We will present some details about Oradea (Hu-Nagyvarad, De-Grosswardein)

Oradea (pronunciation in Romanian: [ora.dea], Hungarian: Nagyvárad, colloquially also Várad, German: Grosswardein, former Turkish: Varat, Yiddish:) is the capital city of Bihor County, in Crishana, Romania. The city proper has a population of 206,614 as of the 2002 census; this does not include areas from the metropolitan area, outside the municipality; they bring the total urban area population to approximately 240,000. Oradea is one of the most prosperous cities of Romania.

Geography:

The city lies at the meeting point of the Crisana plain and the Crisul Repede's basin. It is situated 126 meters above sea-level, surrounded on the north-eastern part by the hills of Oradea belonging to the Ses hills. The main part of the settlement is situated on the floodplain and on the terraces situated down the river Crissul Repede. Oradea is famous for its thermal springs. The river Crishul Repede crosses the city right in the centre, providing it with a picturesque beauty. Its output depends on the season; the water containers (the dyke near Tileagd) have partly controlled it ever since they were built in the early 1980s.

History:
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Oradea dates back to a small 10th century castle, while its bishopric was founded during the 11th century by King Ladislaus I of Hungary. The first documented mention of its name was in 1113 under the LatinVaradinum. The city flourished during the 13th century. The Citadel of Oradea, the ruins of which remain today, was first mentioned in 1241 during the Mongol invasion. The 14th century was one of the most prosperous period in the city's life. Statues of St. Stephen, Emeric and Ladislaus (before 1372) and the equestrian sculpture of St. Ladislaus (1390) were erected in Oradea. St. Ladislaus' fabled statue was the first proto-renaissance public square equestrian in Europe. Bishop Andreas Báthori (1329-1345) rebuilt the cathedral in Gothic style. From that epoch dates also the Hermes, now preserved at Györ, which contains the skull of King Ladislaus, and which is a masterpiece of the Hungarian goldsmith's art. name

Georg von Peuerbach worked at the Observatory of Varadinum (also called Großwardein/Oradea/Nagyvarad), using it as the reference or prime meridian of Earth in his Tabula Varadiensis, published posthumously in 1464.

In 1474 the city was devastated by the Turks. It was not until the 16th century that Oradea started growing as an urban area. In the 18th century, the Viennese engineer Franz Anton Hillebrandt planned the city in Baroque style and, starting from 1752, many landmarks were constructed such as the Roman Catholic Cathedral and the Bishop's Palace, presently the Muzeul Tarii Crisurilor ("The Museum of the Crishland").

After the Ottoman invasion of Hungary in the 16th century, the city was administered at various times by the Principality of Transylvania, the Ottoman Empire, and the Habsburg Monarchy. In 1598, the fortress was besiged and, on August 27, 1660, Oradea fell to the Turks and became an eyalet center as Varat. Varat Eyalet had Varat (Oradea), Salanta, Debreçin (formerly part of Budin and Esri Eyalets), Halmas, Sengevi and Yaptmaz sanjaks. The city was seized by the Austrians in September 1692.

In the second half of the 19th century literary nicknames for the town included "Hungarian Compostela", "Felix civitas", "Paris on the River Pece", "the City of Tomorrow", "Athens on the Körös", and "the City of Yesterday". These nicknames are not widely used today, although "Paris on the River Pece" is still utilised sometimes.

At the end of World War I, despite its huge Hungarian majority, Oradea was given without any plebiscite to the Kingdom of Romania. The Second Vienna Award in 1940 returned northern parts of Transylvania, including Oradea, to Hungary; this arrangement only lasted until the end of World War II when the lands were again given to Romania.

In 1925 the status of municipality was given to Oradea dissolving its former civic autonomy. According to this ordinance it was also renamed from Oradea-Mare ("Greater" Oradea) to Oradea.

Ethnic tensions sometimes run high in the area in the past but the different ethnic groups now generally live together in harmony, thriving on each other's contributions to modern culture. There are many mixed (Romanian-Hungarian) families in Oradea, with children assimilating into both of their parents' cultures and learning to speak both languages.

Economy:

Oradea has long been one of the more prosperous cities in Romania, due mainly to its location on the Hungarian border, making it a gateway towards Western Europe. The GDP per capita of Oradea is approximately 150% of the Romanian average.^[3] After 1989, due to its important base of consumers, Oradea enjoyed an economic renewal, not so much in industry but rather in the services sector.

Despite this, a survey by Capital Magazine named Oradea as the least dynamic city in Romania with a population over 150,000, falling behind Cluj-Napoca, Arad and Timisoara. In particular, the city was criticised for high taxes, poor infrastructure and a lack of a clear development strategy

Transport:

The public transport network is run by OTL, a municipal agency. It is made up of three tram lines (1R, 1N, 2, 3R, 3N) and some bus lines. The city has four train stations: Central, West, East and Episcopia Bihor. The West Station is located in the quarter of Iosia, the Central station (called simply Oradea) is located in the city centre, near the quarter of Vie, while the East station is located in Velen?a.

Oradea is served by Oradea International Airport, which has flights from major Romanian cities as well as some cities in northern Italy.

Talk

Oradea is a bilingual city, most residents speak both Romanian and Hungarian. If you speak either of these two languages, you are bound to get along well. The official language of the country is Romanian, and it is Romanian you will encounter most frequently. Despite all the Romanisation efforts of the communism era, Hungarian influences are still apparent in the bilingual shop signs or speakers to be found. Furthermore, most public signs are now in both languages.

Oradeans also tend to be fairly good at foreign languages - English, French and German are taught in all high schools and have been for a fairly long time, so even older speakers will know how to speak one of these languages. This especially applies to German, which many people will speak with great enthusiasm. Romanians are generally tolerant of foreign languages and love tourists, so, in the vast majority of cases you haven't got anything to lose by speaking French, German or English, or even Italian, in Oradea.

English is becoming increasingly popular, and it is spoken fairly fluently by the younger generation, and by many of the middle-aged people. In supermarkets or shops, you can confidently speak in English, especially if the staff members are fairly young. However, it is always good to know a few words in the local languages, because not only will the locals appreciate you for it, but you will understand much more.

Attractions:

The beautiful city centre is worth visiting, as are the Baile Felix health spas, accessible by bus and located outside the city.

Other sites worth visiting are:
- Baroque Palace of Oradea – today Muzeul ?arii Cri?urilor, a wonderful Baroque museum with 365 famous windows. It was the Roman Catholic bishop's palace until 1945, when the Communist regime took the building into public ownership. It was returned to the Roman Catholic church in 2003. Its collection includes many fossils of dinosaurs and birds from the bauxite mines at Cornet-Brusturi.
- Catedrala baroca – the biggest Baroque cathedral in Romania,
- Cetatea Oradea - Oradea's Fortress, with a pentagonal fort,
- Biserica cu Luna – a church unique in Europe, with a type of astronomical clock depicting the phases of the moon,
- Pasajul Vulturul Negru – the "Black Eagle" Passage,
- Ady Endre Museum - a museum dedicated to one of the greatest Hungarian poets,
- Teatrul de Stat – the State Theatre, plans for which were designed by two Austrian architects who had built around 100 theatres and opera houses in Europe by the end of the 19th century,
- Str. Republicii – one of the most beautiful streets of Transylvania, displaying an incredible number of Art Nouveau buildings (under restoration in 2006),
- There are around 100 religious sites of different denominations in Oradea, including three synagogues (however, only one is said to be still in use) and the biggest Baptist church in Eastern Europe.

Text from wikipedia


Cheap Hostel and Hotel links:
- Hotel Melody
- Posztikum
- Hotel Atrium
- Hotel Eden
- Oradea Hostel

Oradea Airport:
- OMR Oradea Airport
Oradea's closest large international airport is Budapest's Ferihegy, which serves flights from all corners of Europe. See above for information on train connections to Oradea. Cluj-Napoca is another option for most flights from elsewhere in Europe.

Oradea also has a fairly small but increasingly busy international airport. This airport has TAROM flights from Bucharest twice daily, as well as flights to Satu Mare and other provincial cities. These flights are average in terms of comfort, but are fairly expensive, and are not worth the money. There are international flights by private Romanian carrier Carpatair to places such as Ancona, Venice, Padova, Rome, Milan, Munich and Stuttgart, which are useful if you come from these places.

Railway:
Getting into Oradea is moderately easy, especially from Romania. Most visitors arrive in by train, as Oradea is located at the western extremity of the Romanian train network. If you're travelling from Bucharest, there are two or three trains per day, one of which is a very comfortable yet fairly inexpensive night train, especially if you decide to travel in a refurbished first-class sleeper. Make sure that you take your tickets well in advance if you intend to travel by the first-class sleeper cars because the tickets sell out quickly.

The journey from Bucharest is a 10-hour, 650 km trip across Romania. Getting to Oradea from other parts of Transylvania is a lot easier and quicker - there are now fast InterCity (IC) connections with brand-new trains from Germany to Cluj-Napoca, Arad and Timisoara. Besides these, there are fast trains that link Oradea at least once daily with nearly every major city in Romania.

If Oradea is your entry point to Romania, and you are coming from Hungary or Central Europe, connections are scarcer. There are three trains per day from Budapest to Oradea (some of which continue onwards to Brasov and Cluj-Napoca). Two of these trains are early in the morning, and one leaves Budapest in the afternoon and arrives in Oradea in the late evening, after about six hours.

Even though this method is fairly accessible, due to the fact that Budapest is a railway hub, the trains, provided by the Hungarian railways, are seldom comfortable. The wooden wallpaper decor of the train compartments is tasteless, and the red plush seats are soft, low and uncomfortable. This isn't aided by the lack of light and cleanliness of the train, even in first class.

If you do travel from Hungary to Oradea by train, make a booking or board a Romanian train or carriage, as these are nowadays of a much higher standard. Romanian carriages are colored in blue or red and have the acronym CFR written on the side (CFR is the Romanian State Railways).

For a good domestic trip finder see Romanian Railways.

For an international pan-European trip finder try Deutsche Bahn European Timetable.

By bus
Intercity bus and coach services running through Oradea are strongly on the increase, and most of the residents see them as a welcome departure from what they see are slow, uncomfortable trains. This is due to the fact that intercity coach travel is very much a novelty in a country where trains and aeroplanes have been the primary form of public transportation for decades. Even today, train is by far the recommended way, being much more comfortable and increasingly modern and luxurious.

Bus services are private, and are either run by large cross-European companies such as Eurolines or small Romanian or Hungarian companies which operate coaches between, say, Oradea and Budapest.