Oradea
Oradea is the capital of the Crișana region in Romania. It serves as the administrative centre of Bihor County. The city is situated on both banks of the Crișul Repede River.
As of 2021, Oradea is Romania's ninth most populous city. It is located approximately from the Hungarian border. The municipality covers 11,556 hectares and lies between the Apuseni Mountains and the Crișana-Banat plain.
The Oradea Fortress is a historic fortification located within the city, whose origins date back to the 11th century when it served as an episcopal residence and religious centre. Throughout the Middle Ages, the fortress played a strategic role in the border region between Central and Eastern Europe.
The city features Art Nouveau architecture, and is a member of both the Réseau Art Nouveau Network and the Art Nouveau European Route.
Etymology
The Romanian name Oradea is derived from the city's Hungarian name Nagyvárad, . In Hungarian language, Nagyvárad means "large castle" or "great citadel." The suffix -ad or -da is typically used in Hungarian to form settlement names.Oradea is also known by the German name Großwardein, and the Yiddish name גרױסװאַרדײן . Historical names include the Turkish Varat or Varad, Latin Varadinum, and the Italian Gran Varadino. In Romanian, older versions include Oradia, Oradea Mare, Varadia Mare, and Urbea Mare.
Geography
Oradea is located at the meeting point of the Crișana Plain and the Crișul Repede river basin, at approximately 123 m above sea level. The city is bordered to the northeast by the Oradiei Hills, which form part of the larger Șes Hills range.The urban area primarily occupies the floodplain and the natural river terraces along the Crișul Repede River, which flows through the city center. The river's flow varies seasonally, but since the early 1980s, flood management infrastructure near Tileagd has helped regulate water levels and reduce flood risk.
Oradea is also located near thermal springs such as Băile Felix, which draw tourists to the region.
Climate
Oradea has a humid continental climate with notable oceanic influences due to westerly prevailing winds. Summer is generally long and warm, often accompanied by cooler nights, while winter is relatively short and moderately cold.The city's annual average temperature is. In July, the average temperature reaches approximately, whereas in January it averages. Annual precipitation amounts to roughly, providing adequate moisture to support local vegetation and woodland.
Rainfall occurs throughout the year, but tends to peak in June, with the driest periods typically falling in late autumn and winter.
History
Early history
The archaeological findings around the city provide evidence of continuous human settlement since the Neolithic period. This includes various Dacian and Celtic settlements. After the conquest of Dacia, the Romans constructed settlements in the area, most notably in the Salca district of the city and Băile Felix. According to the Gesta Hungarorum, the region was ruled by Menumorut in the late 9th and early 10th centuries until the Hungarian conquest. Its citadel was centered at Biharea. According to an anonymous royal chronicler, Menumorut's duchy was populated primarily by Khazars and Székelys. Additionally, he reported that Menumorut acknowledged the suzerainty of the Byzantine Emperor at the time, although the emperor in question was not mentioned by name.File:Képes_krónika_-_99.oldal_-_A_nagyváradi_egyház_építése.jpg|alt=|left|thumb|Construction of the church of Várad by King Saint Ladislaus of Hungary
In the 11th century, King St. Ladislaus I of Hungary established a bishopric settlement near the city of Oradea, the present Roman Catholic Diocese of Oradea.
Middle Ages
The city flourished both economically and culturally during the 13th century as part of the Kingdom of Hungary. An abundance of historical evidence from this time has been found in the Regestrum Varadinense, a record of legal proceedings between 1208 and 1235, from Oradea, containing 711 place names and 2,500 personal names.The Citadel of Oradea, which was built during the Mongol invasion, was first mentioned in 1241. The fortress would be destroyed and rebuilt several times over the following centuries. The 14th and 15th centuries were the most prosperous periods in the city's history up to that point. Many monuments were erected, including statues of Saints Stephen, Emeric, and Ladislaus and the equestrian sculpture of St. King Ladislaus I. The statue of St. Ladislaus was the first proto-Renaissance public square equestrian monument in Europe. Bishop Andreas Báthori rebuilt the Cathedral in the Gothic style as well as the Hermes reliquary, now preserved at Győr, containing the skull of St. Ladislaus.
The Tabula Varadiensis of the astronomer Georg von Peuerbach, which was published posthumously in 1464, marked the city's Observatory of Varadinum as the terrestrial point of reference and prime meridian.
Turkish Invasions and Conquest
In 1474, when the King of Hungary and Croatia, Matthias Corvinus, was absent from the country, Oradea was besieged by the Ottoman Empire's military. As a consequence, the city was severely damaged; however, the king later resettled it with inhabitants from other parts of Hungary, whom he exempted from taxes, a policy retained by Ferdinand I in 1553.The Peace of Várad was concluded between Emperor Ferdinand I and John Zápolya in Oradea on 4 February 1538, in which they mutually recognized each other as legitimate monarchs. After the Ottoman invasion of Hungary in the 16th century, the city became a constant point of contention among the Principality of Transylvania, the Ottoman Empire, and the Habsburg monarchy. After the 1570 Treaty of Speyer, parts of Crișana, including Oradea, were incorporated into the newly formed Principality of Transylvania, a successor to the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom.
The Ottomans unsuccessfully laid siege to the city in 1598. After the Treaty of Vienna, the city became a permanent part of the Principality of Transylvania by imperial decree.
After the Transylvanian Prince György Rákoczi II's failed attempt to gain the throne of Poland, the Ottomans again sent an expedition against him and his Wallachian and Moldavian allies: Gheorghe Ștefan and Constantin Șerban. In 1660, an Ottoman force of 45,000 men besieged the city for the last time. The 850 defenders managed to hold out for 46 days, but eventually, the city fell on 27 August 1660 due to internal treachery. The siege is described in detail by János Szalárdi in a contemporaneous chronicle. The Ottomans designated the city as the capital of the newly formed Eyalet of Varat. The eyalet included the sanjaks of Varat, Salanta, Debreçin, Halmaş, Sengevi, and Yapışmaz. The Ottoman rule of the city ended in 1692 when Habsburg imperial forces conquered it after a 14-month siege.
Habsburg Era
The city had been severely damaged during the Great Turkish War, with only 114 houses standing and 21 undamaged. Under the Habsburgs' reconstruction, in the 18th century, Oradea entered its golden age. The Viennese engineer Franz Anton Hillebrandt was tasked with planning the city in the Baroque style. Starting in 1752, many of the city's current landmarks were constructed, such as the Roman Catholic Cathedral, the Moon Church, the State Theatre, and the Baroque Palace.The city played a major role in the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, being the home of the largest Hungarian arms factory.
20th century
Following the end of World War I and the dissolution of Austria-Hungary, the Hungarian–Romanian War broke out between Hungary and the Kingdom of Romania, with the latter, backed by France, achieving a decisive victory over the Hungarian Soviet Republic, backed by Soviet Russia. Consequently, Oradea passed under Romanian control in 1919 and officially became a part of Romania with the signing of the Treaty of Trianon in 1920. In 1925, the city was designated a municipality, dissolving its former civic autonomy. Under the same ordinance, its name was changed from Oradea Mare to simply Oradea.The Second Vienna Award, brokered by Hitler and Mussolini in 1940, allowed Hungary to recover Northern Transylvania, including Oradea, and mass celebrations welcomed the Hungarian administration. On 12 October 1944, Oradea was captured by Soviet troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front during the Battle of Debrecen and reverted to Romanian administration in March 1945. After World War II, Hungary relinquished its claims to the city in accordance with the terms of the Treaty of Paris concluded on 10 February 1947.
Due to its rich history and influential institutions, Oradea is considered one of the most important economic, academic, and cultural centers in Romania, while featuring a unique Romanian-Hungarian bilingual dynamic.
Demographics
According to the 2021 Romanian census, Oradea had a population of 183,105, a decrease from the figures recorded during previous censuses.Jewish community
The chevra kadisha was founded in 1735, the first synagogue in 1803, and the first communal school in 1839. Not until the beginning of the 19th century were Jews permitted to do business in any other part of the city, and even then, they were required to return at nightfall to their own quarter. In 1835, permission was granted for Jews to live in any part of the city.The Jewish community of Oradea became divided into Orthodox and Neolog congregations. While the members of the Neolog congregation still retained their membership in the chevra kadisha, they began to use a cemetery of their own in 1899. In the early 20th century, the Jews of Oradea had achieved prominence in public life in the city. Furthermore, there were Jewish manufacturers, merchants, lawyers, physicians, and farmers; in 1902, the chief of police was a Jew; and in the municipal council, the Jewish element was proportionately represented. The community possessed, in addition to the hospital and chevra kadisha, a Jewish women's association, a grammar school, a trade school for boys and girls, a yeshiva, a soup kitchen, etc.
According to the Center for Jewish Art:
The 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. Only three hundred Jews reside in Oradea today. In the center of the city, on the riverbank and towering over other buildings in the area, is the large Neolog Temple Synagogue, built in 1878. The unusual cube-shaped synagogue with its large cupola is one of the largest in Romania. Inside, there is a large organ and stucco decorations. In 1891, the Orthodox community also built a complex of buildings, including two synagogues and a community center.
In 1944, during the occupation of Hungary by Nazi Germany, Hungarian authorities forced the Jewish inhabitants into the Oradea ghetto before sending them to the Auschwitz concentration camp. Descendants of the pre-Holocaust Hasidic rabbinate in Oradea established a synagogue in the Willowbrook area of Staten Island, New York City. The synagogue maintains both a traditional Hasidic Nusach Sefard and a Nusach Ashkenaz service, the latter of which operates under the name Bais Medrash Igud Avreichim of Groisverdain.
As of 2021, there is a project to build a rabbinical seminary in Oradea.