Beiuş

Beiuş's earliest mention in recorded history was in the year 1263, where it was mentioned as being burned down during a Mongol invasion in 1241. During the time of the Austrian Empire and Austro-Hungarian Empire, between the late 18th and very early 20th centuries, Beiuş constituted one of the most important learning centers of the Romanian language in Transylvania . This occurred during a period when Romanians had little or no political rights and their representation was very poor, including in religion.

[edit] Time line

Estate of the Oradea Bishopric is mentioned for the first time in the Regestrum Varadiensis. It was mentioned under Benenus in 1291, Belinis in 1300 and Benenes in 1309.
1451 Became a free royal city under John Vitez of Zredna.
Seal of Beiuş showing Ladislaus I of Hungary inscribed around: "Sigillum Oppidi Belenes"
1552 Oradea Bishopric tithe list counts more than 420 settlement houses.
1570 Under the Speyer Agreement, the Prince of Transylvania ruled this region.
1660 The Ottoman Empire conquered Beiuş.
1691 The Austrian Empire conquered Beiuş.
1692 A census mentions 9 Hungarian families.
1715 A census mentions 29 Hungarian families.
1720 52 Hungarians families and 22 Romanian families lived in the city.
1754 A Romanian secondary school opens, the second in Transylvania after the one at Blaj.
1777 Maria Theresa of Austria founded Greek Catholic Bishopric with the residence in Oradea and endowed the Bishopric with an estate in Beiuş.
Bishop Samuil Vulcan (1806-1893) built up a Greek Catholic Church, set up the Greek-Catholic secondary school in Beiuş and endowed it with everything necessary.
1850 1250 Romanian and 950 Hungarian families lived in the city.
1914 2134 Hungarians and 1974 Romanians lived in Beiuş.
2002 Around 8,000 Romanians and around 2,000 Hungarians live in Beiuş.

[edit] Places to see

Today, Beiuş is a peaceful place, combining few ethnicities and three times as many religions as in previous times. The city contains superb architectural edifices, including a few old churches and the "Samuil Vulcan" highschool, built in 1828, which obtained the "National College" designation in 1998. The city is a key point in reaching the Apuseni Mountains and their rich mines, or mountain resorts like Stâna de Vale or Arieşeni through smaller but picturesque communities and villages like Budureasa or Vascau. The nearby mountains are hosts to some of the most dense and spectacular limestone cave systems in the world. These caves contain remains of the extinct cave bear (Ursus speleus) and prehistoric humans, huge colonies of bats, subterranean lakes, unbelievable calcareous formations or simply giant earthworms that live in the guano-flooded cave floor.

As would be expected in a place with a rich heritage and long history, Beius has its own city museum which houses over 3,000 pieces. The museum exhibits reflect its natural history, military history and art, but most famous are its folkloric artifacts: peasant tools, pottery, garments and folk art gathered from the entire central and southern county of Bihor. The underground tunnels in the city are also famous, as they are believed to link together and act as escape routes used during the Medieval Age. Their construction began during the rule of Hungarian king Bela IV. The nearby landscape includes: agricultural hills with crops ranging from corn, wheat and potato to fruit orchards like apple, pears, prunes and strawberries. A long stretch of wildlife depleted forest that is rich in flora begins in the north-east of the city. Industry is represented mainly through production of furniture and fashion destined for European markets. The nearby distillery and beverage factory of Sudrigiu also employs a large part of the city's labour force.

Available or popular sports in or around Beiuş are: fresh water fishing (trout, catfish, carp and at least a dozen other edible species), speleology (spelunking), soccer (Sunday soccer is a local ritual for all ages), skiing, snowboarding, sledding, tennis, hiking, camping, backpacking and rock climbing. Hunting for species like: wild boar, roe deer, rabbit, pheasant, partridge or ducks (mainly mallards) is also popular.