Aiud

Aiud is a city located in Alba county, Transylvania, Romania. The city has a population of 28,934 people. It has the status of municipality is the second-largest city in the county after capital Alba Iulia. The Aiud administrative region has is 142.2 square kilometres in area.

The municipality of Aiud is made up of the city proper and of 3 urban localities and 6 localities which are located outside the city proper but belong to the municipality. The three urban localities are: Gâmbas/Marosgombás, Măgina/Muzsnaháza and Pădiga/Kisapahida/. The rural localities are: Ciumbrud/Csombord (0.81 km²), Sîncrai/Enyedszentkirály (0.65 km²), Gârbova de Jos/Alsóorbó (1.04 km²), Ţifra/Cifrafogadó (0.06 km²), Gârbova de Sus/Felsőorbó(0.52 km²) and Gârboviţa/Középorbó (0.28 km²).

Aiud is an important tourism centre in terms of agrotourism, ecotourism and cultural tourism.

Cultural Attractions:

• The city centre is historical and is home to many majestic buildings, such as the Aiud Citadel, City Hall, museums and churches.
•  Aiud Citadel (Cetatea Aiudului in Romanian) is located in the centre of Aiud, and was built during medieval times (14th century), comprising of many buildings. It is the main tourist attraction of Aiud. The citadel is fairly small, with a perimeter of 350 metres, and it is in the form of a pentagon.
• The Students' Monument Due to its strong educational culture, which dates back to the foundations of the city, the Students' Monument (Monumentul studentesc) is the oldest monument in Aiud. It is located in the beautiful City Park, and was erected in memory of the students who fought against the Habsburg invasion in 1704. The monument was erected in 1904, 200 years after the invasion.
• The "Calvarul Aiudului" Monument is a modern monument in remembrance of the suffering and deaths during the Communist regime of Romania. The monument, started in 1992, is made up of many crosses (6 metres tall), symbolising the traditions of Romania. In the Communist era, Aiud was an important centre where the elite of the Communist resistance were buried, and the "Calvarul Aiudului" monument seeks to remember those. The monument is located just outside the city centre, in the southwest.
• The City Hall of Aiud is located right in the centre of the city, at No. 1 Cuza Vodă street, close to the Aiud Citadel. The edifice, built in the 1890s, is built in the majestic style of those times, with balconies, statues, decorations and wonderful interiors.
• Aiud is home to two major, public museums. They are the Museum of History and the Museum of Natural Sciences. The history museum was built in 1796 and is housed in a historical building. There is a large collection of coins, as well as medieval and pre-medieval artifacts. The collection of the Museum of Natural Sciences dates back from 1720. It is based mainly on zoology, as well as botany, paleontology and geology.
• The Orthodox Cathedral is located in the southeast of the city, and is an impressive building with high ceilings and wonderful domes. It was built after the unification of Transylvania with the rest of Romania (Wallachia and Moldavia) in 1 December 1918. The construction started in 1927 and went on for some decades. The architecture was inspired from the St. Sofia church in Istanbul, and is built in Byzantine style.
• The Roman Catholic Church, albeit being smaller and less imposing that the Orthodox Cathedral, is still very beautiful, built in baroque style. Also, it is situated in Cuza Vodă Square, surrounding the medieval Aiud Citadel, making the Church very ideal in terms of surroundings. The church contains a large organ as well as stained glass windows which were painted by an artist from Budapest.
• The Reformed Church mainly serves the Hungarian minority of Aiud, which played a big role in the identity of the city in terms of education, art, architecture and more. Their church is arguably the most memorable of the three main churches, because it is located right in the Aiud Citadel, and is medieval in architecture style, being the oldest church in Aiud.
• The most famous monastery in Aiud is the Râmeţ monastery, which was built in the 15th century. Its architecture is classically Romanian, resembling the painted monasteries of Moldavia such as Voronet. In the monastery there is also a museum. In addition to Râmeţ monastery, there are also monasteries at Magina and Cicau.