Hello everyone,
This time I'll share with you some photos I took in Alba-Iulia last time I visited. Right in the middle of the city of Alba Iulia, there is a citadel called Alba Carolina Citadel and it is the biggest citadel in Romania.
This fortress is a star-shaped fortress with huge walls, built over 300 hundreds years ago.
This may not be the most complete and comprehensive article about this fortress. And that would be only because I mostly photographed the interior central part of the fortress. There are still details to be shared.
The citadel has several entrances, walls and tourist areas.
Alba Iulia Town is located on the Mureș River in the historical region of Transylvania.
It is a beautiful city and walking or spending a good time in the citadel in simply beautiful, relaxing and enjoyable.
There are many restaurants where you can enjoy a coffee or delicious food, ice cream or a juice.
There is so much space for walking and kids can get moving by running safely on these wide alleys. And because of this, families with kids often choose to spend their time in here, talking a walk and have a beautiful afternoon.
As you can imagine, the citadel is very popular, especially in hot season.
The fortress has developed over time, especially in recent years, becoming more and more appreciated among the fortresses in Romania and Europe.
And actually the name comes from Emperor Carol VI.
The Citadel's role was military, defensive, given by the bastion system, the type of artillery pieces it was equipped with, as well as the size of the troops inside it. The fortress was attacked only once in its military existence, but never conquered. The episode took place in 1849, when 8,000 Hungarian soldiers unsuccessfully besieged it. (source here)
Some historical facts about this citadel.
I know that among you, there are History lovers too and reading a little bit about this citadel was nice, even for myself... Cause honestly, I can't memorize these facts. Actually, I tend to forget many things, and such details are the first.
I hope you don't mind copy-pasting so many sourced informaiton, but honestly I can't say much about it with my own words.
The Vauban-type bastion fortress at Alba Iulia was built between 1715-1738, in the context of the establishment of Habsburg rule in Transylvania. That is precisely why the Habsburg authorities, who initiated and supported this project, saw in the new fortification a center with an important role both in the system of defense against the Turks, but also in consolidating their power in the occupied territories. The fortress was to become the main fortification of Transylvania, especially since it was built according to the newest fortification methods of the time, inspired by the systems designed by the French military architect, Marshal Vauban. (source here)
Before the era in which it was built, there were 2 other previous fortifications in the same place
Over 20,000 Romanian serfs worked for the construction of the fortress
The fortification was built from materials made in the area, and the rough work was performed by over 20,000 Romanian serfs brought from all over Transylvania, forced to work for free in evenings of two weeks. For the masonry and stonework, Italian workers and craftsmen were used, and the special sculptural work on the fortress gates and bastions was done by a team from Vienna, led by the sculptor Johann König.
The walls were built of stone and brick in a smooth technique, slightly slanted to cause the metal cannonballs to ricochet. Also, in order to free the land that had to be used, namely an area of 140 hectares, it was decided to demolish the old city, which had been built on the ruins of the ancient Apulum, and move it to the eastern part of the fortress, where it formed the current lower city. (source here)
The fortress built in the heart of Transylvania turned out to be the most imposing Baroque monument of the province. A peculiarity of the Citadel is given by the sequence of the six gates, located on the east-west axis. In other words, on the Tourist Route of the "Portilor Cetății", which connects the Civic Center and the Platoul Romanilor district, located in the western area of the Alba Iulia municipality. (source here)
You can find many statues inside the citadel, they all represent someone or something important of those days, ideas, personalities, concepts.
As I said above, the Citadel has many zones and buildings inside.
There are a lot of green paths and this is awesome to see! There is paving, as it is expected.
Thank you for reading and I hope you got yourself an idea about this place!
What about you? Do you enjoy visiting such places? Or do you have something similar around you?
I would love to know, so leave your comments in the section down below!
love, missdeli 💛