With a history of almost 1000 years, the Fortress of Oradea is today a tourist attraction that should not be missed, because it offers a special medieval experience. The fortress offers history, astronomy, art and culture enthusiasts a lot of valuable information through its historical past, architecture and legends about the events that marked its existence.
In the tradition regarding the foundation of Oradea, it is told how King Ladislaus I, hunting through the lands of Bihor, in a place of great beauty, during his rest, was urged by angels to build a monastery in honor of the Virgin Mary. He picked it up, and the place was named Varad.
The fortress built around that monastery will surely impress you. It is made in a pentagonal shape, with five bastions located on the corners, having a defensive role together with the moat that surrounded it, which in the past was filled with thermal water. Each bastion has an engaging story.
About the Golden Bastion, it is known that the second one was built, in 1572, at the command of Prince Stephen Báthory. He owes its name to its gilded coat of arms. A fragment of the lion guarding under the coat of arms and the block engraved with the year (1)572 can still be seen today.
Today, the bridge, ditch and counter-escarpment are transformed into green spaces. In this place there is a beautifully landscaped park, perfect for a walk at sunset.
Inside the Fortress is the building of the Princely Palace, which houses the Oradea City Museum in one of its wings. Visit it and discover how history will have fewer and fewer secrets for you.
Brief historical foray
The beginnings of Oradea Fortress are closely related to the events that took place here in 1241. Then, right before from the imminent Tatar-Mongol attack, the walls that sheltered the cathedral dedicated to the Holy Virgin Mary, the episcopal palace and other smaller buildings of an ecclesiastical ensemble urgently needed repairs and restoration of a part.
In the following centuries, the constructions evolved, the walls got bigger, and the fortress became more and more imposing in front of the enemies. It has five bastions, namely Ciunt Bastion, Bethlen Bastion, Crăișorul Bastion, Red Bastion and Golden Bastion.
Of these, the Golden Bastion was the most affected by the sieges, due to the fact that it faces the Pisica hill, from where the Ottomans bombarded the fortification in 1598, 1658 and 1660. Also, after the Austrian siege in 1692, the northern side of the bastion was seriously damaged, and extensive repair work was carried out.
Representation of the legend of Saint Ladislaus
The legend of the place says that King Ladislaus loved this place so much that he ordered that when he died, his body would be brought and buried in Oradea Bihorului.
Time passed, and when the king met his end in Zvolen, in the year 1095, his companions hastened to fulfill his testamentary command and set off with his lifeless body in a cart towards Oradea. As the distance was too great, and it was very hot outside, they changed their destination to Alba Regală, fearing that the king's body would not withstand the journey. But, after a stop, they found that both the cart and Ladislau's body had disappeared, finding it then driving alone on the road to Oradea.
Unique experiences
Right inside the Fortress you will find the building of the Princely Palace, built between 1620 and 1629. Here you will discover that the Oradea City Museum - Cultural Complex is located in one of the wings of the palace. Also, in the basement of the same monument there is also a lapidary, where there are numerous exhibits that were brought to light during the rehabilitation process of the fortress.
Also, the city of Oradea is itself a tourist attraction, characterized by special architecture, in which the Art Noveau style predominates.
In addition, not far from the city are Băile Felix and Băile 1 Mai, a fact that turns the area into a true paradise of thermal waters.
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