Bethlen Gábor College in Aiud

Gabriel Bethlen de Iktár (Hungarian: Bethlen Gábor, German: Gabriel Bethlen von Iktár; November 15, 1580-November 15, 1629) was a prince of Transylvania (1613-1629), duke of Opole (1622-1625) and leader of an anti-Habsburg insurrection in the Habsburg Royal Hungary. His last armed intervention in 1626 was part of the Thirty Years' War. He led an active Protestant-oriented foreign policy.

In May 1622, the Transylvanian Diet (the deliberative assembly) met in Cluj and approved the plan of Prince Gabriel Bethlen to establish a high education institution. The nobility wanted its establishment in Cluj, but the will of the prince was decisive, as the institution which was named Academicum Collegium seu Gymnasium Illustre was founded in Alba-Iulia. The aim of the Prince was to transform Alba-Iulia into the "Heidelberg of the East". Wanting to ensure a high quality education, the prince invited professors from universities in Western Europe.

1906

In 1658 the College was destroyed during the Turkish-Tatar invasion, then was moved in Cluj. In 1662, Prince Apafi Mihály I of Transylvania (1661-1690) relocated the College in Aiud, on the domains donated by Gabriel Bethlen.

1922

In 1704, the College was devastated by Austrian armies. In 1711 the rector of the College, Pápai Pariz Ferenc, obtained - with the agreement of King of England - a material support from Christians in Britain consisting of 11,000 sterling pounds for rebuilding the school. Of these funds and interest were built most of the buildings that currently compose the Bethlen Gábor College.

1931

In January 8, 1849, Aiud - considered a cultural and scientific center due to its college - was sacked and destroyed by the Imperial Armies, during the 1848 Revolution. It was the most terrible destruction in the history of Aiud and of the College.

1961

Since its establishment until 1859, the College was considered an Academic institution with three faculties: philology, law, theology. After the moving of the faculties in Cluj in 1869, respectively 1895, Bethlen Gábor College became a High School, with a pedagogic section (since 1858).

Following the nationalization in 1948, the College lose its properties and the Reformed confessional character was suspended. In 1976, it became a technical high school. Since 1990, it was transformed again in a theoretical high school, in November 1993 was called 'College', with kindergarten, primary, secondary and high school classes (with sciences, theological, educational profiles).

On the 1st floor of the main building is the Museum of Natural Sciences, the oldest of its kind in Romania. His first record is in 1720.

Images from Aiud Online.

Aiud Fortress

Aiud (Hungarian: Nagyenyed, German: Straßburg am Mieresch) is a city located in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. Aiud Fortress (13th - 15th century), is among the oldest urban fortification in Transylvania.

The fortress with stone walls and towers is located on the site of an old earth fortification which in its turn overlaps a Dacian-Roman settlement from 3rd century AD. The building complex has known two-phase construction. The existence of an initial fortress (14th century) was attested by archaeological excavations (1974-1977). According to the local Saxon tradition, its beginnings had occurred before the great Tatar invasion in the years 1241-1242, but this dating was not yet confirmed.

The pentagon-shaped citadel is fairly small, with a perimeter of 350 m and an area of 3600 sq m, but has 1.2-1.3 m thick walls, with a height of 7 m and a supplementary brick guardrail of 2 m. At the meeting angles of the walls and the middle of their long sides were built towers with four, five and seven sides. Present form corresponds largely to the second stage of construction (16th-17th centuries), but were preserved also elements of the first phase, as well as some later additions and restorations. Inscriptions that were preserved on several places on the towers and walls bring information related to those works.

The communication between towers was realized by a way of guard behind the parapet, which could be accessed through several wooden ladders. Inside the 9 towers, their upper levels could be reached by timber stairs. The towers were under the care of craftsmen guilds, which had military obligations, the artisans choosing military commanders - the so-called "officers of the guild".

Inside the fortress walls is the Calvin Reformed Church, built in late Gothic style at the end of 15th century, a hall-type church with three naves, with polygonal apse and a 64 m high tower with battlements, modified in Baroque style. The second place of worship inside the citadel is the Evangelical-Lutheran Church, built in the second half of the 19th century, on the site of a chapel built in 1333-1334. Here can be found also the parish building (18th-19th centuries), the rectory building (17th century), the bell ringer's house (18th-19th centuries), the former Evangelical parish house.

On the northern side of the citadel is the Princely Palace (16th-17th centuries), which belonged to the Transylvanian Prince Gabriel Bethlen (in 1612-1629). Now, here is the Aiud History Museum.

The plan of the fortress:
A. Evangelical-Lutheran Church
B. Calvin Reformed Church
C. Bethlen Princely Palace
D. Rectory house
E. Parish house
F. Bell ringer's house
G. Former Evangelical parish house

The towers:
1. Butchers' tower
2. Tailors' tower
3. Shoemakers' tower
4. Furriers' tower
5. Coopers' tower
6. Potters' tower
7. Kalendas tower
8. Locksmiths' tower
9. Gate tower

Photos from Aiud Online.