Diemrich: Culture and Historic Buildings

Diemrich’s cultural sites take you from fortress history and Renaissance architecture to collections, churches and public monuments. Visitors looking to combine their stay with history and architecture will find a range of periods and themes here: from the medieval mention of Cetatea Deva to buildings and works of art from the 20th century.

Cetatea Deva and the Mureș Valley

Cetatea Deva was first mentioned in a document in 1269. It stands on a 378-metre-high volcanic cone at the point where the Mureș forms a gorge between the Munții Metaliferi and the Munții Poiana Ruscă. Fortress history and landscape are thus closely connected at this site. The summit offers a view of the Mureș Valley.

The restored fortress is accessible via tourist trails and a funicular railway. The route is 278 metres long, with an elevation difference of 158 metres and a capacity of 16 people.

Magna Curia: Renaissance and collections

The historic centre of Deva includes the area around Magna Curia. The building was extended after 1615 under Prince Gabriel Bethlen and redesigned in the Renaissance style. The work was led by the architect Giacomo Resti da Verna. Magna Curia thus offers insight into a period of architectural history shaped by a named patron, an architect and a clearly defined style.

Magna Curia houses the Muzeul Civilizației Dacice și Romane. Its collections include prehistoric, Dacian, Roman, early medieval and medieval archaeology, as well as numismatics, history and art. There are also ethnographic and natural science collections. The natural science disciplines include botany, palaeontology and mineralogy, among others. Visitors interested in different eras can explore archaeological and historical subjects alongside art and natural history.

Buildings and their origins

The present-day Teatrul de artă dramatică Deva was completed in 1911 and designed by Austro-Hungarian architects Marcell Komor and Jakab Deszo. Elements of the Secession style are visible on the main façade, including floral motifs and bands with garlands. The construction period and façade design offer two distinct points of reference for placing the theatre in its architectural context.

Casa Dr. Petru Groza offers a different story of its origins: it was designed between 1927 and 1929 at the studio of architect Horia Creangă in Bucharest. Creangă is considered a representative of the Cubist movement. A company from Arad completed the construction work at the end of 1930. The design phase and the later completion should be clearly distinguished.

Casina Română also connects architectural history with cultural use. The listed historic monument at Piața Unirii 9 was built between 1847 and 1856 and extended in 1903. It served as the headquarters of the Casina Națională Maghiară din Deva, a cultural association open to intellectuals from Hunedoara County.

Churches, park and monuments

Mănăstirea Franciscană consists of a church and a cloister. The complex was founded around 1712 by Bulgarian Franciscan monks. The account of the tower of the old Orthodox church is different: it was built in 1727 and is the only fully preserved part of a church built between 1640 and 1645. The predecessor of today’s Reformed church in Deva is documented as a parish church as early as 1332; the present church was consecrated in 1910.

Deva’s city park was laid out as a public urban space between 1886 and 1893. The statue of King Decebal is located separately: it stands in a park below Cetatea Deva. Professor Radu Moga (1905–1950) of Liceul Avram Iancu in Brad created it; it was unveiled on 6 August 1937. Its pedestal bears four bronze bas-reliefs. The sculptural ensemble Horia, Cloșca și Crișan is also made of bronze: the busts were created by sculptor Ion Vlasiu.

Another leisure option

Aqualand Deva is a fully indoor water recreation complex covering an area of 11,220 m². The facility includes seven recreational pools. An area of 1,500 m² with sun loungers and heated flooring creates the impression of a beach. This leisure complex adds another theme to the city’s cultural picture; the historic sites and their architectural history remain clearly distinct.

Discover more destinations: Uricani, Cib, Peștișu Mare, Lupeni, Hateg, Topliţa, Zeicani, Sălaşu De Sus

See the full travel overview: Eisenmarkt.