Oradea is a cosmopolitan city, also known as the Art Nouveau capital of Romania due to the large number of buildings in this style. Additionally, it is one of the most developed cities in the country, with numerous tourist attractions and a location that makes it a must-visit destination. It is known for its rich multicultural history, famous Art Nouveau architecture, excellent restaurants, vibrant nightlife, and world-renowned thermal resorts.
TOP TOURIST ATTRACTIONS
What to visit and where to go:
- Union Square and the Black Eagle Palace
Union Square is today the historic and cultural center of Oradea, crafted by several master architects, painters, and builders. As a result, the architectural styles of the Union Square area (Baroque, Classicist, Eclectic, Historistic, Secession, Modernist) make it a valuable heritage site. Oradea is considered a multiethnic and multicultural city: within a single square, you can find multiple tourist attractions: the Moon Church, Saint Ladislaus Church, and Saint Nicholas Church. The most iconic monument in Oradea is the Black Eagle Palace, located in the northeastern corner of Union Square. This building is a complex ensemble with spatial configuration and facades designed in the Lechner style by architects Komor Marcell and Jakab Dezső. Besides the iconic buildings, Union Square also hosts numerous cafes and restaurants.
- Baroque Complex
The Baroque Complex is the most important of its kind in Romania and one of the most representative in Europe. It consists of three monuments: the Baroque Palace, the Roman Catholic Basilica, and the Row of Canons. An interesting fact about the Baroque Palace is that it has one hundred rooms and 365 windows, one for each day of the year. The Row of Canons is an architectural complex made up of 10 sequentially built buildings over 100 years. The cathedral consists of a main nave, two secondary naves, and still houses a functional organ dating back to 1780. Among the precious items housed in the cathedral are Gothic and Renaissance tombstones from the old cathedral in Oradea Fortress, as well as the relics of Saint Ladislaus I – the Miracle Worker.
- Medieval Oradea Fortress
Oradea Fortress is one of the few bastion fortresses in Romania and is the emblem of the city of Oradea. With a history of nearly 1,000 years, Oradea Fortress offers a unique medieval experience. Architecturally, the fortress encompasses 12 buildings and 5 bastions, each named differently: the Golden Bastion, Bethlen Bastion, Ciunt Bastion, Crăișoru Bastion, and Red Bastion. Oradea Fortress was known for its numerous underground passages which allowed communication with the outside, helping it withstand many sieges. The current A Building, the Princely Palace, is the oldest building within the fortress and introduces visitors to the history of Oradea. Additionally, a visit to the fortress also allows for a stroll through the dendrological park at the base of the walls.
- Moskovits Adolf and Sons Palace
The Moskovits Adolf and Sons Palace, also known as Moskovits II Palace, is a three-story building in the Secession style featuring a ground floor, a basement, a high roof with a smooth facade, and well-proportioned but few ornaments. The facade is a true hallmark of architects Vágo László and Vágo József's style, built in the same surface treatment style as the Gutenberg House in Budapest. The story of the palace begins immediately after 1900, amidst the growth of the Jewish community in Oradea, which included the entrepreneur Adolf Moskovits and his sons Mór and József. The palace hosted multiple purposes: stores on the ground floor, a hat salon on the first floor along with the headquarters of the Bank of Oradea and the Commercial Joint Stock Company, while the other two floors were residential apartments.
- Mushroom Hill
Also known as "Oradea's Hill," it is one of the city's symbols. Visitors enjoy benches, pergolas, relaxation areas, an outdoor amphitheater, a cafe, and five viewing points connected by a pathway and lots of green space. The restaurant at the hilltop provides an intimate and romantic setting, combining fine food with breathtaking views. At night, the city lights create a mesmerizing spectacle.
- Art Nouveau Museum - Darvas - La Roche House
The Darvas-La Roche House is a building in Oradea, constructed in the eccentric Viennese Art Nouveau style by Oradea-born architects József Vágó and László Vágó. The house is excellently located with frontage on two street fronts in the city center and towards the promenade along the Crișul Repede River, with a view of the Neolog Synagogue Zion. Inside, the period furniture in neo-Rococo style is carved from white-painted maple wood and is preserved in the upstairs bedroom. The rooms are furnished with decorative pieces and paintings that define the modern and refined lifestyle of the early 20th century.
- Town Hall Tower
The Town Hall Tower is a tourist attraction offering the opportunity to encompass the entire city in a glance. Although climbing the tower is quite a challenge, it is worth the effort because, from above, you will enjoy a stunning panoramic view of Oradea. The first floor also houses the mechanism of the clock known as the "mother clock," which plays the "March of Iancu" on the hour. The clock survived both world wars, and the roof and walls of the tower survived two fires, the first in 1917 and the second in 1944. The clock face still bears bullet marks from the war in 1944.
- Ulmann Palace
The Ullmann Palace, located on December 1st Street, was designed by local architect Ferenc Lobl in 1913 and is one of the few non-religious buildings in Oradea that clearly illustrates its Jewish faith. It is an imposing, symmetrical, and beautifully proportioned building that includes a high ground floor covered with blue-green faience tiles and three levels of residential units, the top being an attic. In the exterior decoration of the facade, elements characteristic of Jewish sacred art can be deciphered: the menorah (the seven-branched candelabrum) flanked by two lions, as well as numerous floral and geometric motifs. For the Jewish community, Ullmann Palace is also laden with painful memories related to the Second World War, as it was part of the ghetto perimeter. After the war, Ullmann Palace reverted to its previous state as a residential block, and the attic was converted into studios for professional artists.
- Felix Baths
The Felix Baths Resort is the largest spa resort in the country, located 9 km from the city of Oradea, in a hilly area covered with beech and oak forests, at an altitude of 140 meters. The Felix Baths Resort has a rich treatment base that includes: installations for tub baths, installations for hot mud and paraffin applications, thermal water pools, installations for underwater elongations, installations for electro and hydrotherapy, sauna, indoor and outdoor pools, medical gymnastics halls. The forest around the resort is the ideal place for sports enthusiasts and more.
Among the tourist attractions of the area are: the lakes with water lilies and lotuses populated by turtles and exotic fish, Apollo's thermal water beach, the first covered aqua park of the resort, the "Peța Stream" Natural Reserve.
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to Oradea
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Romania
City: Oradea
City code: OMR
Country: Romania
Country code: RO
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