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TURDA |
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TURDA (Torda) lies 30km south of Cluj along the main DN1. The modern
Turda, with its 58,000 mainly Magyar inhabitants, produces chemicals and
building materials, and is ringed by filthy factories. Beyond these is a
surprisingly elegant centre, but the main reasons to come to the town
are to visit the spectacular Turda gorge , 8km to the west, and to
explore the Aries valley beyond in the foothills of the Apuseni
mountains.
Turda was once one of the wealthiest towns in the country, as the grand
stone houses lining its streets bear witness. On the broad main street,
Piata Republicii, stand two Gothic churches: the lower one is Calvinist
and dates from 1400, and the upper one is late fifteenth-century Roman
Catholic, with a Baroque interior and facade, which housed meetings of
the Transylvanian Diet, including the promulgation of the 1568 Edict of
Turda . This edict recognized the equality of four faiths - Calvinist,
Lutheran, Roman Catholic and Unitarian - in Transylvania at a time when
religious wars were all the rage in Europe. However, it merely tolerated
Orthodoxy, the religion of the Vlachs, and contributed to the ethnic and
religious discrimination against them. Christianity has a long history
in Turda - fifth-century Christian tombs have been found among Roman
remains, and these can be seen in the museum in the Voivodal Palace at
B-dul Hasdeu 2, behind the Calvinist church. The salt mine , or salina ,
at the northern edge of town at Strada Salinelor 54 (daily 9am-5pm; $1),
has been opened to tourists and is well worth a visit; a 300m-long
gallery leads to huge hangar-like chambers, gradually excavated over 250
years, with stout wooden staircases leading ever further downwards.
Turda is well served by buses from Cluj (generally two an hour from the
bus station, picking up at Piata Stefan cel Mare), which drop off north
of the Catholic church or on Strada Gheorghe Lazar, beyond the market to
the east of Piata Republicii. Trains stop at the town of Câmpia Turzii,
9km east, where Michael the Brave was murdered; take bus #2 from the
train station to Piata Republicii. There's just one central hotel in
town, the Potaissa , at Piata Republicii 6 (tel 064/311 691, fax 317
086; $15-20). Alternatively, there's the cheaper Ariesul (tel 064/316
844, fax 311 124; $6-10) and the Bradul (tel 064/315 029; $6-10), both
just beyond the town's salt baths (take the Strand bus). The Potaissa
has a restaurant , or there's the Pizzeria Dana at the roundabout where
the DN75 (the Aries valley road) leaves town, as well as coffee shops
around Piata Republicii. There's an ATM at the southern end of the town
centre.
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