Day 22 prompt is here: Write a 24-hour guide to your hometown (where you grew up, or where you live now) for someone who has never been there.

Learn how to participate in #indie30 Art Project.

I’ve been playing travel guide plenty of times for visitors. At one point I had a dream to organize free walking tours but that fell apart thanks to my busy schedule – which I love, but doesn’t exactly allow for other things on the side.

Arad, Romania: a virtual walking tour

How about I take you on a virtual tour of my home town?

We’ll start the tour in Reconciliation Park and from here go to various landmarks.

Reconciliation Park includes the Statue of Liberty (of great importance for the Hungarians) and The Arch of Triumph, raised in 2004, to symbolize the memory of the heroes of the 1848 – 1849 Romanian Revolution (fighting against the Hungarians). The park is often venue for concerts.

After the defeat of the Hungarian revolution, the 13 generals were sentenced to death and were executed on October 6, 1849. 41 years later, the statue of Liberty was unveiled to commemorate them. In 1919 the statue was taken away by the Romanian authorities, and in 2004 it was placed back in public view, but this time in Reconciliation Park. The Arch of Triumph stands close to it and the Romanian revolutionary (including Avram Iancu) are depicted.

Old Water Tower: can be seen from the Reconciliation Park and also from Metianu Pedestrian Street. It’s a venue for art expos, usually. Used to be where the firefighters were stationed to watch out for fires in the old city. The Old Water Tower was built in 1896 in order to supply the city with water. It is 25m tall and looks like a fortress. It was restored in 1927.

We pass now by the Old Orthodox Church (built between 1862 – 1865) and the Farmer’s Market right in front on it and continue on Metianu Pedestrian Street and arrive close to Avram Iancu Square (right in front at the end of the street) and Ioan Slavici Theatre (to the left).

Avram Iancu square used to be the old city limit up to the XVIIth century when it started expending towards what know is the Town Hall and further on Revolutiei Boulevard.

Ioan Slavici Classical Theatre dominates the end of Revolutiei Boulevard. Close to it, to the right (as you stay in front of the Theatre with the back to it, walking towards Avram Iancu square) is the Old Theatre or Hirschl Theatre is the oldest stone theatre in Arad, and where in 1868 Mihai Eminescu participated as prompter.

The first building to house a permanent theatre in Arad was built between 1816 and 1817. At first Hungarian and German artists used to host shows here. In 1874, this Old Theatre became storage house for the New Theatre (Ioan Slavici Classical Theatre). The new theatre was built between 1872 and 1874. After 7 years, a fire destroyed the building and it was reconstructed but the main viewing area can only house 562 guests now (it used to house 1200 when it first opened). It was only in 1945 that the theatre started showing plays in Romanian. A new fire destroyed it in 1959 and it was, again, rebuilt. In 1967, the small viewing area (Sala Studio) was added.

“St. Anthony of Padua” Church (Roman Catholic Church): from Ioan Slavici Theatre, cross the street to the Ardealul Hotel and walk towards the big Roman Catholic Church. In front of the Theatre and to the right of the church you’ll see The Monument of the Holy Trinity.

The Roman Catholic Church was built between 1902 and 1904 and is 56 m tall. The front of the church houses a replica of Michelangelo’s Pieta. The service is held in Romanian, Hungarian and German.
From the Roman Catholic Church, continue the walk to Arad Town Hall.

The Administrative Palace (Arad Town Hall): located on Revolutiei Boulevard, close to other important land-marks in the city. Can be visited (but good luck finding info on their website) and I have visited it during “open doors” event in 2012.

The Administrative Palace actually houses Arad Town Hall, the Prefecture and the County Council. It was built between 1872 and 1874 and its tower is 54 m high. The clock “sings” a patriotic tune every hour on the hour. It was here that during the 1989 Revolutions, the locals gathered to thrown down the Communism regime. Arad was the second city to rebel, after Timisoara and before Bucharest.
Here you can also see the Cenad Palace, which stands by the Town Hall and opposite it, the National Bank building.

The Cultural Palace (built between 1911 and 1913): going along the Town Hall’s side (the one by Aurel Vlaicu University), you’ll get to a Park, then look front-right. The impressive – and always in a repair state- Cultural Palace; home to concerts, Arad Museum (history and natural sciences) as well as where people get married.

The alley of the Arad’s personalities is to the left side of the Cultural Palace towards the bank of the River Mures. It comprises the busts of: Alexandru D. Xenopol (historian and philosopher), George Cosbuc (national poet), Petre Pipos, Ioan Russu Sirianu (publicist, historian), Gheoghe Popa de Teius and Mircea V. Stanescu.

From here, we’ll go through Eminescu Park, emerge at the Courthouse and go back on Revolutiei Boulevard to see the Red Chruch (built in 1906) , an interesting Gothic-style church. Organ concerts are often held here.

Continue our walk keeping the Theatre to our back until we get to a large junction: Podgoria. To the left, we can see Padurice Park , which has just been reconstructed a year or so ago and now is home to a “dancing” fountain and often concerts take place here. It’s the new favorite place to take wedding photos, apparently.

The New Orthodox Cathedral: a behemoth of a construction, dominates Podgoria Square, where all major roads meet. Go up the bridge which you can see in the distance to the left of the Cathedral as you are standing with the back at it, and it’s the way to Bucharest via Deva.

This is where I’d end the tour. Although there are plenty other places to see. I would also recommend a walk on Mures Embankment (maybe on the way back to your hotel).

OTHER PLACES OF INTEREST IN THE CITY INCLUDE:

Mureş Embankment or simply the Bank of the River Mures runs from Traian Bridge (which links Arad City Center to Aradul Nou Neighborhood), making a loop along the river through the City Center and Micalaca Neighborhood, stopping at another bridge which links Micalaca to Subcetate and City Center. It is a good place to walk or jog. In the City Center part there are two places (restaurants) where you can eat or have a drink. Unfortunately construction work is being done now right by one of the places to eat as they plan to have a pedestrian bridge crossing the Mures to enter the Strand (pools area). Should be completed by September 2014.

“Neptun” Swimming Place or simply Strandul Neptun: a place to soak up the sun, although it’s a shadow of what it used to be (the entertainment area is all but gone).

The Fortified Town of Arad (Arad Citadel): unfortunately not open for public yet (or in the foreseeable future), it can only be visited on special days (i.e. Army’s Day, for example). The impressive Vauban style fortification (just like Alba Carolina) was used as a prison for the rebels led by Horia, Cloșca, and Crisan.

The Citadel was erected when Empress Maria Teresia requested that. It is built in the form of a star with 6 corners and had three rows of walls. The land between those rows could be flooded with water from the nearby Mures River which had to be diverted to make room for the Citadel. The construction took 20 years (1763-1783). Until 1918 the Citadel was one of the most important military prisons in the Austro-Hungarian Empire; for 9 months between 1848 and 1849 the Citadel – under the control of the republican Hungarian army – bombarded the city daily. In the summer of 1849 the revolutionary Hungarian army took over the Citadel and after 46 days the Austrian and Russian troops forced them to surrender. In 1919 the Romanian army took over the Citadel.

The House with the Padlock: from the Ioan Slavici Theatre keep going towards Avram Iancu Square (back of the theatre) and then follow the street on which the tram goes. On the left, you’ll see a house in desperate need of repair and with a padlock. There used to be a wood (now at the museum) and a lot of nails in it.

The High Teacher Training School (Preparandia): located in the very heart of the old city, now it has been given its former glory.

The Ceala Forest: close to the city center (a good 1h walk) and the airport, a place where you can take a hike, soak up the sun and just forget you are actually visiting a city.

Excerpt from my writing project aka book titled Exploring Europe Together – A Couple’s Guide to Europe, Chapter 18, 2013-2014