A general feature of the contemporary history of Romanian cities, owing especially to the ideological pressure during the communist regime, but also to the chaos characteristic of the post-communist period, is the difficulty in identifying urbanism trends, which is certainly valid in the case of Alba Iulia. The fact is to some extent paradoxical, because this town has self-identified over time as the “town of the Union”, since the act of 1 December 1918 gave it this identity more strongly than the similar declarations of union with the Kingdom of Romania on 27 March 1918 for Chiȼinău and 15/28 November 1918 for CernăuĠi. More recently, the local government transformed the aforementioned phrase into the motto “the other capital”, based on the Vauban fortress’s tourism development, dating, in its current form, back to the 18th century. However, the history of the town, in particular the modern one, has little in common with the history of the fortress, and the need to create a more coherent link between the fortress and the modern habitation area (the “lower town” or “center”) and the post-War settlement on the “Romans’ Plateau” has represented the great problem of urban development projects in the city since 1918. The present study addresses three eras of urban project: 1. in the interwar period and during the Second World War, in relation to the construction regulations developed during that period; 2. in the period of “popular power” (1948-1965); and 3. in the first decade of the “Golden Age” (1965-1975). The sources utilized come from the archives of local and regional administrative authorities. The projects mainly focused on the systematization of the “Romans’ Plateau” area, where the collective habitation assemblies built in the post-war period first used the “quartal” model, then the “micro-raion” one, both of Soviet inspiration; and on the “Lower City”, whose reorganization has become stringent since Alba Iulia regained the status of an Alba County habitation in 1968. The investigation stops at the time of the destruction caused by the earthquake on 4 March 1977, which led to a radical restructuring of this area of the town.

Fig. 1. City plan of Alba Iulia, 1929, made by Architect Octavian Mihălțan. Published as an annex in Virgil Cucuiu, Alba Iulia. Din trecutul și prezentul orașului [Alba Iulia. From the Past and Present of the City] (Alba Iulia: “Sabin Solomon” Printing House, 1929), 101. Reproduction after “Alba Iulia după Marea Unire în primul ghid turistic în limba română” [Alba Iulia after the Great Union in the First Tourist Guide in Romanian], accessed 14 December 2018, https://viziteazaalbaiulia.ro / Alba-Iulia-after-great-union-in-first-guide & tourist-in-Romanian language/. Fig. 2. Plan of interwar Alba Iulia, marking the first three sectors provided in the urban regulations. “Colecția de documente” Fund, no. 7407. The archives of the Great Union Museum of Alba Iulia. Fig. 3. The plan of Alba Iulia, 1900. “Colecția de documente” Fund, no. 7406. The archives of the Great Union Museum of Alba Iulia. Fig. 4. Elevation director plan. Alba Iulia South, 1950, no. 2961, http://geospatial.org/harti/preview-pt-zoomify.php?mapId=245, detail. Fig. 5. Elevation director plan. Alba Iulia North, 1953, no. 2962, http://geospatial.org/harti/preview-pt-zoomify.php?mapId=246, detail. Fig. 6. Layout plan regarding the modernization of Alba Iulia’s streets, scale 1:2,000, elaborated by the Systematization and Architecture Service of the People’s Council of the Alba Raion (SAS Alba). Alba Iulia People’s Council Fund, no. 42/1966, f. 92r. Alba County National Archives Service, detail. Fig. 7. Layout plan with the main gas pipeline segment in Alba Iulia, scale 1:20,000, drawn up by SAS Alba. Alba Iulia People’s Council Fund, no. 29/1960, f. 1r. Alba County National Archives Service, detail. Fig. 8. Layout plan for the "Romans’ Plateau" Housing Complex, version 1, scale 1:8,000, drawn up by the Department of Systematization, Architecture and Design of Constructions Deva within the People’s Council of Hunedoara County. Alba Iulia People’s Council - Architecture and Systematization Fund, no. 5/1969, f. 71r. Alba County National Archives Service. Fig. 9. Layout plan of contemporary Alba Iulia, scale 1:5,000, elaborated by the Institute of Studies and Design for Systematization, Architecture and Printing in Bucharest. Alba Iulia People’s Council - Architecture and Systematization Fund, no. 332/1972, f. 115r. Alba County National Archives Service, detail. Fig. 10. Proposal for the final stage of the project Detail of systematization of Citadel – Romans’ Plateau, version 1, scale 1:2,000, elaborated by the Institute of Studies and Design for Systematization, Architecture and Printing in Bucharest. Alba Iulia People’s Council - Architecture and Systematization Fund, no. 332/1972, f. 108r. Alba County National Archives Service, detail. Fig. 11. Proposal for the final stage of the project Detail of systematization of Citadel – Romans’ Plateau, version 3, scale 1:2,000, elaborated by the Institute of Studies and Design for Systematization, Architecture and Printing in Bucharest. Alba Iulia People’s Council - Architecture and Systematization Fund, no. 332/1972, f. 114r. Alba County National Archives Service, detail. Fig. 12. Proposal for the final stage of the project Detail of systematization of the central area of Alba Iulia, version 1, scale 1:2,000, drawn up by the Institute for Studies and Design for Construction, Architecture and Systematization in Bucharest. Alba Iulia People’s Council - Architecture and Systematization Fund, no. 7/1969, f. 113r. Alba County National Archives Service. Details of Ion I. C. Brătianu and Alessandria square (a) and the Iuliu Maniu square (b). Proposed constructions: A. Administrative financial office; B. Puppet Theater; C. Popular Art School; D. Covered pool; E. Training room; F. Multipurpose Hall; G. House of Culture; H. Hotel; I. County Office of Security; J. PTTR Office; K. Polyclinic; M. Municipal Library; N. Craftsmanship Cooperatives; O. Commercial units; P. Cinema; R. Archives’ Office; S. Nursery. Fig. 13. Alba Iulia in the 1980s. (a). The image of the Transylvanian Avenue, closed off from the A2 block, which blocked the perspective to the fortress. Source: “Foto: Vă place? Alba Iulia în anii 80…” [Photo: Do You Like It? Alba Iulia in the 80s ...], accessed 18 December 2018, http://proalba.ro/foto-va-place-alba-iulia-in-anii-80. (b). The image of the same avenue, seen from the park in front of the fortress on the day of the segmentation and moving of block A2. Source: “Mutarea blocului A2 din Alba Iulia, cu 80 de apartamente, în greutate de 7.600 de tone” [Moving the A2 Block from Alba Iulia, with 80 Apartments, Weighing 7,600 Tons], accessed 18 December 2018, https: //ziarulunarea.ro/mutarea-blocului-a2-din-alba-iulia-cu-80-of-apartments-in-weightof-7-600-de-tons-90 321 /.