Visit Oradea

Visit Oradea

While modern Oradea is first mentioned in 1113, under the Latin name Varadinum in a diploma belonging to a Benedictine Zobor Abbey - Bishop Sixtus Varadiensis and Saul de Bychar are mentioned in the document - recent archaeological findings, in and around the city, provide evidence of a more or less continuous habitation since the Neolithic. After the Ottoman invasion of Hungary, in the 16th century, the city became a constant point of contention between the Principality of Transylvania, the Ottoman Empire, and the Hapsburg Monarchy. Under the Hapsburg's the city entered its golden age. The Viennese engineer Franz Anton Hillebrandt given the task of planning the city in the Baroque style and, starting with the year 1752, many of the city's current landmarks were constructed such as the Roman Catholic Cathedral, the Moon Church, the State Theater and the Baroque Palace.he Oradea Jewish community was once the most active both commercially and culturally in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In 1944, twenty-five thousand Oradean Jews were deported to concentration camps by the Nazis, thus decimating this vital community. Oradea's current architecture is a mix of Communist-era apartment buildings, mainly in the outer quarters, and beautiful historical buildings that are remnants of the era when the city was part of Austria-Hungary. In addition to many Baroque buildings, Oradea is remarkable for its particularly rich collection of Art Nouveau architecture.