Timisoara City (Cultural Buildings)

Timisoara is the capital city of Timis Country
Is one of the largest Romanian cities, with a population of 303,708 inhabitants
and considered the informal capital city of the historical region of Banat.
It was the first mainland European city to be lit by electric street lamps in 1884 It was also the second European and the first city in what is now Romania with horse drawn trams in 1867. Gustave Eiffel, the creator of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, drew the projects of one of Timișoara's footbridges over the Bega
Here are some of the most important churches of the city:

City Hall

The city hall functions in the building of the former commercial high-school. The first commercial course in German was inaugurated in 1838 and was led by Franz Stiben. The 1year course, in 1841, became of 2 years, and in 1844 of 3. In 1873 Wiessner initiated another commercial course, introducing Hungarian as well. In 1895 it becomes a commercial, and later, in 1899 a state high-school; finally, in 1919, it was overtaken by the Romanian state. Stiben and Wiessner's schools had no seats until 1914, when the foundation stone of the new high-school was put. Because of the war, the building was finished only in 1925 and the plaster in 1929. Since 1946 the building is destined to the local administration.



Palace of Culture

The Palace of Culture building was built between 1871-1875, according to the plans of famous architects of Viennese theaters, Helmer and Fellner.
It survived 2 fires. After the first, (1880) the original form was kept, but after the second (1920) a screen was built in the front.
Thus, the Renaisance façade disappeared, the style being kept only on the lateral wings. Behind the screen it is hidden, almost intact, the original façade.
Based on architect Duiliu Marcu's plans, the façade and the theater's big hall got the present neo-byzantine style. In this hall are held the plays of the Opera and the M. Eminescu National Theater; in the former ball hall function the German and the Hungarian Theaters.



Romano-Catholic Dome

After more than 700 years, in 1733, the residence of the Romano-Catholic bishops was moved from Cenad to Timişoara, where the first cathedral became the church of the Jesuitical monks
The plan of the present dome was realized in Baroque style in Vienna, under the guidance of the architect Josef Emanuel Fischer von Erlach, in other opinions by Johann Jakob Schelblauer, the technical councilor of Vienna. The founding stone was set down in 1736 and the workings started in 1738.
Because of the marshland the cathedral was built on wooden pillars. It has a length of 55 m, it is 22 m wide, the height of the nave is of 16,90 m while that of the towers 35, 5 m.The first bells were flushed in 1763, the clock was mounted in 1764. The workings were finished in 1774.
Through Maria Tereza empress`s order the dome has gained the title of the first church in Timişoara, in 1756. Between 1788-1790, during the struggles between the Ottomans and the Austrians, it became a salt store. In the siege of 1849 the edifice was gravely damaged. Amid its walls an artwork of the painter Michelangelo Unterberger is kept, illustrating Saint George on horseback, fighting with the dragon (1754). It was him who painted the altars of Stephansdome from Vienna as well. The dome has six lateral altars effectuated by the German painter Johann Adam Schopf.
As a sign of gratitude for the lent support, the two great statues from the main altar represent the patron saints Carol VI. and Maria Tereza. The first Baroque organ was built in 1767 by the Viennese Paul Hanke, while the present one in Timişoara in 1908.



Museum of Banat

The history of the Museum of Banat starts in 1872, when the newly settled ruler of the Timiş Country, Ormos Zsigmond, founds the Company of History and Archeology from the south of Hungary, and starts the research on Banat's past. His collections were donated to the museum, and through his testament he left an important sum of money to the Company. During the years the Museum of History functioned in several centers; in 1947 it has moved to the Huniazilor Castle.
The examiners of the museum managed to cover the whole history of Banat, from the prehistory until the present. The collections comprise more than 468.000 pieces and they are divided into groups: archeology, numismatics, memoirs, cartography, Romanian and foreign old book, gem and cameo, and history.The Natural Science Department has more than 50.000 museum pieces, divided in several collections: rocks and minerals, paleontology, pressed plants, butterflies, bugs, exotic mollusks and birds.



Maria Theresia Bastion

Around the 12th Century was Timişoara's first strengthened fortress built. It lodged several voivodes, but its development started in the 14th Century, under the reign of Carol Robert de Anjou, period when, amid 1316-1323, Timisoara became the capital of the Hungarian Kingdom. In 1552 the fortress was conquered by the Ottomans. Under their ruling the town was surrounded by a wattle wall and ditch with water.
The wall had 5 gates. Only the Ottomans lived in the protected area, in the Vienna, the town. The Catholics and the Orthodox lived in suburbs, where they had their own churches. In 1716 the stronghold is conquered by the Habsburg Empire. Under their dominance the town knows an unheard prosperous period, gaining the name of Small Vienna. Amid 1723-1765 the stronghold was rebuilt because the fortifications couldn't get through the new fighting techniques. The new Vauban style fortification had a 10 times greater surface than the Turkish Medieval Stronghold.
The interior space was surrounded by 3 stellar belts that could be filled with water. It had 9 bastions and 3 gates: the Carol, Francisc, Theresia, Iosef, Hamilton, Castelul, Mercy, Eugeniu and Elisabeth bastions and the Viena, Petrovaradin and Transilvania gates. From these only the Theresia bastion can be seen today. It was built amid 1730-1735. A fragment from the formerly walls can be seen in the Botanic Park and on the Al. Ioan Cuza street.

Academic Library, Ormos House

The Timisoara library belonging to the Romanian Academy functions in this eclectic-secession building built in 1891. It is in fact the former Welauer house, which has been modified and changed into a museum, to lodge the collections of the History and Archeology Society, founded in 1872, by Ormos Zsigmond. Ormos started the collecting of the museum pieces with acquisitions and donations.
These objects formed the basis of the History and Archeology Society, and later on that of the Banat Museum. In 1882, as chief of the Timiş Comitat, Ormos Zsigmond launched a call subsidy for the construction of the museum, hoping to attract as many founding members as possible. Due to the increase in number of the exhibits, there were more people than the building could host. Since 1941 here functioned the Communal Library, and since 1953 the Academy Library. During the years the bas-reliefs have disappeared, only the Minerva statue survived.