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.

Timisoara City (Churches)

The Metropolitan Cathedral of Banat

The Metropolitan Cathedral of Banat was built after the designs of the architect Ioan TRAIANESCU between 1936 and 1946. Located in one of Timisoara's most frequented sites, the Cathedral, which has a capacity of over 4,000 people, faces the large and slightly Victoria Square: at the northern end of the Square, there stands the marble palace of the National Theatre and the National Opera House - in front of which took place the dramatic stream of events of the December 1989. "Revolution" that started in Timisoara and eventually led to the abolition of the communist dictatorship in Romania
















St. Ilie Orthodox Church

The first cult dwelling of Fabric district was St. George church, from Piaţa Traian, built in 1745. Until 1873 it was a common dwelling for the Romanian
and Serbian pious but that year, due to the jarring, they got to a long trial. According to the verdict from 1901, the Serbian community came off victorious.
The Romanian pious from Piaţa Traian frequent the St. Ilie church from Fabric, built amid 1825-1826. In 1910 the town hall had as a plan the construction
 of an electric turbine and the lay-out of the river Bega's course. Thanks to these workings the Parochial Committee accepts the demolition of the
church and the construction of a new edifice in Piaţa Morii. In the place of the old church, on the right side of the Bega, there is a cross with
the inscription: This cross was put here in 1928 in the place of the altar of the Romanian Orthodox church, demolished in 1913.





Millenium Church

The greatest Catholics church from Timisoara. It was build between 1896 -1901, with the purpose of comemorating a millenium since the settlement
of Hungarians on there regions, It is the second dwelling of Romano-Catholic cult of the parish from the Fabric district. The old church built around
1726 is near by the beer factory.At the inauguration of the new church the old one was given to the Greco-Catholic parish's community, community wich
at that time didn't dispose of a church worthy to their cult. The Millenium church of great dimensions was constructed in Neo-Romanic and Neo-Gothic
Styles after the plans of Ybl. Lajos.The towers are 65 and the central dome 45m high. The church can host around 300 christians. The greater bell weights
2420 kg.The organ was realized by Leopold Wegenstein.

Elisabetin Romano-Catholic Church

The Most Holy hearth of Jesus is the Romano-Catholic church of the Elisabetin district. It was built in 1919, in Gothic style, following the plans of the architect Karl Salkovics. The church is administered by the Salvatorian monks, a relatively young order founded in 1881 in Austria.


















The Church of the nuns belonging to the Notre-Dame order

In 1864 were brought to Timişoara the first nuns of the Sorores Pauperes de Nostra Domina. The first monastery and first school (today the Lyceum squarely to the Banatului Museum) were opened in the Cetate district. The imposing building had 72 rooms and a chapel.
in 1881 were the new monastery and the school opened, and the church of the monastery was built in 1894, in Neo-Romanic style, on the nuns 'expense. The main and the lateral altars were framed by the Tyrolese sculptor, Ferdinand Stufflesser. The church has served and serves even today mainly the Order of the Nuns of Notre-Dame, the masses being celebrated in German and in every Sunday in Bulgarian as well. In 1948 the order had more than 400 nuns, but in 1948 the order was abolished and their properties were confiscated.
In those buildings operate the Bănăţean College, the Sârbesc Lyceum and the Home of the Students.The majority of the nuns have left abroad. After 50 years of Communism, in 1992, the Notre-Dame Order from Timişoara was reestablished and the nuns returned to the town.



Piarist Church

It is the church of the Piarist monks' order, monks who came to Timişoara in 1788 and received the church of the Franciscan monks and the Saint Ioan Nepomuc Church built between 1733-1736 in the place of an old mosque, which was constructed on a medieval Catholic church.
The Piarists built in 1909 a new church and a school. The old church was overtaken by the municipality and demolished in 1911, from its crypt being moved 261 skeletons. It was identified the tomb of Johanna von Honrath, the wife of Karl Grath, the commander of the fortress. Johanna von Grath was the first love of Beethoven. This church has neo-Byzantine, Hungarian and Baroque elements from the old Franciscan church. The Piarists continued to hustle after 1948 as well, because it was considered the students' church. Here lived and died in 2005 the country's last Piarist, P. Francisc Valo O. Sch. P. Since then the church has been overtaken by the priests of the Romano-Catholic Gherhardinum Theological Lyceum.


Saint Joseph Romano-Catholic Church

The Saint Joseph ecclesiastical church from the Fratelia district was built in a Neogothic style in 1926-1928. In the tower there is a modern timepiece, a gift from Vienna. The masses are held in Hungarian, German and Romanian.



















Saint Ecaterina Church

The church is the successor of the medieval church, dedicated to the same patron saint. In the medieval church's crypt was buried in the 13th century the wife of King Carol Robert de Anjou, Maria Ecaterina, who died in the period when the court of Hungary's kings was Timişoara. The church was the property of the Reformed Franciscan monks from the Sanctissimi Salvatoris province, who in the 18th century also possessed a monastery besides the church. Due to the construction of the fortress, around 1723 the church was demolished.
The monks were moved in the center of the town, on the present Bolyai Street, where between 1753-1756 a church was built in the place of a former mill. In place of the demolished church in 1763 an obelisk was built in remembrance of the personalities buried there. Once the street was widened, around 1935, the obelisk was moved in the cemetery from Calea Lipovei, but since then nothing has been known of the graves. The new church was built in a pure Baroque style, containing several cult objects from the old church.
Between 1887 and1889 the church was reconstructed, this time in a neoclassic style, but preserving several Baroque elements.

The Serb Orthodox Church

The church situated in the Fabric district was built in 1746. The construction was made of brick, in shape of a visible cross both in the exterior and interior. The tower is attached to the Western facade of the building, being built on 4 solid columns; columns that form a beautiful open porch. The altar screen was effectuated in the second half of the 18th century. The church has a collection of 100 cult books written in Slav and a few in Greek in the 18th-19th centuries.

Timisoara City (Artistic Attractions)

Old City House

In 1731 was put the foundation stone of the old town hall, in that time also called the new town hall or the German town hall. In 1735, in the new building was re-elected the mayor Peter Solderer. On the frontispiece of the building it can still be seen the seal of the town, an open port, between two towers of a strengthened fortress. During the history, the façade of the town hall was remade several times. The old façade was symmetric, with a port in the middle, above which there is a balcony and the 4 bent windows of the old assembly room. The town hall ran in this building until 1949.

Synagogue Citadel

The synagogue from Cetate district, of a Mosaic style, was built amid 1863-65 on initiative of the Rabbi Mauriciu Hirschfeld; it was planned by the Viennese architect Ignatz Schuhmann in eclectic and Moorish style. In the Inter-War period, there were almost 13 000 Jews in Timişoara, today there are around 700. The balconies and the ground-floor space can host 3 000 people.
The edifice had two official inaugurations, at the second one, from 1872, participated King Franz Josef I. as well. The façade is plated with face brick and ceramics plate. The building has two towers and a dome. In the interior there is a Wegenstein organ (1866). Here is buried rabbi David Opelheim. In 1985 the synagogue was closed because of the decline in number of the Jew population. In the following 20 years, the edifice bore the consequences of its neglecting and vandalism. In 2001 the Philharmonic Orchestra signed a lending contract for 50 years with the Jew community.
In exchange of using the synagogue as a concert-room, it will support the renovation expenses of the building. Thus, the place will change into a multifunctional space, with conference and exposition rooms.

Synagogue Iosefini

The Orthodox synagogue from Iosefin district is the only one in the whole town where services are held even today. It was built amid 1906-1910. Today in Timişoara live around 600 Jews and this is the only religious place where they can meet.

Slaughterhouse

It was built amid 1905-1905, according to the plans of architect Szekely Laszlo. Initially, the complex had 11 buildings: animal shelters, sacrifice halls, refrigerating spaces, offices, laboratories and even dwellings. After 1989 the slaughter house limited its activity until its abolition in 1992. The successive demolitions ended with the keeping of the figurative tower of its lateral halls and the entrance gate with its statuary groups. The central tower ends in battlements in the superior part and the statuary groups represent a bull and a female character in one part and the other one a bull and a male character.

Fountain with Fish

In 1957 in Victory Square this artesian well was built, known as the Fish well, and in a short time it became the favourite place of the photographers, of the youth and of the elderly. It is the oasis of relax of the square, it revives the atmosphere created by the surrounding monumental buildings.

Skanzen

The Skanzen was established in 1971, on a surface of 17.47 ha in the Green Forest, in the North-Eastern extremity of the town. It looks like a village, with streets and houses, with church and mill, town hall and pub. The genuine constructions of wood, stone, clay, demolished in the villages of Banat and rebuilt in the museum, respecting the local techniques; the day-by-day used objects, introduce us in the lives of the people from Banat of the past centuries. Mainly the rooms, the spare bedroom, known as the clean bedroom, are beautifully furnished and decorated with woven materials, carpets, towels and tablecloths. The roof in general is supported by wooden pillars, traditionally decorated, and the houses are either thatched or shingle-topped. There is also a wheelwright`s shop.

Arad City (Cultural Buildings)

The city of Arad has a population of 147,992, making it the 13th largest city in Romania.It is the third largest city in the western part of the country, behind Timisoara and Oradea.
Arad is located in the plain, near the banks of the river Mures, at about 100 km east of the Tisa River. The relatively mild weather, the rich fauna and flora constitute an optimal environment for human inhabitancy.
The first traces left by human presence are about 40000 years old. A hunting expedition of a group of Homo sapiens, coming from the Zarand Mountains, may be credited for them. Only the end of the Vth millennium BC founded the first stable settlement. The villagers that occupied the northern bank of the river were farmers. During the IVth millennium BC the settlement expanded to the southern bank. These communities were part of the pre-indo-European civilisation.

Town Hall

Arad City Hall was built between 1872-1876 in Renaissance style. It has a tower built later (in 1878) with a clock.
Building Conception belongs to the architect Ferenc Pekar.

Palace of Culture                                                                                                          
                                         
                                 

The Palace of Culture is one of the most representative buildings of Arad. It was erected between 1911-1913. The monument impresses up to now, each person, either native or foreign.
It combines a variety of styles. The front side is in Neo-classic style and has a front age supported by Corinthian big colonnades, above it being a big tower. The side wings are marked by elements of the Italian Renaissance. The castle of Hunedoara, a Gothic building, inspires the side that faces the park.Coming up the impressive stairs, the visitor first enters into a nice hall carved in Moneasa marble and then enters in the great concert hall.


The Old Theatre

    

                                                            For the visitors of Arad, an interesting edifice is the building of the old theatre which has existed in the
middle of the town for about 180 years. It was built in 1817 and can be considered the first permanent building for theatre in Romania. In the archives, there is a letter of the owner of the building, Iacob Hirschl, which proves that the edifice existed in May of 1817. It was built in Neo-classical style.
No one knows the inauguration date but it is sure that during November of 1817, a company of German theatre led by Cristofor Kun performed in the old theatre. The first important event after inauguration was a performance on the 27th of February in 1818, on the Thalia scene, by pupils of the teachers' training school - it was the first performance in Romanian. The fact that there was a permanent theatre determined the acting of several plays during the years that followed. Many famous companies performed at the old theatre during its early years such as: Derynné in 1818, Treuman in 1845 and Johan Strauss,

the son, with his concerto of 1847.
The years following 1848 are the most fruitful ones, especially the years of 1868, 1870 and 1871 when famous companies managed by Mihai Pascaly and Matei Milo visited Arad. These companies had as promoter our famous poet Mihai Eminescu. Due to the opening of the new theatre in 1874, the old theatre of Hirschl was closed in 1873.
The first cinema hall was housed by this building in 30 November 1907, its name being "Urania", which is one of the oldest cinema halls from Romania. On the 16th of April in 1916, the first Romanian film was seen in this hall, "The War of Independence". The film was shown for four days with four performances daily. In 1917, the hall was constructed to its present form. The "Urania" cinema hall was closed when the sound film appeared due to a lack of proper acoustics and a danger of fire. On December 1, 1933, the "Urania" cinema was reopened with a sound film with the famous Pat and Patachom. The cinema hall continued to exist up to the 80s when it was closed because of its deteriorating condition.
Now, it belongs to the patrimony; the local authority has promised to restore the building to its original form as soon as possible.




Arad Citadel



The fortified town of Arad is one of the most important historical monuments existing in the West Side of the country.
Built in the second half of the 17th century, the fortification was considered to be a very important military building. We are going to motivate the reason of its existence.
In the first half of the 18th century, the Austrian-Turkish wars were over and the Habsburgh Empire occupied Transylvania, Banat, and other counties. For security reasons, the Emperor considered it
important to have fortified buildings in the recently occupied territories.After the revolution of 1848, the casemates of the fortress were used as prisons for many participants of the revolution; one of them was Eftimie Murgu. Towards the end of the 19th century, the fortress turned into a barracks when its strategic conception became less important.

Arad City (Churches)

Birth of Saint John the Baptizer Romanian Orthodox Cathedral

The Romanian Cathedral occupies a special place in the  
Arad architecture. It was built between 1862-1865 in a Baroque style. The work, co-ordinated by the architect Antoniu Czigler, began in 1861 on a swampy field not quite fit for a monumental building, a fact that determined the building of the church on pile very soon after it was finished, there were crannies in the wall because of the structure of the ground. The building required repairs, which were performed when the walls were painted. The building was completed on the 28th of February in 1870. The church is an enlarge pronaos because it is flanked by two steeple towers. The apse, in the inner side, is half-circular with a niche for the bishop's throne. The altar is separated from the nave by a wonderful iconostasis, a piece of art created by the sculptor Mihail Alexici. The entrance of the church is on the Northern, Southern and Western sides. The main entrance is in the Western part, being placed quite in the middle, the door having two wings. It has a rectangular form, with stone frames, flanked by rectangular niches.
The two towers, added in 1904, are majestic; they have a squared section with a clock on each side. The first great restoration of the outer side, as well as some changes to the inside of the building, was done in 1905-1906. The attic, with a round window, was added between the two towers. Electric light was introduced in 1921; and in 1939 some reparations were completed. Between 1957-1959, frescoes were placed on the walls by Anastasie Demian. The niches from the front facade were painted in frescoes. Due to the efforts of the bishopric of Arad, the artist Viorel Tigu did important restoration work. The main founders of this cathedral are the Moiconi family and George Sina, a banker from Vienna who offered large sums of money for this monumental building. For the Orthodox community, it has become too small and we believe that the new building of the cathedral will fulfil the dreams of the congregation.



Romano-Catholic Cathedral

The Romano-Catholic Cathedral is one of the most impressive buildings which dominates the main thoroughfare of the town. It integrates itself among the buildings of the Revolution Boulevard.
The building has a special architecture and was erected between 1902 - 1904 in Renaissance style according to the plans of Emil Tabakovics. The main entrance is arched, dominated on both sides by two colonnades which frame, in their superior side, the half round, deepened frontispiece.
The frontispiece houses the sculpture "Pieta", a copy of the one in San Piedro in Rome carved by Michelangelo. Above the sculpture, there is a frieze with three statues and a quotation from Luca, the evangelist, " My house is the house of prayers".
The tower of the cathedral, having a half-circular dome that is 56 m high, impresses by monumentality and sumptuousness. Visitors are impressed by the double and the simple colonnades that support the half-circular arches from the inner side till the altar. Wonderful is also the system of lighting the basilica; the light comes through 10 extremely beautiful stained glass windows that have themes typical to Western type Christianity. Visitors are also impressed by the painting of the church, achieved by Löhr Fernec and Bogdanffy Pauli Erik in the same Western style.
On the right side of the entrance, on the wall of the pronaos, there is an inscription from the old Convent of Arad Minorities that reminds us of the presence of the Emperor Josef II in the Arad area. A beautiful statue of the TRINITY is also there, at the beginning of the century it was placed in front of the Theatre.
The church has an organ with an extraordinary resonance. Because of this, concerts are organised in the church in cooperation with the Philharmonic orchestra, they may be on religious themes.
The bells were moulted in the Hönig workshops of Arad, famous in all of Central Europe for their masterpieces.
Between 1965-1966, the inner side of the cathedral was restored. The Miltaller brothers, famous for their talent, did the work.
Very recently, the facade of the cathedral was restored getting all its monumentality. The Roman - Catholic Church, built due to the people of Arad, represents one of the most outstanding buildings of the town. It is a monument, but also a place where one may pray.



The Red Church


For visitors of Arad, the building of the Protestant Church, known by the inhabitants as the "Red Church", is worth visiting. The name comes from the material the building is made of - red brick.
The building of the church started in March 1905. The author of the project was the Arad architect Ludovick Szantany. The entreprizer was Fich Lajos. The building process lasted more than one year and was finally finished in September of 1906. The dedication of the church occurred in 1906 in the presence of the bishop Sarany Samuel. It is built in the Neogothic style. The main materials used in building the church were stone, brick and concrete.
The main tower is 46 m high. The altar is a work of sculpture in Neogothic style. The sculptor Örr Gyorgy carved the pulpit from Kosice. The painting existing on the altar has as its theme "The pray of Jesus in the Getziman garden" and was painted by I. Umlauf in 1848. It is possible that the painting was brought from an older church.

Arad City(Other attractions)

The water tower

The development the town sustained during the 19th century transformed Arad from a medieval town into a modern one. The majority of the buildings erected in this period were in Neoclassic and Secession style offering a specific character to the town. The central area has polarized the institution, the greatest part of the flats, commercial, cultural, medical, administrative, and educational units.
Under the circumstances, the middle of the town has an architectonic area known by the natives as "The Firemen's Square". The name comes from the fact that the headquarters of the civilian fireman unit was there. The Firemen's Square was founded in 1835. Nearby, Saint Florian Chapel was erected; it is known that Saint Florian is the patron of the firemen.

In the second half of the 19th century, the local authorities decided to build the Water Tower - an edifice that would be very important for town life. The tower was built in order to supply the whole town with water and to have enough water in the case of fires.
The tower is 35 m high and was ready to be used in 1896. As an architectonic style, it fits the suburb it is placed in. The tower made of stone and bricks, impresses visitors with its massiveness and height.
The balconies and windows have a nice ornamentation. The visitors are also impressed by the variety of adornments existing on the top level.

The house with the padlock

 The development of the social and economic life had determined the appearance of the corporation, which grew in importance and were in a large variety. In 1718 only one guild was recorded; one century later, in 1823, 32 corporations are to be found in Arad.
The Arad corporation built some houses, which, due to their architecture, dominated the centre of the town, in the respective interval of time. In connection with this kind of activity, there is a building in Arad, which is worth visiting. Who does not know this house? Walking by it, who has not watched that padlock which is the theme of so many stories?
The most popular story says that the person who is able to unlock the respective padlock will get the house. But it is just a story because the padlock has no mechanism and the hole for the key is only for cheating the eye. The house was built in 1815 by Iosif Winkler, a merchant of Vienna; it was restored in 1851, date carved above the gate. In the corner of the building, in the Plevnei Street, there is a niche which houses a trunk put in a metal bar closed with a padlock. The researches have established that the trunk, built in 1827, was used only for ornament. "The Iron Trunk" (wood rolled in metallic sheet), placed in the respective niche, was made according to the Vienna model. Such trunks are to be found in all the large cities where the corporation had important activities such as: Vienna, Bratislava, Buda, Arad, Oradea, Timisoara, a.s.o. There are opinions, which say that they are means of popularisation for merchants.
"The Iron Trunk" is also a memory of the corporation. The journeymen, before becoming masters were obliged to do a piece of work to prove their professional training. Before doing it, they were supposed to travel through the country or even abroad. Leaving the town, they went to the trunk and stroke a nail into it. The House with the Padlock from Arad is also connected to the revolutionary events of 1848-1849. The house, for an interval of time, was the residence of the secret police of the Austrian Emperor and in the cellar, many revolutionaries were imprisoned.



 Gai Monastery

   

In the North- West side of Arad in the Gai suburb, at the end of the Danube street, there is a monument of the 17th century, the Saint Simon Monastery. It was erected in 1760-1762 by the bishop Sinesie Jivanovici (1751-1768) for his every memory and for his descendant's bishop seat of Arad. The contract signed on the 15th - 26th of May by the bishop Sinesie and the Arad master mason, Egidius Ioanovici, foresaw the erection of the monastery for 98000 Gold Florins. The two contracting parts discussed the project. The monastery was supposed to be formed of a mansion (residence of the bishop), a church and auxiliary buildings. The mansion was used as summer residence for the bishops of Arad. The church was the place where a large majority of people came to pray and listen to the priests' service. According to the wish of the bishop Sinesie, the church was built in Baroque style. Due to his wish, the church was part of a mansion, which was added to the church on its northern side. The whole complex has the form of the letter "U" because of the two exits towards the East marked by the apse of the church and the inner chapel existing in the Northern-Eastern side of the mansion.
The Eastern side of the complex is impressive and richly adorned, bearing the characteristics of the epoch. The church tower found in the south-western side, impresses by the two registers and the cornice between them. In the axis of the tower, there is the door of the church foreseen with a stone, rectangular frame. The tower has a pyramidal roof, formed of arched slopes made of zinc plates. The inner side of the church is typical to all orthodox churches. Towards the East, there is the semicircular apse of the altar, which presents a polygonal shape in the outside part. The altar table is made of red marble. The bishop Sinesie is buried in the altar.
After the demolition of the old cathedral of Arad, in 1861 the mortal remains of the bishop buried there were moved in the altar of this monastery.
Visitors of this monastery are impressed by the iconostasis of the church in the Neo-classic style. Extremely beautiful are the kings doors having a special ornamentation.


TRAIAN BRIDGE

The building of the Traian Bridge was solicited by the local administration at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1908 the project of the Austrian Railway Society was accepted. The bridge was built after the plans of engineer Robert Toth (1857-1913) from Reşiţa, the iron structure being made at the plants in his town. The ornamentation contains many secession elements. The weight test and the official delivery to the local authorities of the bridge took place on 11th November 1910. At the end of the W.W. II the bridge was dynamited, but its structure wasn't badly affected. The bridge was remade in a few months after the end of the war. Being an industrial monument, it currently functions with weight restrictions.