Alba Iulia - Romania

Alba Iulia is an ancient city that originated from the time of the Dacians which were conquered by the Romans, it was called in those days Apoulon and the Romans changed it to Apulum. Then Slavic tribes came in and called the place Bălgrad which means "white castle". Next are the Hungarians which called the place Gyulafehérvár and there was another Fehérvár, namely Székesfehérvár then the Hungarian royal residence and Székes meant "seat". Gyula comes from an name of an Hungarian warlord from the 10th century. Gyulafehérvár is translated to "white castle of Julius" and eventually in Romanian it become Alba Iulia. Which derived from the Latin name of the city Civatatem Albam, the Albam parts derived from Apoulon or Apulum and that word meant "white". Al lot of white and also Germans came to this part and called the place Weissenburg. Alba Iulia has around 109 thousand people and can be found the old region of Transylvania. Also it was the capital once of the principality of Transylvania, but still the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Alba Iulia. Because there is still an ethic catholic Hungarian minority lives in the area in an prominently Romanian Orthodox country. Alba Iulia is an well preserved fortified city with a lot of historical sights. So lets take an look at the flag.

The flag is mostly white and two merged blue triangle on the right, white is an thing in Alba Iulia. The meaning of that is unclear to me for now. The coat of arms in the center showed three heraldic symbols of Romanian principalities, the golden eagle of Wallachia, the extinct aurochs of Moldovia and two red lions from Transylvania. Top of it an royal Romanian crown symbolize the independence of the country and union of the principalities on an field of ermine. Ermine is the fur of an stoat, this species of weasel is white with black-tipped tails. This heraldic pattern uses by royals and very high nobility. The mural crown represented an city in an republic and also the seat of the district Alba. The black eagle on top of the crown tell us it was once the capital of Transylvania. White is the red line in Alba Iulia with coat of arms represented union.