The city where you can travel back in time is in Romania. How is it possible

A city in Romania is offering tourists and locals a unique experience – time travel thanks to a smart app. What it’s really all about.

Time travel is possible. In which Romanian city can you experience it

In Oradea time travel is possible with augmented reality. You can go back 300 years and discover in the centre of the city how, for example, the barter between Habsburgs and Serbs took place, between merchants who gathered in the flourishing city.

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Specifically, near the Black Eagle Palace, the Oradea City Hall and the Moon Church, panels have been installed with a QR code, which, once scanned, allows you to download an application that uses augmented reality. This way, anyone with a smartphone can go back in time.

“With the new technology we go back three centuries to show tourists in the Unirii Square area of Oradea the most important buildings in this area. (…) They are photos created from historical sources made together with local historians. They are reproductions of the old buildings that were on the current sites of the most recognized architectural and heritage works of the city”, said Alexandru Chira, executive director of Visit Oradea.

A real joy for tourists and locals

For travel bloggers, the system is a real delight: “I’ve tried them in other cities in Europe and it is, as I said, a joy to see them in Romanian cities. From my point of view, they are welcome, especially as they keep up with technology. For younger tourists they are something that catches on.”

The app also contains audio information

Another piece of good news is that, in addition to images showing the city as it was three centuries ago, the app also contains audio information gathered by historians.

“It’s a good idea because you have the opportunity to find out a lot more information in real time, including the younger generation, who are always on social media, they can very easily download information, find out things. So, yes, very good idea as more places in Oradea should have, I know, areas like this where you can scan information”, is the opinion of a tourist.

Another welcomes the idea of the Oradea authorities, saying that “history can be shown on the phone, on the phone that is always with us. (…) So we discovered what was here, to what extent it evolved, everything that means the market, everything that means this centre that today we see renovated in this form. And it’s all beautiful, colorful candy. What used to be and is spectacular,” according to Antena 3 CNN.

Through the same project financed by European funds, six pairs of VR glasses were purchased that re-enact the history of Oradea.