Tourist Attractions in Hunedoara County
Daniel Onea, 07.03.2019, 13:16
One of the most important monuments of feudal Gothic art in south-eastern Europe, Corvin Castle, comes first on the list of the most popular tourist attractions in Hunedoara county. The region is also famous for the Bucura Lake, which is believed to be Romanias largest glacial lake and for Deva Fortress, one of the most important medieval fortresses in Transylvania. Tourists can benefit from several travel programmes combining visits to the most important tourist attractions in Hunedoara county.
Today we will introduce you to a seven-day programme run by the Social and Economic Development Agency of Hunedoara County. Here is now director Camelia Bedea with more on this programme:
“Visitors are welcome here in Hunedoara and we invite them to stay longer so that they may be able to visit the many tourist attractions that our county is home to. This seven day programme, which starts in Tara Zarandului (Land of Zarand) and ends in the Jiu Valley, allows people to visit the regions main tourist assets. They can also taste local dishes and get introduced to our beautiful customs and traditions, which have been preserved unaltered. On the first day they can visit the local history museum, the Gold Museum, the Fabric Museum in Baita and the Gold Prospectors House, all of them located in the Land of Zarand.”
On the second day, visits can be made to the Deva Fortress, an edifice which, along the centuries, has been owned by princes, dukes and duchesses, each of them bringing their own contribution to the architecture. The building, which has been completely refurbished, was designed to be not only a fortress but also a dwelling place for the aristocracy. Lets find out more about this travel programme from Camelia Bedea:
“On the third day we invite you to Orastie, where one can visit the local fortress, the famous Sarmizegetusa Regia, the Arsenal Park and the Mada Gorges. Our next stop is Geoagiu Bai, the regions famous spa with its treatment facilities; then we invite our tourists to visit the Roman Baths, the Clocota waterfall as well as the Stone Church of Geoagiu. The fifth day is reserved to the beautiful world-famous Corvin Castle, to the Alun Marble Village, the Prislop Monastery, the Auroch Reserve in Hateg and the Dinosaurs Geopark. Then we move southward to the old and beautiful stone church of Densus, the Malaiesti Fortress, Ulpia Traiana, Banita Gorges and the Bolii Cave. The activities planned for the seventh day include visits to the Mining Museum, horse-riding, cyclotourism and paragliding in the regions mountainous part, which is also famous for its ski slopes very popular in winter.”
Maia Tonde is the representative of Romanias largest theme park, the Arsenal Park, located in Orastie, Hunedoara County. Here is Maia Tonde herself, giving us details about the park:
“The Arsenal Park is actually an experience, quite unique in Romania. It has been developed for families and team-building activities, and here everybody can have fun and relax. At the beginning of each year, the park is closed for three months, for maintenance works, but otherwise, we have an all-year-round season. It very much resembles military training, yet it is an open-for-everybody program, tailored for people who are active or not so active. It is well worth having the experience of a stay in an armored amphibious vehicle theme room for instance. It is something very special. We have carefully thought-out packages on offer. We even created a unique holiday-sharing package. For instance, two families can share a holiday.”
Another major tourist attraction in the area, the Dinosaurs Geopark, covers the entire Hateg Land and is a UNESCO site and part of the International Geoscience and Geoparks Programme. The programme covers some 100 territories in 33 countries, chosen following a formal selection and validation process, which are included in the Global Geoparks Network. The dwarf dinosaurs discovered in Hateg Country are unique around the word, and their scientific relevance and the fact that they make an attraction point are enhanced by discoveries of dinosaur eggs and embryos. Once a year during summer, the destination is promoted through a family-tailored event: Volcanoes Day. The event consists of workshops, games, contests, tailored for parents, children and grandparents, and all that happens in the town of Hateg.
The most important tourist asset of the county, however, is Corvin Castle, which is also the host of an international event, the European Castles Fair, an event that will see its 5th edition in 2019. Here is castle guide Ioan Bodochi, offering us a brief description of the castle:
“If we enter the castle through the inner courtyard, we can see the neo-Gothic gallery. It is a rather recent construction, completed in the second half of the 19th century. From there, we have Loga Matia. This is the first construction with elements of the early Italian renaissance style in Transylvania. Fortunately, on the upper floor, Transylvanias only lay Renaissance fresco has been preserved. Also in the courtyard, we can notice, apart from the open-vault cloister, the old and quite large semicircular entrance. Next to it there stands the administrative wing. From the courtyard, if we walk inside the castle, first we can visit the Mercenaries Kitchen, which hosts an exhibition of old engravings and images of the castle as well as an original scale model, built in 1866.”
So here we have a complex destination, available for all types of tourism and where accommodation offers are numerous. Usually, travel agents suggest you get accommodation at the heart of the county, where from one can reach all natural and historical assets.
