Arad, a holiday destination

A town of crucial importance for the union of the Romanian principalities.

Daniel Onea, 15.11.2018, 12:31

The Confectionery Museum, the Cannonballs House, the Tram Museum, the Wine Route and fairy–tale mansions and castles are only some of the treats visitors get if they travel to the town of Arad. This beautiful town, of crucial importance for the union of the Romanian principalities, is the starting point for an unforgettable trip through the county with the same name.

Our guide is Ralu Cotrau, a spokeswoman for the Arad Town Hall: ”The assessment made in 1937, when Arad was rated as Transylvania’s most representative town and Romania’s fourth most important town is still relevant today. No less than 4001 firms were operational in town at that time. Its geographic position, but also the ethnic and religious diversity of its inhabitants were the main elements that won Arad this status. Today Arad continues to be one of the most prosperous towns in the post-communist Romania. “

Arad boasts a rich cultural and historical heritage and is a genuine museum of architectural styles typical for the 18th, 19th and the 20th centuries with its art and history monuments. With details on that, here is Ralu Cotrau once again: “Architecture lovers can admire buildings in the Baroque, Renaissance, Eclectic, Classical, Neo-Gothic or Secession styles. If you happen to be in Arad, we invite you to visit the Administrative Palace, one of the city’s most important buildings and undoubtedly, one of Romania’s most beautiful Town Hall buildings. Also in the center of the town, you can admire the Ioan Slavici Classical Theater, the Culture Palace, which has been restored recently, with a breathtaking, spectacular interior. The Water Tower is another interesting asset, all the more so as it is the ideal place to admire part of the city, from a height of 35 meters. Here you can also find an impressive venue for exhibitions, stretching on five levels. Once more, make sure you do not miss the city’s period buildings and palaces, especially the ones located on the Revolution Boulevard, such as the Neuman Palace, the Justice Palace or the National Bank Palace, all of them refined samples of the eclectic and neo-Classical architecture. The Arad Fortified City, a Transylvanian fortress built in the Vauban style, or the House with a Lock, also named the Cannonballs House after the 17 cannonballs incorporated in the wall, tell about the town’s fascinating history. Also, Arad has Baroque-style churches, such as the Monastery of Saint Simeon the Stylite, the Serbian Church of Saints Peter and Paul or the Cathedral of Saint Antony of Padua erected in 1904, in the Renaissance style. We also recommend that you visit the Serbian Church, the Red Church, the Reconciliation Park, the Eugen Popa Art and Ethnography Museum, the Romanian Orthodox Institute Building, the venue of Transylvania’s first Romanian pedagogical school and the Confectioner’s Museum.“

Arad has a lot to offer in terms of culture and arts as 100 such events are held here every year. The International Literature Festival, the Documentary Film Festival, events dedicated to children, such as KINOdiseea and Start Festival, are only some of them. The town’s surrounding areas are also worth visiting.

Ralu Cotrau, tells us more about it: “Arad’s vineyards, located only 15 kilometers away from the town is a must see at all seasons, especially during fall, when the landscape is breathtaking. Here visitors can taste red and white wines and discover unique tourist objectives that harmoniously combine tradition with modernity. Every locality within the vineyards’ area can be a starting point for mountain routes that take travelers to the peaks of the Zarand Mountains. So I encourage you to take the Wine Route in Arad’s Vineyards. And, since we are talking about wine, another recommendation is the Vine and Wine Museum in Ghioroc village that has on display over 50,000 different bottles of wine from the Riesling, Mustoasa, Feteasca, Burgundy Red, Cabernet and Merlot types. The collection also includes a couple of bottles of Italian wine from 1926. The village of Ghioroc also hosts the Electric Tram Museum, since the first electric tram line in Eastern Europe and the eighth in the world became operational here. The vineyard’s electric tram is still operational, and is known as the Green Arrow.”

Raluca Cotrau also recommends visitors not to miss out on the numerous fortresses and castles located along the Mures River: “In Savarsin there is the famous royal castle while only several kilometers away there is the Dacian fortress in Varadia of Mures. Then, there are the castles in Capalna and Bulci and the Soimos fortress. The Cernovici castle in Macea, surrounded by a dendrological park with rare plant species, the ideal place for long and relaxing walks is also worth visiting. Then there is the Purgly Castle in Sofronea, a copy of the castle in Hunedoara, with a thermal pool open all year round. Do your best to also visit Maria Radna Monastery, the most important pilgrimage site for Roman-Catholics in western Romania. As you may have noticed, a weekend is not enough to see everything that Arad has to offer. Tourist circuits organized constantly to this part of the country have become increasingly popular. We have visitors from Hungary, Germany, France, Israel and Slovakia who always promise to come back and make sure to keep their promise.”