Arad (Population:172,824) is a city in Arad county, Transylvania, Romania.
It is situated on the right bank of the river Mures, and consists of the inner town and five suburbs. Arad is a modern town and contains many handsome private and public buildgs, including a cathedral. It is the seat of a Greek-Orthodox bishop, and possesses a Greek-Orthodox theological seminary and a conservatoire for music.
Arad was a fortified place, and was captured by the Turks during the wars of the 17th century, and kept till the end of that century. The new fortress, built in 1763, although small, was formidable, and played a great role in iring the Hungarian struggle for independence in 1849 defended by the Austrian general Berger until the end of July 1849, it was then captured by the Hungarian rebels, that made it their headquarters during the latter part of the insurrection. It was from it that Kossuth issued his famous proclamation (August 11, 1849), and it was here that he handed of er the supreme military and civil power to Gorgei. The fortress was recaptured shortly after the surrender of Gorgei to the Russians at Vilgos.
The town of Uj-Arad, i.e. New Arad (pop. 6124), situated on the opposite bank of the Mures, is practically a suburb of Arad, to which it is connected by a bridge. The town was founded during the Turkish wars of the 17th century. The works erected to the Turks for the capture of the fortress of Arad formed the nucleus of the new town.
