Editing Alba Iulia (section)

==Landmarks==
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[[File:Biblioteca Batthyaneum - fosta mănăstire a trinitarienilor (2).jpg|thumb|upright|The Batthyaneum Library, former monastery of the Trinitarians]]
[[File:Alba Iulia - Catedrala Sf.Mihail Aprilie 2013.JPG|left|thumb|The [[St. Michael's Cathedral, Alba Iulia|Roman Catholic Cathedral]]. Its tower dates from the 17th century.]]
[[File:Obeliscul lui Horea, Cloșca și Crișan.jpg|thumb|The [[Obelisk of Horea, Cloșca, and Crișan]]]]
[[File:Alba Iulia (Gyulafehérvár, Karlsburg) - Orthodox Cathedral.jpg|thumb|[[Coronation Cathedral, Alba Iulia|Romanian Orthodox Cathedral]], early 20th century]]

The main historical area of Alba Iulia is the Upper Town region, developed by [[Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor]], in honour of whom the [[House of Habsburg|Habsburgs]] renamed the city Karlsburg. The fortress, with seven bastions in a stellar shape, was constructed between 1716 and 1735 by two Swiss fortification architects. The first was [[Giovanni Morandi Visconti]], who built two old Italian-style bastions. The second was [[Nicolaus Doxat de Demoret]]{{mdash}}nicknamed "Austrian [[Vauban]]". After 1720, the two architects radically transformed the medieval fortress shaped by the former Roman castrum into a seven-bastion baroque fortress, developing Menno van Coehorn's new Dutch system, of which the fortress of Alba Iulia is the best preserved example.

Inside the fortress are The Union Hall with the National Honour Gallery, The National History Museum of Unification, the Princely Palace (Voivodal Palace), the Orthodox cathedral, the Roman Catholic cathedral, the Batthyaneum Library, the Roman Catholic bishop's palace, the Apor Palace, and the [["1 Decembrie 1918" University, Alba Iulia|University of Alba Iulia]]. Built in the 10th and 11th centuries, the Roman Catholic cathedral is the most representative building in the medieval [[Romanesque architecture|Romanic]] style in Transylvania, and is considered to be an important monument of early Transylvanian medieval architecture. The tombs of John Hunyadi and [[Isabella Jagiełło]]{{mdash}}Queen of Hungary are located there.

The [[Batthyaneum Library]] is held in a former church built in Baroque style. In 1780, [[Ignác Batthyány]], bishop of Transylvania, adapted the inside of the building for use as a library. It is famous for its series of manuscripts, [[incunabulum|incunabula]] and rare books{{mdash}}such as half of the 9th century [[Codex Aureus of Lorsch]], the 15th century [[Codex Burgundus]] and the 13th century [[Biblia Sacra]] (13th century). The first astronomical observatory in Transylvania was founded here in 1792. The Apor Palace, situated on the same street as the Bathyaneum Library, belonged to Prince Apor and was built in the second half of the 17th century. At the beginning of the 18th century, it was the residence of the Austrian army leader Prince Steinville. The palace was renovated in 2007 under the supervision of the Romanian Ministry of Culture.

The Orthodox Unification Cathedral was built between 1921 and 1923, following the plans of architect D.G. Ștefănescu and built under the supervision of eng. T. Eremia. The frescoes were painted by [[Constantin]] in a traditional iconographic style. The first monarchs of the Unified Romania, King Ferdinand I and [[Marie of Edinburgh|Queen Marie]] were crowned in the cathedral on 15 October 1922.

The National Museum of Unification in Alba Iulia is located in the "Babylon" Building. It was built between 1851 and 1853 for military purposes and became a museum in 1887. The museum exhibits over 130,000 pieces of artworks, organized chronologically. The Unification Hall, also part of the National History Museum, retains historical significance from having hosted, on 1 December 1918, the rally of the 1228 Romanian delegations from Transylvania who determined the province's union with the Kingdom of Romania. The building was used in 1895 as a military casino.

The Princely Palace (Palatul Principilor or Palatul Voievodal) was Michael the Brave's residence during the first political unification of the Romanians in 1600. Foreign chronicles pictured it as an extremely luxurious building, richly adorned with frescos and marble stairs, which later deteriorated. During the rule of Princes [[Gabriel Bethlen|Gábor Bethlen]] and [[George II Rákóczi]] the second palace was restored, but not to its previous condition. After 1716, the building was used as an Habsburg Imperial Army barracks.