The Roman Catholic Cathedral, built in an impressive baroque style, is the grandest construction of its kind in Transylvania. Construction work began in 1752 and lasted for 30 years.
In order to build this huge cathedral, the Catholic Diocese imposed a regime of financial contributions and forced labor on the serfs, who thus compulsorily participated in the construction of the monument.
The construction was supervised by the Italian architect Giovan Battista Ricca, with the support of 24 Italian craftsmen coordinated by Domenico Luchini.
Giovan Battista Ricca took the plans of the famous Jesuit church in Rome, I I Gesu, designed by the architect Vignola, and adapted them for the cathedral in Transylvania. Based on the basilica plan of the Jesuit church, composed of a main nave and two secondary naves with four bays each, he modeled the facade after the example of the Santa Agnese church in the Italian capital.
During the development of the project, the chief architect of the imperial court in Vienna, F. A. Hillebrandt, intervened and made certain changes to the original plans.
The cathedral has a rectangular configuration, having a length of 90 meters and a width of 80 meters, being equipped with a false dome. Inside, we find a central nave and two side naves, each with 24 columns on its side, between which the apses intended for the altars are projected.
Two balconies are above the side aisles. Due to the fact that at the beginning of the construction the central body and the two lanterns were already raised, the body of the cathedral appears to be too huge, creating a strong contrast with a facade that seems quite small in volume, especially when the building is observed from the side.
Inside the cathedral, you can admire the frescoes representing the portraits of several bishops from Oradea, painted by Johann Nepomuk, Schoph Joseph, Vincens Fischer, Johann Ignatz Czimbal and Teodor Ilici.
Next to the altar, the stained glass windows and the organ stand out, one of the largest in Transylvania.
Source: Tourist itinerary Alba Iulia - Cluj-Napoca - Oradea (Ministry of Tourism, 1982)
