Romania, part X - Alba Iulia (ii): Cetatea Alba Carolina during the day, Catedrala Sfântul Mihail (Gyulafehérvári Szent Mihály érseki székesegyház) and the grave of John Hunyadi, part I

Alba Iulia's claim to fame is that it is home to one of the largest fortresses in eastern Europe, Alba Carolina (Romanian: Cetatea Alba Carolina), and it also houses the cathedral of St. Michael, the mausoleum of John Hunyadi, the great Hungarian warlord and the father of the celebrated Hungarian king, Matthias Corvinus. As I've mentioned in most of my Romanian entries, I went through a Vlad Tepes history phase during my early twenties, which I sometimes still relapse into. John Hunyadi was one of the most important figures in the young Impaler's life, and also played a pivotal role in the politics of eastern and central Europe in the 15th century. Now I will admit this. When I planned a visit to Alba Iulia, I did not realise that this was the last resting place of the great Hungarian warlord. I had prepared Cluj-Napoca because I wanted to see the birthplace of his son Matthias Corvinus, and Sighisoara because it was the birthplace of his great contemporary Vlad Tepes, but Alba Iulia was a coincidence. Imagine how pleasantly shocked and surprised I was, then, when I found out that John Hunyadi was interred here. I went back to the hotel and quickly googled it, and found that the tomb I'd just seen was the real thing. Full circle, then. Interesting how things work out.

The final resting place of John Hunyadi, Janos Hunyadi or Ioan de Hunedoara

St. Michael's cathedral is the Roman Catholic cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Alba Iulia, Romania, and is the oldest cathedral in the country, although to be honest it didn't look that old. It was destroyed during the Mongol invasion of 1241 (that's my people), and then rebuilt in the 13th century.

Inside the Cathedral of St. Michael

Here's a quick rundown of Alba Iulia's historical importance:

[...] the city has been the seat of Transylvania's Roman Catholic diocese. Between 1541 and 1690 it was the capital of the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom and the latter Principality of Transylvania. Alba Iulia is historically important for Romanians, Hungarians and Transylvanian Saxons. [...] The main historical area of Alba Iulia is the Upper Town region, developed by Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor in honour of whom the Habsburgs renamed the city Karlsburg. The fortress, with seven bastions in a stellar shape, was constructed between 1716 and 1735 by two Swiss fortification architects. (source)

However interesting its history was, Lital and I were less than impressed by the city. The citadel itself, Alba Carolina, was beautiful, but the people seemed incredibly racist. Lital told me that she'd seen a woman sneer in my direction, but then the woman noticed Lital glaring at her, which wiped the smirk off her face. After dinner, me and Lital were taking a nice stroll through the park, when two gypsy children pointed at me and said something malevolent in either Romanian or Romani. Lital later told me that they were calling me something along the lines of ladyboy, which is always flattering. So, yeah - bad vibes from this city, and it's not a place I ever intend to return to. It's just as well that I paid my respects to Janos Hunyadi, because I will not be revisiting Alba Carolina ever again. The weather was deathly cold whilst we were there, but it seemed like one of those dusty Romanian towns that would be very hot during the summer.

And then back to the hotel, where I treated myself to something nice and hot after all that walking around in the freezing cold. It may not look like it but that day was really chilly.