The Habsburgs rebuilt Alba Iulia in the early eighteenth century as a fortress, and the buildings inside the walls still bear the mark of imperial administration. After the Habsburgs took control of Transylvania at the end of the seventeenth century, they chose this old princely seat as a military and administrative base, and a succession of governors and garrison commanders lived and worked in the barracks, arsenals and offices that fill the citadel. The Governor's Palace takes its name from that period. Oarda, a village now almost a suburb, lies just to the south, along the Mureș river.
That river is the thread of the place. The Mureș rises in the eastern Carpathians and runs west across Transylvania to the Hungarian plain, and for two thousand years it has carried traffic and people. The Romans built their military base on its bank, in what is now the Partoș district, and later the Roman town grew up in the area of Oarda and Alba Iulia. Gold from the Apuseni Mountains, which lie to the west, came down this valley, and the wealth it brought explains why Apulum was among the largest cities in Roman Dacia.
Inside the walls, today's visitor finds a restored and car-free town of cobbled streets, cafés, shops and museums. The Batthyaneum library, founded by a Catholic bishop, preserves a rare collection of manuscripts and has an astronomical observatory that was once one of the best in the region. The Union Hall, where the 1918 assembly met, is a short walk away. Outside the walls, the town has broad modern avenues, with plenty of space to park.
Riding in and out of Alba Iulia is easy. The main roads run along the Mureș valley with long gentle bends and moderate traffic, with lorries and buses on the busier stretches. The quieter roads along the foothills to the west pass through vineyards and orchards and are good for a relaxed morning. Fuel and everything else are easy in a town of some sixty-five thousand people. Many guesthouses are tucked into the old streets.
Autumn, with the harvest of grapes and the smell of new wine in the cellars, is a good time to visit.