Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(Muzeul de Arheologie si Istorie; 0257-281 847; Piaţa George Enescu 1; admission 2
lei; 9am-6pm Tue-Sun)
Arad's modest history museum is a good primer for anyone in-
terested in the city's complex origins, including 150 years of Ottoman occuption until
1699. After that the city served as a military bastion of the Habsburgs and, briefly, in
1849, as a centre of the Hungarian uprising, before being awarded to newly independent
Romania after WWI.
Synagogue
(Str Dobra 10, entrance Str Cozia 12; closed to the public)
Arad's synagogue lies
south and west of Piaţa Avram Iancu. It was built between 1827 and 1834 in Moorish
style. It was closed to visitors at the time of research, but is worth a look anyway to see
the last remnant of a once-vibrant community of around 10,000 Jews that lived in Arad
pre-WWII.
JEWISH
Cetatea Arad
(Citadel; closed to the public)
Arad's star-shaped fortress was built on orders of the
Habsburg empress Maria Theresa between 1763 and 1783. It stands on the site of an old
fortress built in 1551 by the Turks. Today it houses a military base.
FORTRESS
Reconciliation Park
(Parcul Reconcilieri)
This monument park, three blocks west of Piaţa Avram Iancu, holds
two amazing statues. In the centre, the Statue of Liberty was erected in 1890 to honour 13
Hungarian generals executed after the 1849 Hungarian uprising. Nearby, an even more
impressive Arch of Triumph was built in 2004 to remember Romanian fighters killed in
the same insurrection.
MONUMENT
Neptun Water Park
(Strandul Neptun; general admission adult/child 5/3.50 lei, pool admission 10/6 lei;
9am-10pm May-Sep)
The grounds of this sprawling water park are in various states of re-
pair, but the pools themselves are clean and well maintained. There's a large popular
thermal pool and a couple of smaller pools for children.
SWIMMING POOL
