaty of "Trianon", the city was then assigned to Romania given the fact that Hungary was one of the losers of WWI. The whole area was also divided between Romania, Hungary and the former Yugoslavia after the war. A year earlier, the city was already occupied by Romanian troops. During WWII the area (and also the city Oradea) came under Hungarian rule again after which Romania took over again after WW2 - Ceasescu and its predecessor had little up with this region because of its large majority, especially Hungarians but also to other populations who had settled here before (Czechs, Slovakians, Germans) and the city would decline.

In the 20th century, the composition of the population of the region and city has changed a lot. At the beginning of the century about 90% still spoke Hungarian - now this is a third. The Jewish population is as good as exterminated in WWII and Oradea is now mainly a Romanian city with a lot of Habsburg architecture.