Alba Iulia Fortress

Alba Carolina Citadel
Cetatea Alba Carolina
Alba Iulia in Romania
Aerial shot of the fortress taken in 2007
Alba Carolina Citadel is located in Romania
Alba Carolina Citadel
Alba Carolina Citadel
Location in Romania
Coordinates46°04′03″N 23°34′16″E / 46.06751°N 23.57124°E / 46.06751; 23.57124
TypeFortress
Site information
Open to
the public		Yes
ConditionRestored[1][2][3]
Site history
Built1715 (1715)–1738
ArchitectGiovanno Morando Visconti

The Alba Carolina Citadel (Romanian: Cetatea Alba Carolina, Hungarian: Gyulafehérvári vár) is a star-shaped fortress located in Alba Iulia, Romania.[4][5][6][7][8] Its construction commenced on November 4, 1715, during the Habsburg rule in Transylvania, and was completed in 1738. 20,000 serfs were involved in its construction, which is estimated to have cost around 3 million florins. The citadel was built on the site of two other fortifications: the legionary fortress of Legio XIII Gemina (known as Apulum), as well as the medieval Belgrad citadel.[9]

The shape of the citadel, an iconic element of Vauban architecture, influenced the design of Alba Iulia's city logo when the city adopted city branding in 2014.[8] The city received 47.5 million lei in 2009 for the restoration and conservation of the citadel.[10]

The citadel is named after Charles VI, known as Carol VI in Romanian, who was the Holy Roman Emperor at the time of the citadel's construction.

  1. ^ Rus-Cacovean, Ioana. "The Conservation of the Alba Iulia Fortress in the 20th Century: An Image Problem for the Romanian Communist Party" (PDF). Transsylvania Nostra. 8 (4): 13–18. ISSN 1842-5631. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  2. ^ Cernuta, Radu (20 January 2015). "Restaurarea cetății din Alba Iulia e o mascaradă confuză". Vice (in Romanian). Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  3. ^ "Cetatea Alba Iulia, cireaşă pe tortul turistic al Europei. Lucrările de restaurare au costat 50 de milioane de euro". Adevarul (in Romanian). 6 July 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  4. ^ "Alba Carolina Fortress - The Roman Citadel of Alba Iulia". Rolandia. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  5. ^ "The Alba Iulia Fortress". Alba Iulia Town Hall. Archived from the original on 5 August 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  6. ^ Popa, Nicolae (2014). "Heritage, image and territorial competitiveness.". In Dasí, Joaquín Farinós (ed.). Identity and Territorial Character: Re-Interpreting Local-Spatial Development. Vol. 13. Universitat de València. p. 122. ISBN 9788437094632.
  7. ^ "The Bastionary, Vauban-type Citadel of Alba Carolina". Alba Iulia Town Hall (in Romanian). Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  8. ^ a b Maican, Silvia; Muntean, Andreea; Paștiu, Carmen (July 2018). Branded Cities Alba Iulia, a Romanian Example (PDF). International Conference on Economic and Social Studies. Vol. 5. Sarajevo: International Burch University. pp. 16–28. ISSN 2303-4564.
  9. ^ Zgârciu, Liviu. "Cetatea bastionară de tip Vauban, Alba Carolina". Historia (in Romanian). Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  10. ^ "Peste 47 de milioane de lei pentru reabilitarea Cetatii Vauban". Ziare. Retrieved 13 October 2019.