Oradea Fortress

What makes it special

Each of the five corners ends in a named bastion. The Golden Bastion takes its name from the gold leaf that once covered its roof. The moat around the walls, 4 m deep and 50 m wide, was fed with thermal water as well as cold river water so that it never froze in winter.

Inside the walls, a second ring of buildings encloses the inner courtyard, reached through only two small arched entrances. That ring is the Princely Palace, finished in 1650 in late Renaissance style for the princes of Transylvania, with its walls running parallel to the outer ones and a tower at each of its five corners.

The room to find is the Griffin Hall in Wing A, the oldest wing. Its murals show eight mythical and real animals, each standing for a princely virtue such as strength, tenacity or swiftness. In the first hall, look up at the arch for painted emblems, with parts of their Latin inscriptions still legible.

Visiting

Free entry covers the grounds, so start there and walk the open ground between the outer walls and the palace. A yellow baroque church with a bell tower sits within the fortress. It opens only before and after mass, so plan it as an afternoon stop, when mass is usually held.

Buy your museum ticket at the cashier's office on the ground floor of the Princely Palace, which also has information on the fortress and what is on. The Museum of Oradea City fills Wings A and B with permanent exhibitions. Downstairs, the Lapidarium holds stone fragments of the Gothic cathedral, and another basement section is given over to the inventions of Leonardo da Vinci.

The Resistance and Repression in Bihor memorial, in the basement of Wing K, is part of the city museum. Wing H holds the Museum of Bread, in a bakery that worked for 300 years, with three of its six furnaces back on show; ask at the cashier's office whether your ticket covers it.

Guided or on your own

Guided museum visits last about an hour, in English, German or Hungarian, and take in all the exhibitions; check at the cashier's office what is running when you arrive. Afterwards you can stay on in the museum as long as you like.

Walk the grounds on your own, since they need no ticket and no guide.

Tips

Wear comfortable shoes. Where the walls are open, you can climb them for a view over the city. If you come at Easter, when the Easter Market of Oradea fills the fortress, set aside extra time.

In summer the park hosts an open-air film festival on the grass, so an evening visit is worth checking. The few restaurants inside the walls are among the best in Oradea, but they charge more for the setting. Some Oradea restaurants keep irregular hours, so have a second choice ready.