Possibilities of Utilizing Historical Heritage for Tourism in Alba Iulia/Gyulafehérvár and Its Surroundings Nowadays
Possibilities of Utilizing Historical Heritage for Tourism in Alba Iulia/Gyulafehérvár and Its Surroundings Nowadays

Summary/Abstract: Our present study focuses on Alba Iulia/Gyulafehérvár and its surroundings located in the southwestern part of historical Transylvania. In recent decades, many historical, cultural sites have been restored in this area. The studied area has favorable natural and socio-geographic features and a varied history. Its historical and cultural center is Alba Iulia/Gyulafehérvár and the Castle of Alba Iulia/Gyulafehérvár. The secular and ecclesiastical buildings and monuments of the castle are the cultural achievements of the Roman era, the Kingdom of Hungary, the Principality of Transylvania, the Habsburg Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy and Romania after World War I. Before 1990, it was mostly possible to visit memorial sites and monuments related to Romanian history. The university, founded in 1991 to commemorate the historic event in Alba Iulia/Gyulafehérvár on December 1st 1918, uses some parts of the buildings on the castle grounds. The cultural sites restored between 2013–2015 with the support of the European Union were integrated in the tourist offer. The Habsburg period of the city’s history is described illustratively. The cathedral of the Roman Catholic Bishopric of Transylvania, founded in 1009, preserves the ecclesiastical, historical and architectural values of several centuries. Nowadays it is not possible to visit the building of the Reformed Academy located in the castle, the priceless Batthyaneum library, as well as the remains of the 10th-century church. Making them accessible to visitors would significantly increase the tourist facilities and possibilities of the city and the region.

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