THE FORTIFIED TOWN OF ARAD

The fortified town of Arad is one of the most important historical monuments existing in the West Side of the country.
Built in the second half of the 17th century, the fortification was considered to be a very important military building. Empress Maria Theresa and her son, Josef II, approved the plan for the Arad fortress. The history of the fortress in almost 200 years of life has a lot to do with different important events. During the revolution of Horea, in 1784, the fortress was an important place that the Austrian army mobilised from. During the wars of Napoleon, French prisoners were present in the fortress. After the revolution of 1848, the casemates of the fortress were used as prisons for many participants of the revolution; one of them was Eftimie Murgu.

Photo Source: PrimariaArad.ro

PALACE OF CULTURE

The Palace of Culture is one of the most representative buildings of Arad. It was built between 1911-1913. The monument impresses up to now, each person, either native or foreign. It combines a variety of styles. The front side is in Neo-classic style and has a front age supported by Corinthian big colonnades, above it has a big tower. The side wings are marked by elements of the Italian Renaissance. The inauguration of the building took place on the 25th of October 1913. The philharmonic orchestra of the town was invited to the inauguration and pieces of Schubert, Goldmarck, Bizet and Beethoven were played. After that, important musical personalities from home and abroad were invited to play in the palace such as: Traian Grozavescu, Richard Strauss, Bela Bartok, and the famous composer and violin player George Enescu. In 1931, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary, George Enescu was entitled citizen of honour of Arad in this hall.
Now, the building of the Culture Palace houses the County Museum and State Philharmonic.

Photo source: aradon.ro

THE WATER TOWER

The development the town sustained during the 19th century transformed Arad from a medieval town into a modern one. The majority of the buildings erected in this period were in Neoclassic and Secession style offering a specific character to the town. The central area has polarized the institution, the greatest part of the flats, commercial, cultural, medical, administrative, and educational units. Under the circumstances, the middle of the town has an architectonic area known by the natives as “The Firemen’s Square”. The name comes from the fact that the headquarters of the civilian fireman unit was there. The Firemen’s Square was founded in 1835. Nearby, Saint Florian Chapel was erected; it is known that Saint Florian is the patron of the firemen.
In the second half of the 19th century, the local authorities decided to build the Water Tower – an edifice that would be very important for town life. The tower was built in order to supply the whole town with water and to have enough water in the case of fires. The tower is 35 m high and was ready to be used in 1896. As an architectonic style, it fits the suburb it is placed in. The tower made of stone and bricks, impresses visitors with its massiveness and height.
The balconies and windows have a nice ornamentation. The visitors are also impressed by the variety of adornments existing on the top level.
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Photo source: pressalert.ro

THE THEATRE

The main road called Revolution Boulevard, known by the local population as the Boulevard dominates the central side of the town. One of the most representative buildings existing at one end of the Boulevard is the State Theatre from Arad. Because of its dominating position, the building offers a magnificent view of the Boulevard. The building was built between 1872-1874. The first plays were performed on stage in 1874. This building has a Neo-classical style with three levels. The main entrance is placed on the axle of the Boulevard and is marked by a colonnade that supports the front side. Since its opening and up to the Second World War, the theatre offered its stage for many performances, both for the local theatrical association and for famous groups from the country and abroad. In 1959, the theatre was completely rebuilt after it was destroyed by fire. The rebuilding following the fire restored the theatre to its original shape. The front side of the facade received a bas-relief made by sculptors from Arad (Ion Tolan, Valeriu Brudascu and Emil Vitroel).

Photo source: PrimariaArad.ro

CATHOLIC CATHEDRAL

The Roman – Catholic Cathedral is one of the most impressive buildings which dominates center of the town. It integrates itself among the buildings of the Revolution Boulevard.
The building has a special architecture and was erected between 1902 – 1904 in Renaissance style according to the plans of Emil Tabakovics. The main entrance is arched, dominated on both sides by two colonnades which frame, in their superior side, the half round, deepened frontispiece.
The frontispiece houses the sculpture “Pieta”, a copy of the one in San Piedro in Rome carved by Michelangelo. Above the sculpture, there is a frieze with three statues and a quotation from Luca, the evangelist, ” My house is the house of prayers”. On the right side of the entrance, on the wall of the pronaos, there is an inscription from the old Convent of Arad Minorities that reminds us of the presence of the Emperor Josef II in the Arad area. A beautiful statue of the TRINITY is also there, at the beginning of the century it was placed in front of the Theatre.The church has an organ with an extraordinary resonance. Because of this, concerts are organised in the church in cooperation with the Philharmonic orchestra, they may be on religious themes.

Photo source: Wikipedia

THE NEPTUN BEACH

The beach is located in the Mureş loop, on an area of almost 40 hectares of greenery. It is the second largest in Europe, located next to running water. Construction works were started in the late 60’s. The alleys are paved, the green space with over 30 species of trees is maintained, there is a leisure complex with five pools (8,700 sq. M. Of which one swimming, one for adults and three for children with thermal water) and water slides, playgrounds, over 300 campsites. There are over 100 bars, terraces, restaurants, discos, pizzas, games, computer clubs, Internet cafes and more. There are two sunsets, two clay tennis courts, two volleyball courts, a roller-skate track and trampoline, minifootball court with a nocturnal facility, and 1,500 chalets for the season. The car park has 200 seats. At night, the swimming pool becomes an attraction for countless restaurants, bars, clubs, terraces and permanent disco clubs. Various festivals and outdoor concerts are held here during the summer.Foto source: specialarad.ro

Administrative Palace of Arad

It is a building built between 1872-1875, which today houses the Arad City Hall. The building is one of the significant works of the eclectic architecture in Arad.
The regular facades are rhythmic and decorated with classicist elements, and the central edge of the main façade has rich neo-Renaissance references.
The style of the building combines Flemish neo-Renaissance with the style of late medieval town halls.
The building plan is U-shaped, with a central tower 54 m high and the tower clock is brought from Switzerland.
The central tower, 54 m high, blurs the four pavilion towers from the four extremities.
The upper-third clock of the tower, brought from Switzerland, has one dial on each side. His bell had been working for almost a century, marking half an hour.
After 1989 it was completely renovated, and once Romania joined the European Union, the song played at fixed hours was changed into the anthem of Europe.
From the height of the balcony in the quadrilateral tower, you can admire the decorative plant rings from the avenue flanking the marble market.
Its decorative composition was conceived by the architect Milos Cristea in the ninth decade of the 20th century.
The only change from the main façade was the decoration of the fronton at the base of the main tower symbol.

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NEW ORTHODOX CATEDRAL “SF. TRINITY”

The Holy Trinity Cathedral in Arad is an Orthodox cathedral, the seat of the archdiocesan seat of the Archdiocese of Arad, made according to the plans of the architect Ioan Haprian.
The foundation stone of the Arad Cathedral was laid in 1991 by Timothy Seviciu, Bishop of Arad.
The Cathedral was celebrated by Patriarch Daniel on December 6, 2008, and on November 28, 2009 became Archbishop’s Cathedral.
The bells of the cathedral, five, were cast in the most prestigious factory in Europe, in Innsbruck, Austria.
The cross from the big dome measures 7.30 m high, while those on the small domes are 3.5 m tall. The edifice also shelters some of the relics of St. John Chrysostom.

Photo source: Wikipedia

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