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Aiud is a large town located in Alba county, Transylvania, Romania. The town has a population of 31,894 people. It has the status of municipality (municipiu) in Alba county and is the second-largest city in the county after Alba Iulia. The Aiud administrative region has is 142.2 square kilometres in area.
Administration
The municipality of Aiud is made up of the town proper and of 3 urban localities and 6 localities which are located outside the town proper but belong to the municipality. The three urban localities are: Gîmbas, Mãgina and Pãdiga. The three rural localities are: Ciumbrud (0.81 km2), Sincrai (0.65 km2), Girbova de Jos (1.04 km2), Tifra (0.06 km2), Girbova de Sus (0.52 km2) and Girbovita (0.28 km2).
Population Breakdown
As of 1992, the total population is 31,894, made up of 17,287 males and 14,607 females. 54% of the population are males.
Localities
The total population of 31,894 is made up of the population of the following town proper, localities, villages, etc:
- Aiud Town Proper - 24,619
- Aiudul de Sus - 2,276
- Ciumbrud - 1,504
- Sincrai - 1,023
- Magina - 628
- Gimbas - 578
- Girbova de Jos - 464
- Girbova de Sus - 357
- Pagida - 165
- Girbovita - 164
- Tifra - 116
Ethnicity
- Romanians - 24,880 (78% of total population)
- Hungarians - 5,699 (17.9%)
- Germans - 55 (0.2%)
- Roma - 1,214 (3.8%)
Religion
- Orthodox - 18,000 (62.5% of the total population)
- Reformed - 3,402 (12.07%)
- Greek Catholics - 1,175 (4.0%)
- Roman Catholics - 738 (2.5%)
- Unitarian - 299 (1.03%)
- Other - 5174 (17.9%)
Climate
The town is located in the Aiud Valley and therefore has a mountain-type climate. It has a characteristic Transylvanian continental temperate climate. The average winter temperature is -2.6°C and the average summer temperature is 19.2°C.
Education
Education infrastructure in Aiud is very good for a town of its size. There are many schools, with many students, due to fact that it is renowned as the education hub for the area, with students pouring in from other communities in the area. The first school was opened in Magina in 1611, with Romanian language courses. Today, the following educational institutions operate in the municipality:
- "Titu Maiorescu" College (605 students; 46 staff)
- "Bethlen Gabor" College (1011 students; 81 staff)
- "Avram Iancu" High School (505 students; 37 staff)
- "Alexandru Borza" Agricultural High School (487 students; 51 staff)
- General School 1 (1306 students; 63 staff)
- General School 2 (189 students; 13 staff)
- General School 3 (1089 students; 58 staff)
- Pre-school centre with extended hours No. 1 (41 students; 5 staff)
- Pre-school centre with extended hours No. 2 (113 students; 9 staff)
- Pre-school centre with extended hours No. 3 (45 students; 6 staff)
- Pre-school centre with standard hours No. 1 (27 students; 1 staff)
- Pre-school centre with standard hours No. 2 (28 students; 1 staff)
- Pre-school centre with standard hours No. 3 (80 students; 4 staff)
- Pre-school centre with standard hours No. 4 (122 students; 6 staff)
- Pre-school centre with standard hours No. 5 (89 students; 5 staff)
- Pre-school centre with standard hours No. 6 (108 students; 5 staff)
- Pre-school centre with standard hours No. 7 (34 students; 2 staff)
- Pre-school centre with standard hours No. 8 (20 students; 1 staff)
- Pre-school centre with standard hours No. 9 (77 students; 4 staff)
- Pre-school centre with standard hours No. 10 (62 students; 3 staff)
- Children's Club (885 students, 7 staff)
Famous People from Aiud
Due to its favourable location and its good education facilities, Aiud bred many Romanian famous people. They include Mihail Halici, Francisc Papai Pariz, Bolyai Farkas, Ion Barac, Ovidiu Hulea, Naftali Simion, Romulus Rusan, Adalbert Vikler, Bazil Gruia, Kovacs Gyorgy, Suto Andras, Alexandru Domsa and Ion Horea.
Tourism
Aiud is an important tourism centre in terms of agrotourism, ecotourism and cultural tourism.
Cultural Attractions
The town centre is historical and is home to many majestic buildings, such as the Aiud Citadel, Town Hall, museums and churches.
Aiud Citadel
Aiud Citadel (Cetatea Aiudului in Romanian) is located in the centre of Aiud, and was built during medieval times (14th century), comprising of many buildings. It is the main tourist attraction of Aiud. The citadel is fairly small, with a perimeter of 350 metres, and it is in the form of a pentagon.
The Students' Monument
Due to its strong educational culture, which dates back to the foundations of the city, the Students' Monument (Monumentul studentesc) is the oldest monument in Aiud. It is located in the beautiful City Park, and was erected in memory of the students who fought against the Hapsburg invasion in 1704. The monument was erected in 1904, 200 years after the invasion.
The "Calvarul Aiudului" Monument
The "Calvarul Aiudului" Monument is a modern monument in rememberance of the sufferring and deaths during the Communist regime of Romania. The monument, started in 1992, is made up of many crosses (6 metres tall), symbolising the traditions of Romania. In the Communist era, Aiud was an important centre where the elite of the Communist resistance were buried, and the "Calvarul Aiudului" monument seeks to remember those. The monument is located just outside the town centre, in the southwest.
The Town Hall
The Town Hall of Aiud is located right in the centre of the town, at No. 1 Cuza Vodã street, close to the Aiud Citadel. The edifice, built in the 1890s, is built in the majestic sytle of those times, with balconies, statues, decorations and wonderful interiors.
Museums
Aiud is home to two major, public museums. They are the Museum of History and the Museum of Natural Sciences. The history museum was built in 1796 and is housed in a historical building. There is a large collection of coins, as well as medieval and pre-medieval artefacts. The collection of the Museum of Natural Sciences dates back from 1720. It is based mainly on zoology, as well as botany, paleontology and geology.
Churches
Most of Aiud's population are Christian, but they also come from a variety of denominations, including Catholicism and Orthodoxism and well as Reformed, Unitarian, Baptist and Evangelical faiths. Therefore, there are places of worship for all these religions.The Orthodox Cathedral is located in the southeast of the city, and is an impressive building with high ceilings and wonderful domes. It was built after the unification of Transylvania with the rest of Romania (Wallachia and Moldavia) in 1 December 1918. The construction started in 1927 and went on for some decades. The architecture was inspired from the St. Sofia church in Istanbul, and is built in Byzantine style.
The Roman Catholic Church, albeit being smaller and less imposing that the Orthodox Cathedral, is still very beautiful, built in baroque style. Also, it is situated in Cuza Vodã Square, surrounding the medieval Aiud Citadel, making the Church very ideal in terms of surroundings. The church contains a large organ as well as stained glass windows which were painted by an artist from Budapest.
The Reformed Church mainly serves the Hungarian minority of Aiud, which played a big role in the identity of the city in terms of education, art, architecture and more. Their church is arguably the most rememberable of the three main churches, because it is located right in the Aiud Citadel, and is medieval in architecture sytle, being the oldest church in Aiud.
Monasteries
The most famous monastery in Aiud is the Râmet monastery, which was built in the 15th century. Its architecture is classically Romanian, resembling the painted monasteries of Moldavia such as Voronet. In the monastery there is also a museum. In addition to Râment monastery, there are also monasteries at Magina and Cicau.
Historical Colleges
The "Bethlen Gabor" college, with 1011 students today and a rich history, is Aiud's most important educational institution. The college was founded in 1622 in Alba Iulia, the capital city of Alba, and it was then moved to Aiud. Later on, it was also moved to Cluj-Napoca for a short time. Today, the institution is located in a 19th century historical building, and it is also home to an important library.
Natural Attractions
As well as rich culture, Aiud is also littered with wonderful scenic tourist attractions in terms of the environment. There are also many activities avilable throughout the year, especially in fishing and hunting. This provides a strong base for ecotourism in the area, as there are beautiful forests, hills and mountains and fresh air.
Accessibility and Transport
Aiud is easily accessible from all parts of Romania due to its position in the centre of the country and its road network. The town is located on the national road running from Bucharest to Oradea and then crossing the Hungarian border to Budapest. Therefore, most public coach services running between Budapest and Bucharest via Oradea stop at Aiud.
Railways
Aiud is an important railway hub and is served frequently by CFR national trains. It is located on the main line from Oradea to Bucharest via Cluj-Napoca. Consequently, there are 46 trains passing daily through Aiud (with very frequent connections to main cities), to and from the following main cities:
- Cluj-Napoca - 18 trains daily
- Alba Iulia - 10 trains daily
- Brasov, Sighisoara and Ploiesti - 5 trains daily
- Bucharest, Deva, Targu Mures and Timisoara - 4 trains daily
- Sibiu - 3 trains daily
- Oradea, Huedin, Arad, Satu Mare, Constanta, Mangalia, Suceava, Iasi - 2 trains daily
- Craiova and Sighetul Marmatiei - 1 train daily
Health
In Aiud municipality, there is a new hospital built in 1993. It has 318 beds and 15 sections. There are also radiology services, 24-hour emergency services and a large ambulance station, making the hospital one of the better-equipped in the region. Nearby, there is also a medical centre with 14 specialised cabinets. There is also a tuberculosis sanatory in Aiud, and it is situated in the southeast of the city. This hospital was built in 1914 and currently has 220 beds.
