Alba Iulia, the former capital of Transylvania. From the Legion XIII Gemina camp to Alba Carolina fortress
Alba Carolina fortress was built by the Austrian Habsburgs in the 18th century, after their takeover of Transylvania. It was built on the ancient medieval fortress which had, in turn, been erected upon the Roman camp of Emperor Trajan’s elite Legion XIII Gemina settled here in 106, after the Roman conquest of Dacia.
Within the walls of Alba Carolina fortress it is the impressive Saint Michael Catholic Cathedral, a Romanesque monument whose construction began in 1004.
In this ancient cathedral from Alba Iulia was laid to rest in glory John Hunyadi, the former regent of Hungary. Renowned Hungarian military commander of Wallachian (Romanian) ancestry, John Hunyadi stopped the offensive of Sultan Mehmed II, the Conqueror of Constantinople. The famous Belgrade battle took place in 1456.