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| 1348 TIMIŞOARA: 1. House with Lions (Union Square) 2. Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedral (Victoria Square) 3. Lloyd Palace (Victory Square) 4. Dauerbach Palace (Victory Square) 5. Union Square (Serbian Orthodox Episcopal Palace, Serbian Orthodox Cathedral, Orthodox Community House, Plague Column) |
Posted on 02.12.2014, 14.08.2016, 27.05.2017
Located in the Pannonian Plain, near the divergence of the Timiş and Bega rivers, Timişoara, the unofficial capital city of the historical region of Banat, is the third most populous city in Romania (319,279 inhabitants). Banat was annexed by the Kingdom of Hungary in 1030, and the city was first mentioned, as Castrum Temesiense, in either 1212 or 1266. Its importance grew due to its strategic location, so that it reached at the forefront of Western Christendom's battle against the Muslim Ottoman Turks.
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| 1349 TIMIŞOARA: 1. Lloyd Palace (Victory Square) 2. Baroque Palace (Union Square) 3. Palace Merbl & Palace Neuhausz (Victory Square) 4. Plague Column (Union Square) 5. Union Square (Serbian Orthodox Episcopal Palace, Serbian Orthodox Cathedral, Orthodox Community House, Plague Column) 6. The Hunyadi Castle (armor on the entrance) 7. Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedral (Victoria Square) 8. Union Square 9. Dauerbach Palace (Victory Square) |
The French and Hungarian crusaders met here before engaging in the Battle of Nicopolis in 1396, and later John Hunyadi used it as a military stronghold. Repeatedly sieged by the Ottomans, was conquered in 1552, and remained under Ottoman rule for nearly 160 years, but enjoyed a special status, similar to Budapest and Belgrade. In 1716 the city came under Austrian rule (since 1781 as a free royal city). Since 1860, Banat was administrated by Hungary (within the Austro-Hungarian Empire), and it remained so until the early 20th century.
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| 2681 TIMIŞOARA: 1. Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedral (Victoria Square) 2. Roman-Catholic Dome (Union Square) 5. Romanian Orthodox Church in Iosefin 6. Statue of Saint Nepomuk in Liberty Square |
Reached an economic and industrial center, it was the first European city and the second in the world which used electric street lamps (1884), and also the second European city with horse-drawn trams (1869). After the WWI, Banat was divided between the Kingdom of Romania and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, Timişoara coming under Romanian administration. On December 16, 1989 in this city has started the revolution that would lead to the removal of the communist regime in Romania.
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| 1350 Reproduction of an old photo with Union Square at 1900 (Roman-Catholic Dome, Swabian Bank, Prenner House, Baroque Palace) |
In terms of architecture, the city inherits a vast heritage of historical monuments, result of a long tradition of modern urban planning, that started in the 18th century, with the arrival of the Austrians. The center, located in the old Citadel, was remodeled, with squares and straight streets. The buildings were well aligned and the buildings situated at street corners had to have extra architectural elements. Predominantly was influential Viennese Baroque style, which brought to Timişoara the nickname Little Vienna.
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| 3070 Reproduction of an old photo with German Dome and part from Holy Trinity Statue located on Union Square in Timişoara |
In 1904, the city has established the post of chief architect and attributed it to Laszlo Szekely, who made a decisive contribution to the reshaping of the central area and the introduction of the styles Art Nouveau, Secession and Eclectic in urban landscape of the city. The last architectural current that influenced the city was the Romanian one, introduced with the passage of Timişoara under Romanian administration. A particular charm is given by the parks and green spaces that stretch along the Bega canal and in all parts of the city.
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| 1351 TIMIŞOARA: Piarist High School, west facade |
The oldest square is the Union Square (formerly Hauptplatz / Main Square), decorated in Baroque style. The Serbian Orthodox Episcopal Palace was built between 1745 and 1747 in Baroque style, but it has the current form since 1905-1906, when was modified by Laszlo Szekely. The facade, defined by Serbian decorative elements, dates from 1911. The Serbian Orthodox Cathedral was erected between 1744 and 1748, but the towers were added in 1791. The current Orthodox Community House was built in 1828. These three buildings forms the so-called Rascian Square on the western part of the square.
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| 2682 TIMIŞOARA: Opera House in Victory Square before 1989 (back then State Theater in Opera Square) |
The House with Lions (on the north side), originally in Baroque style, had on the corner, from the beginning, the oriel window with round contour. It was rebuilt after 1900 in secession style, at that time being added the lions, which give it the name. On the west side is the Roman-Catholic Dome (dedicated to St. George), built between 1736 and 1774 by architect Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach, prominent representative of Viennese Baroque. It has the shape of a cross, with a single central nave, and the columns arranged on both sides of the nave supports the semi-cylindrical roof.
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