Timișoara Romania: Europe Culture capital

Serbian Orthodox Church and Union Square
unique facade, small towers, beautiful bells and icons.
Built in C18th in the Baroque style.

Timisoara is in Western Romania, near the borders with Hungary and Serbia, and 600 km from Bucharest. The Carpathian Mount­ains (where my in-laws came from) lie to the north. The Timiș, Bega and Poganiș Rivers flow through the county and the city was named for the River Timis. From a small fort-town  in Castrum Temesiensis, first recorded in 1212, Timişoara in the C14th became a fortress. The town was sacked by the Tatars, but its citadel was rebuilt and used as the residence of Charles I of Hungary (1309–42)

In the Middle Ages the area was conquered by the Turks and remained in their hands until the Austrians took it in 1716, thus the many fortifications on Liberty Square. After a 1718 treaty, the region was governed from Vienna and colonised with non-Magyars, mostly Swabian Germans. The city withstood a siege by Hungarian revolutionaries in 1848. Occupied by Serb­ia in 1919, it was allotted by the Treaty of Trianon (1920) to Romania.

Banat Village Museum, opened 1967

Includes Village Civic Centre, Alley of Ethnicities and the Living Museum.

Fabric Synagogue, Neo-Moorish

opened c1840

Romania's 3rd largest city became a European Capital of Culture for 2021. After the win was announced, the mayor noted that the budget for the project would be €48.5 mill­ion: €20 m from Local Councils, €5 m from the County Coun­cil, €1.5 m from the European Commission, and the rest from the State. The money went to Multi-plexity, Palace of Culture, Arta Cinema, Dacia Cultural Cen­tre, Studio Art Hub, Art Theatre Hall, Fratelia Community Cult­ural Centre, Freidorf Commun­ity Cen­tre and Iosefin Water Tower Cul­tural Centre.

Timișoara is part of one of the most ambitious cultural projects of the European Union, helping EU-nations to learn about each oth­er’s cultures. And this cultural city has several tert­iary institutions, state opera, phil­harmonic orchestra, ballet and library. There are parks along the navigable Bega Canal and Rose Park is very rom­antic . The National Theatre of Timișoara is und­ergoing res­t­oration. 

The modern city represents a unique mix of architectural styles and cultural traditions. A principal building is the heroic Roman Catholic Cathedral (1736–73). Near the cathedral there is a monu­m­ent dedicated to those killed during the 1989 revolution. There is also Memorial Museum of Revolution whose exhibits there are unif­orms, historical documents, newspapers, lib­rary, revolut­ion­aries’ person­al belongings and historical films.

The Orthodox Serbian Cathedral (1748, restored 1791), opposite Victory Square, became the spiritual centre for Serbs and Roman­ians. This imposing Baroque building has a unique facade, small towers, bells and icons.

Romanian Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedral (1936-46) was built in Victory Square with green and red tiles, arranged in a mosaic design. A monument dedicated to those who died during the 1989 Revolution is in front of the cathedral. The Cathedral is home to many art religious objects, including old Romanian icon paintings.

St George Catholic Cathedral, baroque

Opened 1774

An interesting cultural institution is Banat Vill­age Museum. It is a massive cultural open air com­plex; its main ex­hibits are farm buildings c100 years old. Beautiful pottery and wooden cabins were moved to the museum from around the city, so that exciting activities could include folk events.

Romanian National Opera, opened 1875

Burned down in 1880 and rebuilt in 1882

Burned in 1920 and rebuilt in 1923

 The Roman Catholic Cathedral (1736-54) was built in Union Square by Fisher von Erlach, a fine example of Viennese Bar­oque style. The main altar was done by Michael Angelo Unt­er­berger, director of Fine Arts Academy in Vienna. The Opera House (1875) was designed by Viennese architects   Fellner and Helmer who designed concert halls in Buda­pest, Vienna and Odessa. The frescoes in the concert hall were inspired by Romanian history and folk tales. Joseph Strauss began as Musical Director in Timisoara. The city claims to have had the first public water supply in Romania, the first to have street lighting in Europe and one of the first in the world to have horse-drawn trams. The nickname “Little Vienna” seemed appropriate.

The St Catherine of Alexandria Church has a long, remark­able history. In the crypt of this medieval church, King Charles Robert of Anjou's wife Catherine was buried in the C13th. The church was owned by Franciscan monks until it was demolished after 1723, and the new church of St Catherine was built in the Baroque style. From 1887-9 the church was rebuilt, though this time adap­t­ed to the Neo-classical style, while retaining Baroque ele­ments.

Romanian Orthodox Cathedral
built 1936-41
filled with stunning religious objects and paintings

The Chamber of Commerce (1850) worked out of various city build­ings. But in 1930 they began building the palace that became the new headquarters of the Chamber. The Chamber of Commerce & Industry was designed by Laszlo Szekely. Downstairs there is space provided for shops, while offices are located on the first floor and the council chamber and the other 3 floors are resident­ial. The palace has great decorative elements, including a great tri­angular gable roof.

Emperor Franz Joseph I (1830-1916) ruled that Jews across the Austro-Hungarian Empire were to be freed and issued an edict all­ow­ing them to own land and hold any job. Fabric is a historical district, well known for its factor­ies, thus becoming the most populated district in the C19th. It was becom­ing a multicultural neigh­bour­hood, and the build­ing of the Fabric Synagogue 1895-99 was historical - the com­bin­at­ion of Neo-Moorish architectural styl­es with a HUGE floor that seated 3000! The square build­ing, with many towers and cupol­as, was conn­ected to the ex­ter­ior walls through deep semi-circular arches. In 2001 the Jew­ish Com­munity transfer­red it to the Timisoara Philharmonic Soc­iety for their first concert, held in 2005.

Timișoara is also a commercial centre and has developed indust­rial­ly since WW2, including electric motors and electrical apparatus, textiles, farm equipment, chemicals. There are 2 tim­ber centres,  vineyards and wineries.

Map of Romania
Note Bucharest (in the south) and Timisoara (in the west)

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Anti-government demonstrations erupted in Dec 1989 and sparked a re­v­olution, toppling Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu from pow­er and executing him. Luckily many of the old Baroque buildings still make Timisoara special.