Alba Iulia
city in Romania
Alba Iulia (Romanian pronunciation: [ˌalba ˈjuli.a] ; German: Karlsburg or Carlsburg, formerly Weißenburg [ˈvaɪsn̩bʊʁk] ; Hungarian: Gyulafehérvár [ˈɟulɒfɛɦeːrvaːr]; Latin: Apulum) is a city that serves as the seat of Alba County in the west-central part of Romania. Located on the river Mureș in the historical region of Transylvania, it has a population of 64,227 (as of 2021).
During ancient times, the site was the location of the Roman camp Apulum. Since the High Middle Ages, the city has been the seat of Transylvania's Roman Catholic diocese. Between 1526 and 1570 it was the capital of the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom from which the Principality of Transylvania emerged by the Treaty of Speyer in 1570 and it was the capital of the Principality of Transylvania until 1711. At one point it also was a centre of the Eastern Orthodox Metropolitan of Transylvania with suffragan to Vad diocese. On 1 December 1918, the Union of Transylvania with Romania was declared in Alba Iulia, and Romania's King Ferdinand I and, in 1922 Queen Marie were crowned in the Alba Iulia Orthodox Cathedral.
Alba Iulia is historically important for Romanians, Hungarians, and Transylvanian Saxons. In December 1918, Alba Iulia was officially declared Capital of the Great Union of Romania.
The city administers four villages: Bărăbanț (Borbánd), Micești (Ompolykisfalud), Oarda (Alsóváradja), and Pâclișa (Poklos).
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Alba Iulia” is city in Romania. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Alba, Iulia and city, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “city in Romania” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q174665. VIAF identifies the subject as 155941418. The Library of Congress control number is n80131891. Authority coordinates are 46.076, 23.573. 3 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2021, 1526, 1570 and 1711.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Alba Iulia”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Alba Iulia primary sources, Alba Iulia archive and Alba research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Alba Iulia”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Alba Iulia” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.