History of Alba Iulia

ia, entered Alba Iulia following his victory in the Battle of Şelimbăr and became Voivode of Transylvania. In 1600 he gained control of Moldavia, thereby uniting the principalities of Wallachia, Moldavia, and Transylvania under his rule. This lasted for a mere year and a half, until he was murdered in 1601, by general Giorgio Basta's agents.

The fortress Alba Carolina was raised between 1714 and 1738, at the initiative of Emperor Charles VI of Habsburg, being designed by architect Giovanni Morando Visconti.

Twentieth Century and Beyond

At the end of World War I, representatives of the Romanian population of Transylvania (the exact number is disputed between Romanian and Hungarian historians) and representatives of the Transylvania Saxons gathered in Alba Iulia, on 1 December 1918 (celebrated as the National Day in post-communist Romania), to proclaim the Union of Transylvania with the Kingdom of Romania. In 1922, Ferdinand of Romania was symbolically crowned King of Romania in Alba Iulia. In October 2012, the 90th anniversary of the coronation of King Ferdinand, his great-granddaughter Princess Margarita of Romania paid a visit to Alba Julia to commemorate a significant day in Romanian history