Alba Lulia or Alba Iulia is a city located in Transylvania, next to the River Mures. This city is one of the most important cultural centers of this country, if not the main, and is therefore a must for all those tourists who spend a vacation in Romania and are interested in meeting interesting cultural spots and attractions.
Archaeological discoveries allow experts to affirm that there were Dacian settlements established in the actual Alba Lulia around the year 100 BC. Besides this settlement, the Dacians also had an important fortification called Apoulon located nearby, at approximately 20 kilometers from where Alba Lulia nowadays is. This way, besides Alba Lulia itself, there also are several other interesting spots tourists can visit nearby as well.
It might be also interesting to know that during the 16th and 17th centuries, the city of Alba Lulia became capital of what was known as the Independent Principality of Transylvania. During that époque, this city was known as one of the most important religious, military and political centers of Romania, aspect that can be reflected on the fact that an Eastern Orthodox Metropolite and a Roman Catholic Bishop were located in it.
One of the most important moments in the history of Alba Lulia took place in 1918, when about 1,230 representatives of Transylvania and 100,000 Romanians met at it to discuss the future of Transylvania. During this meeting, it was decided that Transylvania would be unified with Romania, decision that was taken at a building nowadays known as the Unification Hall.
The Hall of Unification nowadays hosts a museum and is one of the most interesting spots tourists can visit in this city. This museum, called National Museum of Unification is hosted by not only the Hall of Unification but also by the Babylon Building, other interesting construction built in the 19th century. When visiting this museum, tourists would be able to observe a variety of objects related to the unification process as well as many others related to other historical events that were of extreme importance for not only the city but the entire Transylvania as well.