The Orthodox Cathedral, also known as the Coronation Cathedral is one of the options. It was built during 1921 – 1923, according to the design of the architect D. Ghe. Stefanescu; it has the shape of a Greek cross (with all the parts equal) and it is decorated at the interior with fresco, observing the traditional iconographic style. Its bell tower stands 58 m tall.

The Roman-Catholic Cathedral is also an important monument, dating from the XIIIth century and characterized by a combination of Romanic and Gothic styles. Its most valuable part is the chapel called “Lazo”, situated on the northern part of the cathedral, decorated with unusual Gothic elements. The building contains the sarcophagus of Iancu of Hunedoara, the great ruler of Transylvania, governor of the Kingdom of Hungary and defender of Christianity against the Ottoman Empire.

The Unity Hall is the building where the representatives of Transylvania’s population gathered and adopted the declaration that would lead to the unification with Romania.

Alba Iulia also offers an organized tour that covers the city’s history from Antiquity to late medieval periods. The tour consists of: the Southern gate of the Roman camp; the medieval military camp, where you can savor a drink or two, served by men dressed as inn-keepers from those times; the tunnel that leads to St. Eugeniu bastion; the artillery platform; the weapons chamber; the Bethlem bastion; finally Alba Carolina Fortress.

This fortress was built during 1716 – 1738, following the design of the Italian architect Giovanni Morando Visconti. He employed the Vauban techniques, a construction style very popular in Europe at that time, named after one of Louis XIVth’s most trusted collaborators, Marshal Vauban, who brought several innovations in the field of fortifications and military buildings.

The Batthyaneum Library also brings its contribution to the city’s historical importance. The edifice that now hosts it was built in 1719 and functioned as a monastery, military hospital and astronomical observatory until 1798, when the Roman-Catholic bishop Batthyany Ignac (1741 – 1798) decided to donate his personal library, consisting of approximately 18 000 books and manuscripts, to the community. The institution’s most representative room is Aula Magna, finished at the beginning of the XIXth century and designed in the Austrian architectural style called “Zopf”, a combination of Classicism and Rococo.

Codex Aureus

The Batthyaneum Library (branch of the National Library of Romania) preserves the most important artifact in the country: Codex Aureus.

Besides its Latin name, the manuscript is also known as the Gospels from Lorsch, after the name of the Lorsch monastery, situated in Germany, close to the Belgian frontier. Codex Aureus was written around 810 A.D., during the reign of Charles the Great (742 – 814), when the arts and culture flourished under the guidance of the emperor’s illustrious advisor, Alcuin.
   
The manuscript was written with golden letters (that’s why it is known as Codex Aureus) on parchment of the finest quality, while the covers were made of ivory. It has 476 pages, containing the Gospels, miniature drawings at the beginning of each chapter, images of the four evangelists and genealogy of the three generations that precede the birth of Jesus Christ. The execution reflects a combination of Western and Byzantine influences, as an expression of the intercultural effervescence from that period.

The Batthyaneum Library preserves one half of Codex Aureus, because, at a certain moment is its history, the manuscript was separated in two. The other half and one of the ivory covers can be found at the library in Vatican, while the other cover is in London.

The prince of Hessen is supposed to have taken the manuscript from the Lorsch monastery to his residence in Heidelberg around 1555, then, during the 30 Years War, it ended up in the possession of Maximilian, ruler of Bavaria. This is the period when Codex Aureus was separated in two, but the motives and the precise moment have not been discovered yet (it is said that a simple soldier found it during loot and he split it to gain more money by selling the parts). In 1785 the first fragment belonged to the cardinal of Vienna, Christofor Migazzi, from whom Batthyany Ignac bought it and brought it to Transylvania.

Codex Aureus is well guarded and it is only accessible for scientific purposes, not for public exhibition. But you can flip a virtual version here. It is said that, during the Communist regime, Nicolae Ceausescu tried to contract a loan of a couple billion dollars from the western countries and offered Codex Aureus as a warranty.

Author: Iulian Fira

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