Alba Iulia is a city in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania with a population of 66,747, located on the Mureş River. The city is since the High Middle Ages seat of the Transylvanian Catholic bishopric. Between 1541 and 1690 it was the capital of the Principality of Transylvania. Alba Iulia is historically important for Romanians, Hungarians and Transylvanian Saxons. The modern city is located near the site of the important Dacian political, economic and social centre of Apulon, mentioned by the ancient Greek geographer Ptolemy and believed by many archaeologists to be the Dacian fortifications on top of Piatra Craivii. After the southern part of Dacia became a province of the Roman Empire, the capital of the Dacia Apulensis district was established here, and the city was known as Apulum. Apulum was one of the largest centers in Roman Dacia and the seat of the XIII Gemina Legion. The Apulum is the largest castrum located in Romania, occupying 37,5 ha (750 x 500 m2). In the 9th century, the city was mentioned under the name of Bălgrad or Belograd ("White Castle" in Slavic languages). The Gesta Hungarorum mentions a ruler named Geula, Gyula, or Jula, who had discovered the city and made it the capital of his dukedom during 10th century. Following the establishment of the Catholic Transylvanian bishopric after Stephen I of Hungary adopted Catholicism, the first cathedral was built in the 11th century. The present (Catholic) cathedral was built in the 12th or 13th century. In 1442, Iancu de Hunedoara, Voivod of Transylvania, used the citadel to make his preparations for a major battle against the Ottoman Turks. The cathedral was enlarged during his reign and he was entombed there after his death. Alba Iulia became the capital of the Principality of Transylvania in 1541, a status it was to retain until 1690. The Treaty of Weissenburg was signed in the town in 1551. In November of 1599, Michael the Brave, Voivode of Wallachia, entered Alba Iulia following his victory in the Battle of Şelimbăr and became Voivode of Transylvania. In 1600 he gained control of Moldavia, thereby uniting the three principalities under his rule until his murder in 1601 by Giorgio Basta's agents. This was the first unification of the three Romanian populated principalities of Wallachia, Moldavia, and Transylvania, lasting for a year and a half. In 1918, tens of thousands of Romanians and representatives of the Transylvanian Saxons and other minorities of Transylvania gathered in Alba Iulia on 1 December, now commemorated as the National Day in post-communist Romania, to hear the proclamation of the union of Transylvania with the Kingdom of Romania. In 1922, Ferdinand of Romania was symbolically crowned King of Romania in Alba Iulia in an act which mirrored the achievement of Michael the Brave.

• published: 24 Jan 2011
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