Oradea

Oradea (Hungarian: Nagyvárad, German: Großwardein) is a city located in the county of Bihor (BH), in Transylvania, Romania. The city proper has a population of 206,527 (according to the 2002 census); this does not include areas outside the municipality; they bring the total urban area population to approximately 220,000. Oradea is one of the most prosperous cities of Romania.

Oradea Town Hall

1 Geography
2 History
3 Economy
4 Ethnicity
- 4.1 Historical
- 4.2 Present
5 Quarters
6 Transport
7 Education
8 Architecture
9 Attractions
10 Famous people
11 External Links

Geography

The city is located near the Hungarian border, on the Crişul Repede river.

History

Oradea in a 1617 engraving by Braun & Hogenberg

The first mention of Oradea, under the Latin name Varadinum was in 1113. The founder of city, was king Saint Ladislaus of Hungary. The Citadel of Oradea, the ruins of which still remain today, was first mentioned in 1241 because of the start of quick reparations and reinforcements needed to prevent against a Mongol-Tatar attack against the city. However, it wasn't until the 16th century that the city started growing as an urban area. In the 1700s, the Viennese engineer Franz Anton Hillebrandt planned the city in Baroque style and, starting from 1752, many landmarks were constructed such as the Roman-Catholic Cathedral, the Bishop's Palace and the Muzeul Ţării Crişurilor (The Museum of the Land of the Criş).The City was part of the Kingdom of Hungary for 800 years, until the end of World War 1, when Transylvania united with Romania. During the World War II, nothern Transylvania was ceded by Romania to Hungary as a result of the Vienna Award. After the end of WW 2 it returned to Romania. The new communist power, to prevent the "problems" with this hungarian majority city, begun a massive colonization of romanians, from Oltenia, and Moldova. More than 130 000 people came between 1945–85.

Economy

Oradea has for long been one of the more prosperous cities in Romania, due mainly to its location on the Hungarian border, making it the gateway towards Western Europe. After 1989, Oradea faced quite a lot of economic renewal, not so much in terms of industry but rather in the services sector, due to its important base of consumers.

Oradea has an unemployment rate of 6.0%, slightly lower than the Romanian average but much higher than Bihor county's average of around 2%. Oradea currently produces around 63% of the industrial production of Bihor county while accounting for around 34.5% of the population of the county. Its main industries are furniture, textiles and clothing, footwear and food.

In September 2002, Metro opens the first cash&carry store in Oradea.

In 2003, the Lotus Market commercial centre opened in Oradea, the first large shopping centre to open in the city.

In the spring of 2005, Selgros will open another cash&carry store in Oradea.

Ethnicity

Historical

1910: 69.000 (Romanians: 5.6%, Hungarians: 91.10%)
1920: 72.000 (R: 5%, H: 92%)
1930: 90.000 (R: 25%, H: 67%)
1966: 122.634 (R: 46%, H: 52%)
1977: 170.531 (R: 53%, H: 45%)
1992: 222.741 (R: 64%, H: 34%)

Present

Of the total population, the following ethnic breakdown occurs, from the 2002 census:

Romanians: 145,295 (70.4%)
Magyars: 56,830 (27.5%)
Roma: 2,466 (1.2%)
Germans: 566 (0.3%)
Slovaks: 477 (0.2%)
Jews: 172
Ukrainians: 76
Bulgarians: 25
Russians: 25
Serbs: 17
Czechs: 9
Turks: 9

Quarters

The city is made up of the following districts called quarters (cartiere in Romanian):

Centru Oradea (city centre)
Vie
Nufărul
Rogerius
Velenţa
Cantemir
Ioşia

Transport

The public transport network is run by OTL. It is made up of 3 tram lines (1R, 1N, 2, 3R, 3N) and some bus lines. The city has three train stations, central, Vest and Est. Vest Station is located in the quarter of Ioşia, and the central station (called simply Oradea) is located in the city centre, near the quarter of Vie.

Education

Oradea is one of the main education centres of Romania. The city is home to the University of Oradea, one of the largest and most modern universities in the country.

Architecture

Oradea's architecture is a mix between Communist-era constructions, mainly in the outer quarters, and beautiful historical buildings, mainly in Baroque style, remnants from the era when the city was part of Austria-Hungary.

During Communism and in the first years of Romania's post-Communist transition, many of these historical buildings became derelict or at least in bad shape. After 2002, when Romania entered into a period of economic boom, many historical buildings in the city were restored to their previous state and currently, the city possesses a very historic and well-maintained feel.

Attractions

The beautiful city centre is worth visiting, as are the Băile Felix health spas, accessible by train and located outside the city.

Worth visiting sites are:

Muzeul Ţării Crişurilor – a wonderful baroque museum with some famous 365 windows.It was the roman catholic bishop's palace, until 1945, then the communist regime simply occupied the building.It was retroceded to Roman Catholic church, in 2003, after a long and painfull process, on the High Court.
Catedrala barocă – the biggest baroque cathedral in Romania
Cetatea Oradea – Oradea's Fortress, with a pentagonal form
Biserica cu Lună – A unique church in Europe with a clocklike mechanism which indicates the phases of the moon
Pasajul "Vulturul Negru" – The "Black Eagle" Passage
Muzeul "Ady Endre" – the house of one of the greatest Hungarian poets
Teatrul de Stat – The State Theatre, whose plans were designed by two Austrian architects who had built around 100 theatres and opera houses in Europe by the end of the 19th century.
There are around 100 churches of different cults in Oradea, among which 3 synagogues (however, only one is supposed to be still in use) and the biggest Baptist church in Eastern Europe.