Beiuș, city in Bihor County, Romania
Beiuș is a small town in Bihor County in western Romania, situated in the foothills near the Apuseni Mountains with the Crișul Negru river flowing through it. The streets are calm and lined with old stone houses with tiled roofs, simple churches with plain designs, and small local shops where residents do their daily shopping.
Beiuș was first mentioned in writing in 1263 and suffered severe destruction during the Mongol invasion at that time. Over centuries it came under various rulers, including the Ottoman Empire and later the Habsburg Empire from 1691, until it officially became part of Romania after World War I.
The name Beiuș may come from a Slavic word meaning "lord" or "master", hinting at an influential early leader. Today, local traditions shape daily life here, and during festivals you can see residents in colorful clothes dancing together and sharing traditional food.
The town is accessible by car via roads leading to larger cities like Oradea and Cluj-Napoca, with small buses and taxis available for getting around locally. There are modest guesthouses and family-run inns offering simple, comfortable rooms where you can experience local hospitality firsthand.
Tunnels run beneath the town, which according to local legend were built in the Middle Ages to help people escape during times of war; their exact extent remains a mystery today. In some old parts of town, visitors can discover traces of these underground passages and hear local stories about secret routes from long ago.
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