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The Hunyade Castle
In the early fourteenth century, the Hungarian King Carol Robert of Anjou sets his residence in Timisoara. Between 1307 and 1315, many Italian masters would help raise the royal castle. Almost a century and a half later, the building was to be reconstructed by Iancu de Hunedoara, in 1443-1447. Over the years, the Castle has been destroyed and rebuilt on several occasions. Its original shape remained the same, and the façade has kept its look since 1856. Until the end of the Second World War, the Castle’s function was that of hosting military barracks. Since the end of the Second World War, the impressive building became the Banat Museum.
Liberty Square and the Saint John Nepomuk Statue
For over two centuries (1737-1949), Timisoara`s City Council worked in the
building situated in the Liberty Square, known as the “Old City Hall”. It has
been raised on the site of an ancient Turkish bath, following the plans drawn
in 1734 by an architect called Pietro del Bonzo. Two restoration works took
place in 1782 and 1935. A monument of St. Mary, carved in Vienna in 1740,
stands in front of the Old City Hall, marking the end of the great plague
endemic that hit Timisoara in the early eighteenth century. Originally placed
in the area of today`s Continental Hotel, the statue was cut into pieces in
1752 and brought to the place where it stands today. In 1994, the local artist
Ioan Oprescu restored the monument, following an initiative of the Banater
Schwaben Association in Germany.
In 1727, St. Nepomuk was declared the spiritual patron saint of the
Catholics in Banat. The region`s oldest statue shows him holding a cross.
Originally placed in front of the Military Casino in 1720, the edifice was to
be removed in 1752 to the area next to the Eftimie Murgu Highschool. Five years
later, the statue was transported next to the Decebal Bridge, then on the site
of the ancient gardens (1908), today`s Thermal Pool.
Its final location, in 1932, was the yard of the Roman-Catholic
Church in the Josefin quarter, where the Youth Boulevard crosses the Constantin
Brancoveanu Street. Its author remains unknown.
The Serbian Orthodox Vicarage and the Rascian Cathedral
In the early eighteenth century, a small wooden church functioned in the Union Square. In time, the Serbian Community from Timisoara transformed it into a beautiful Baroque-style cathedral. Built from 1745 to 1748, the church was later restored and two towers were added, in 1791. Its new name – the Serbian Orthodox Cathedral – came in 1865. Thirty-five years ago, the edifice was declared a national monument. The restoration in 2002 gave the Rascian Cathedral the look it has today.
Saint George Square
In the Saint George Square, on the premises of today’s Bega Supermarket, the
greatest Roman-Catholic church in Timisoara, established in 1323, was arising.
In 1552, when the Turkish army occupied Timisoara for a long time, the chruch
was transformed into a mosque called by the Turks the Great Mosque.
After Timisoara was liberated from the Turkish occupation, the
mosque is being used for two years as a food storehouse by the army. Afterwards
it will become a Jesuit church. The Christian cross was raised again after many
years on the tower of this church, on April 12th 1719.
The church was reconstructed between 1745 – 1769. In 1806 it is
known to be the church of the Catholic School for Ministers founded that year.
The church was demolished in 1913.
The Cathedral in the Lahovary Square
The Lahovary Square is definetely marked by the Roman-Catholic church located there. The foundation stone was set in 1912, but was dated in 1914. The church was built in pure Neogothic style by the architect Karl Salcovics. The five altars inside the church were carved by Ferdinand Stuflesser from Ortisei (Italian Tirol).
Buildings in the Josefin Quarter
The Josefin is along with the Cetate and Fabric districts one of the main historical centres of Timisoara. Thus, the importance of the district is a very high one for the city. Since 1773 the suburb called at that time „The New Maiers” is renamed after the Emperor Joseph II. The railway station and the Bega Channel situated in the Josefin district are the main reasons for the economic development of the area. Until 1912, most of the houses there were overstaged or replaced with two-storied buildings. In 1914 the Josefin was the district with 53 stores and 63 manufacturers’ workshops, while 40 trains were daily entering the Timisoara Railway Station (the Budapest-Vienna fast train and the Orient-Express are to be mentioned here).
he Baroque Palace
The building in the Union Square bears this name since 1754. Prior to that date, it hosted the Mining Office (1733) and the Military Financial Office (1735). Over the years, the Baroque Palace was the official residence of Banat`s Austrian governors and Timis County rulers, until 1848. From 1849 to 1860, this was the headquarter of Serbian Vojvodina and Timis-Banat government, and in 1861 the Timis County officials set their headquarters here for the second time. Between the two World Wars, the Timis-Torontal Prefect’s Office functioned in the Baroque Palace. Between 1944 and 1958, Soviet troops were stationed here. After that, it was the Agricultural Institute`s turn to have its headquarters in the building, before the Banat Museum took it over and put it under a complex process of restoration.
The Monument of the Holy Trinity
The statue is located right in the middle of the Union Square, in accordance with the architectural style of the surrounding buildings. The foundation stone for this monument was set on November 23rd 1740 by the Counsellor of the Local Administration at that time, Johann Anton Deschau von Hannsen. The statue’s purpose was to remind of the plague endemic which had made lots of victims in Timisoara and in the entire region of Banat. The monument is made of sandstone and bears an extraordinary artistic value considering that it was carved in Vienna, following the features of the Baroque style, and was consequently shipped to Timisoara on the Danube and Tisa rivers and, eventually, on the Bega Channel.
The Synagogue in Fabric
One of the most beautiful buildings in Timisoara is the Israeli Church in the Fabric district, built up in 1899 by an architect from Budapest, Lipot Baumhorn, in an architectural Moorish style. Unlike other historical buildings in the city, this one has kept its original purpose, that of a Israeli halidom.
