Alba County

Alba County is in Transylvania in Romania.

Cities

• 1 Abrud — its Roman Catholic Church (14th-18th centuries) has murals dating from the 14th and 15th centuries
• 2 Alba Iulia — Alba Carolina Fortress is a massive baroque fortification built in the 18th century, one of the largest of this kind in Eastern Europe
• 3 Aiud — an important tourism centre for agrotourism, ecotourism and cultural tourism
• 4 Arieșeni — a mountain trekking where you can visit waterfalls, peaks and lots of caves
• 5 Baia de Arieș — home to the Muncel Monastery, a place of pilgrimage where on the second Sunday after Pentecost
• 6 Blaj — the castle of the Bethlen dynasty is a popular tourist site near Blaj
• 7 Câlnic — home to the well-preserved Câlnic Citadel, a World Heritage Site, first mentioned in 1269
• 8 Câmpeni — known for the beauty of its landscape
• 9 Cugir — a heavy industrialised town who products include products components and firearms
• 10 Ocna Mureș — known for its salt mines and for the ruins of the medieval castle from 1290, Novum Castrum ("Teleki Castle")
• 11 Rimetea — designated as a protected architectural and urban area because of its preservation of houses built in the 17th-18th centuries
• 12 Roșia Montană — gold mining started during the Roman era, and finally ended in 2006
• 13 Sebeș — its an Evangelical-Lutheran Church was rebuilt in Gothic style in the 15th century, and later renovated in the Renaissance style
• 14 Teiuș — has several old churches
• 15 Zlatna — three nature reserves on the territory of the city have a special value for tourism

Understand

The Apuseni Mountains are in the northwest; the northeastern side of the Parâng group - the Șureanu and Cindrel Mountains - are in the south. In the east there is the Transylvanian Plateau with deep but wide valleys. The three main elements are separated by the Mureș River valley.

Get in

By car

Two important European national roads pass through Alba County:

• E81 (DN 1), which connects the south of Romania and the northwest of the country, and
• E68 (DN 7), which ensures the transit between the south and the west of Transylvania.

Two highways also pass through Alba county:

• A1, which enters the county in the area of Cunța locality and leaves the county in the area of Șibot locality, and
• A10, which intersects with A1 in the area of Sebeș municipality.

By train

The railway lines that cross Alba County are:

• Alba Iulia – Târgu Mureș railway line
• Alba Iulia – Zlatna railway line (a branch line)
• Arad – Alba Iulia railway line
• Sibiu – Vințu de Jos railway line
• Șibot – Cugir (a branch line)
• Teiuș – Brașov railway line
• Războieni - Târgu Mureș - Deda

See

The main tourist attractions in the county are:

• 1 Scărișoara Glacier Cave
• 2 Trascău Citadel
• 3 Râmeț Monastery
• 4 Dacian fortress of Căpâlna
• The city of Alba Iulia
• The Apuseni Mountains
• Scărișoara karst complex — Bihor Mountains 2-3 hours from Garda de Sus
• Maidens' Fair on the Găina Mountain — which takes place on July 20 (St. Elijah) on Mount Găina (1484 m) 8 km southwest of Avram Iancu
• The Dealul cu melci ("Snail Hill") west of Vidra
• Barren Detunata and Shaggy Detunata (Detunatele)
• The Câlnic Citadel and the castle of Gârbova
• The towns and churches of Sebeș and Aiud
• The Ocna Mureș resort
• The Țara Moților ethnographical area. Situated in the Apuseni Mountains, Țara Moților is a region with strong and distinct Romanian traditions.
• Roșia Montană Mining Cultural Landscape - Mining began 2000 years ago on Mt. Kirnik, with well-preserved Roman galleries. A Canadian company attempted an open-pit mine, but abandoned the project around 2007. Roșia Montană is a famous locality among mineral collectors for fine native gold specimens.

Do

• On the narrow railway between Abrud-Vidolm there is a mountain train, "Mocănița", with stops at Abrud, Roșia Montană (Gura Roșiei), Câmpeni, Bistra, Lupșa, Baia de Arieș, Brăzești, Sălciua, Ocoliș, Vidolm (declared historical monument).

Ski

• 1 Domeniul Schiabil Șureanu (drive Sebeș -> Șugag -> Oașa Lake -> Luncile Prigoanei -> Poarta Raiului). Ski resort in the Șureanu mountains. 

Eat

• 1 Conacul Secuiesc (Székelykő Kúria), Colțești village, ☏ +40 730 210 768, office@conaculsecuiesc.ro. Great home made food in a wonderful setting, with a view of the mountains. (updated Mar 2015)