Coronation Cathedral, Alba Iulia
| Cathedral of the Holy Trinity | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Basic information | |
| Location | Alba Iulia, Romania |
| Affiliation | Romanian Orthodox Church |
| Rite | Byzantine |
| District | Archdiocese of Alba Iulia |
| Province | Metropolis of Transylvania |
| Year consecrated | 1922, 2008 |
| Heritage designation | historic monument |
| Architectural description | |
| Architect(s) | Victor Gheorghe Ștefănescu |
| Architectural style | Byzantine layout, Brâncovenesc elements |
| Groundbreaking | 1921 |
| Completed | 1922 |
| Specifications | |
| Height (max) | 40 m |
| Spire(s) | three |
| Materials | stone |
The Coronation Cathedral (Romanian: Catedrala Încoronării), dedicated to the Holy Trinity and the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel, is a Romanian Orthodox cathedral located at 16 Mihai Viteazul Street, Alba Iulia, Romania. Built soon after and in commemoration of the Union of Transylvania with Romania, it is the seat of the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese of Alba Iulia.
The cathedral and surrounding buildings were raised in the western part of the Alba Iulia Citadel, on the site of a gatehouse near the Roman Plateau. It was thought of as a continuation of the former metropolitan seat at Alba Iulia (then called Bălgrad), where Michael the Brave built a stone church in 1597. When the citadel was rebuilt in its current form in 1713-1714, the Habsburg authorities demolished this and its materials were used to build a new church near where the railway station is today. A wooden memorial church in the southeastern part of the citadel marks the site of the former metropolitan cathedral.
Built in 1921–1922, the cathedral was ready in time for the coronation of King Ferdinand and Queen Marie as monarchs of Greater Romania on October 15, 1922. This event, which took place in the same city where the Union of Transylvania with Romania occurred on December 1, 1918, was meant to give the union added symbolic and religious weight. Ferdinand, a Roman Catholic, objected to being crowned inside an Orthodox church, so the coronation ceremony was held outside in the courtyard. In commemoration of the event, busts of the king and queen were placed on the grounds in 2008.
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