Oradea

Ministries:

• Calvary Chapel Oradea

County	Bihor County
Status	County capital
Mayor	Petru Filip, Democratic Party, since 2000
Area	111.2 km²
Population (2001)	206,614
Density	1858 inh/km²
Geographical coordinates	47°04′20″N, 21°55′16″E
Web site	http://www.oradea.ro/

Oradea (pronunciation in Romanian: /o'ra.děa/, Hungarian: Nagyvárad, colloquially also Várad, German: Großwardein) is the capital city of Bihor County, in Crişana, Romania. The city proper has a population of 206,614 as of 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 Crişana plain and the Crişul 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 Crişul Repede. Oradea is famous for its thermal springs. The river Crişul 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

Varadinum (Oradea) in a 1617 engraving by Braun & Hogenberg

Main article: History of Oradea

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 Latin name Varadinum. The Citadel of Oradea, the ruins of which remain today, was first mentioned in 1241 during the Mongol invasion. However, 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 Ţării Crişurilor ("The Museum of the Crişland").

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 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, Oradea and Transylvania became part of 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 returned to Romania.

After World War I, successive governments of Romania engaged in a policy of relocating Romanians to Transylvania, especially to Southern Transylvania, to the Szekelyland and near the Hungarian-Romanian border. Out of 82,687 people (Oradea's total population in 1930), 13,775 were born abroad and 5,000 were born in Bukovina, Moldavia, Dobrogea and Oltenia. Only 35% of the total population was native-born in 1930.

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 often ran high in the area. Romanian nationalists believe Oradea and the surrounding Bihor region have always been Romanian and were finally restored to rightful Romanian control at the end of World War I. Hungarian nationalists refer to the city's pre-war Magyar majority and previous inclusion in the Kingdom of Hungary. Nowadays, however, Oradea is an example of tolerance and multiculturalism, in an authentic European fashion. The different ethnic groups live 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.

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