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Arad - One Millenia on the Banks of Mures
Arad might seem to some of you a quiet small town but the truth is the place buzzes with life from spring to autumn as there are a lot of local festivals and events to take place in that period. One of the most important and best known is the “Days of Arad” which goes on during summertime, between 18th and 24th of August and it involves concerts, dance shows and of course fireworks. Today Arad is the second largest city of Banat region, after Timisoara.
A little bit of history
The citadel of Arad was built rather late, during the 18th century but smaller settlements had been set up many centuries ago. Anyhow the first official document of such a settlement dates back to 1028 and it records the fights between local inhabitants and Hungarians.
In the second half of the 16th century the town goes under the Turks occupation. They built here a fortress but it was destroyed at the end of the 17th century when the Habsburgs took the power. The citadel built by the Austro - Hungarians in the mid 18th century sheltered many a merchant and a craftsman as Arad was an important commercial centre of the historical province of Transylvania. The ring walls (built in Vauban style) are still to be seen today in the “Subcetate” district.
In 1918 the citadel finally came back to Romania (as it was part of the province of Transylvania which was reunited with the other Romanian historical regions).
I would also add here some interesting facts about Arad – for the football fans I will say that in the 1899 the town hosted the first official football game of the present day Romania. “Aradeanca”, the first toy factory in Romania was also built in Arad in 1959.
Arad – a place worth visiting
Arad is a historical and cultural spot which still preserves the 19th century architectural style very well – today you can admire some very interesting and beautiful old buildings, spread all over the old part of the city. If you go to Arad you should not miss to see the oldest theatre in the country, the fortress walls or The House with the Cannon Balls – an old building which has its walls marked by many holes as a memory of the 1848 revolution.
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