Old Town Hall of Timișoara

Building in Liberty Square, Timișoara

Old Town Hall

Romanian: Primăria Veche
German: Altes Rathaus

Former names| German Town Hall
General information
Architectural style| Eclectic, classical
Location| Liberty Square, Timișoara
Coordinates| 45°45′22″N 21°13′39″E﻿ / ﻿45.75611°N 21.22750°E﻿ / 45.75611; 21.22750
Construction started| 1731
Completed| 1734
Renovated| 1782, 1853, 1935
Design and construction
Architect(s)| Pietro del Bonzo
Renovating team
Architect(s)| Josef Aigner

The Old Town Hall (Romanian: Primăria Veche; German: Altes Rathaus) is a historical monument in the Liberty Square of Timișoara, Romania.

## History

[edit]

The Old Town Hall was built between 1731 and 1734, after the conquest of Timișoara by the Austrians, when the German colonists settled here asked the authorities for their own town hall.[1] This is how the German Town Hall (German: Deutsches Rathaus) appeared, also called the New Town Hall (German: Neues Rathaus) to differentiate it from the old Serbian one located somewhere further north of Cetate.[2] The foundation stone was laid by the then mayor Peter Solderer on 24 December 1731;[3] he would be re-elected for a new term in this building in 1735.[4] The building was designed by the Italian architect Pietro del Bonzo[5] and housed the city council between 1737 and 1949.[1]

In the middle of the 18th century, the bourgeoisie wanting to socialize in an elegant setting had few decent places for the parties held on Saturday evening, so that, in 1753, a ballroom was set up on the first floor, in the boardroom.[1] In 1781 it was known as the City Hall of the Royal Free City of Timișoara (German: Rathaus der Königlichen Freien Stadt Temeswar), and the following year, 1782, it was rebuilt by the builder Josef Aigner;[6] the facade is restored in Renaissance style and the emblem is changed because Timișoara changes its status, becoming a royal free city.[1]

In 1849, the building was damaged by artillery bombardment during the Hungarian Revolution.[7] Also in the same period, 1848–1849, the Austrian commander of the fortress, the baron of Croatian origin Field Marshal-Lieutenant Juraj Rukavina Vidovgradski, installed two loaded cannons in front of the town hall to intimidate the revolutionaries. The cannons were ultimately not used.[2] Another renovation took place in 1853. On this occasion, the traces of the bombings were removed and the building received its new facade, the one that exists to this day.[2] At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century there were a few more repairs, but they did not influence the general style and proportions of the edifice. During the mid-20th century, after the City Hall moved to its current headquarters, a union committee of trade workers, a wood industry trust, the former ADAS, a cooperative, the Cadastre Office and, later, the Agricultural Directorate functioned in the building.[5] Currently, it houses the Faculty of Music of the West University.

### Ottoman Turkish inscription

[edit]

The Ottoman Turkish inscription

On the right side of the entrance gate there is an inscription in Ottoman Turkish with Arabic characters. Most researchers believe that the inscription refers to the existing Turkish bath on the eastern side of the Liberty Square: Year of erection of this bath, from the time of terror under Ibrahim Ehan, Hedşa 1053.[1][7] The inscription is actually the only public testimony of the Ottoman rule in the city.[2] According to other researchers, the inscription would have a different translation and would have been originally posted on the walls of the Timișoara Fortress, as it is suggested in the travel journal of Evliya Çelebi, who passed through the Temeşvar Eyalet in 1660:[8][9]

Osmanlıca

تاريخ بناء قل كبر
زمان صلطان ابراهيم خان
١٠٥٣

|  Roman transliteration

Tarih bina kale kebir
zaman Sultan Ibrahim Khan
1053

| English translation

Date of construction of the great fortress
during Sultan Ibrahim Khan
1643

|
|

## Architecture

[edit]

From an architectural point of view, the building is made in an eclectic style, with classicist elements, specific to the half of the 19th century.[2] Throughout history, the facade of the town hall has been redone several times. The old facade was symmetrical, with a gate in the middle, above which is a balcony and the four arched windows of the former boardroom.[4]

It is structured on three levels: a ground floor at the level of the street pavement and two high floors. The facade of the ground floor is less ornate and has a visual role as a pedestal for the columns on the upper floors. Above the monumental gate there is a balcony with wrought metal hardware and four arched windows that unfold on the two floors. The whole facade of the building is fragmented by numerous boxes delimited by pilasters, each box containing two vertically arranged windows.[2] On the frontispiece of the building there is an image of a bportion of the Turkish Timișoara wall, a palisade wall interrupted by Prince Eugene's gate.[1]

## References

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Old Town Hall of Timișoara.

1. ^ a b c d e f Iacobescu, Daliana (16 May 2015). "Primăria veche". Merg.În.
2. ^ a b c d e f Bălan, Titus (20 September 2016). "Cum a îmbătrânit brusc Primăria Nouă și a devenit Primăria Veche". Banatul Azi.
3. ^ Ilieșiu, Nicolae (1943). Timișoara: monografie istorică. Timișoara: G. Matheiu. p. 335\. OCLC 1296955029.
4. ^ a b "Primăria Veche, Timișoara". Welcome to Romania.
5. ^ a b Pavelescu, Mircea (5 January 2017). "Fațadă nouă pentru Primăria Veche a Timișoarei". Timpolis.
6. ^ Stoicescu, Nicolae (1973). Bibliografia localităților și monumentelor medievale din Banat (PDF). Timișoara: Editura Mitropoliei Banatului. p. 165.
7. ^ a b "Primăria Veche". Timisoara-Info.ro.
8. ^ Dulciu, Dan Toma (18 February 2013). "O inscripție cu litere arabe, la Timișoara. Istoria decriptării unui text în limba turcă!".
9. ^ Mehmet, Mustafa Ali (1976). "Evlia Celebi". Călători străini despre Țările Române (PDF). Vol. 6\. Bucharest: Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică. pp. 495–501.495-501&rft.pub=Editura+Științifică+și+Enciclopedică&rft.date=1976&rft.aulast=Mehmet&rft.aufirst=Mustafa+Ali&rft_id=https://centrulslavici.uvvg.ro/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/CALATORI%20STRAINI%20DESPRE%20TARILE%20ROMANE%20Vol.VI.pdf&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Old+Town+Hall+of+Timișoara" class="Z3988">

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Places in Timișoara

Historical|

* Anchor Palace
* Baroque Palace
* Brück House
* Communal Abattoir
* Count Mercy House
* Dauerbach Palace
* Deschan Palace
* Dicasterial Palace
* Fabric Water Tower
* Hilt-Vogel Palace
* House with Atlantes
* House with Lions
* Huniade Castle
* Iosefin Fire Station
* Iosefin Water Tower
* Lloyd Palace
* Löffler Palace
* Merbl Palace
* Military Casino
* Mühle House
* Nägele Palace
* Neptune Public Bath
* Neuhaus Palace
* Old Town Hall
* Palace of Culture
* Prince Eugene House
* Prison
* Roman Catholic Episcopal Palace
* Șari-Neni
* Széchényi Palace
* Theresia Bastion
* Timișoreana Brewery
* Water Palace
* Weiss Palace

Cultural|

* Banat Village Museum
* Banatul Philharmonic
* Csiky Gergely Hungarian State Theatre
* German Cultural Centre
* German State Theatre
* Merlin Children's and Youth Theatre
* Mihai Eminescu National Theatre
* National Museum of Art
* National Museum of Banat
* Romanian National Opera

Places of worship|

* Cetate Synagogue
* Elisabetin Greek Catholic Church
* Elisabetin Reformed Church
* Elisabetin Roman Catholic Church
* Fabric Greek Catholic Church
* Fabric Synagogue
* Fratelia Roman Catholic Church
* Iosefin Orthodox Church
* Iosefin Roman Catholic Church
* Iosefin Synagogue
* Lutheran Church
* Mehala Roman Catholic Church
* Metropolitan Cathedral
* Millennium Church
* Misericordia Church
* New Millennium Reformed Center
* Notre Dame Church
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* St. Catherine Church
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* St. George Serbian Church
* St. Nicholas Serbian Church

Educational|

* Ana Aslan National College
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* Béla Bartók High School
* Carmen Sylva National Pedagogical College
* Central Library of Politehnica University
* Constantin Diaconovici Loga National College
* Eugen Todoran Central University Library
* Francesco Saverio Nitti Economic College
* Grigore Moisil High School
* Ion Vidu National College of Art
* Israelite High School
* King Michael I University of Life Sciences
* Nikolaus Lenau High School
* Piarist High School
* Politehnica University
* Sorin Titel County Library
* Tibiscus University
* Victor Babeș University of Medicine and Pharmacy
* West Technical College
* West University

Statues, monuments and
fountains|

* Capitoline Wolf
* Fidelity Column
* Floral Clock
* Fountain of Cardinal Points
* Fountain with Fish
* Plague Column
* St. Mary and St. John of Nepomuk Monument
* Virgin Mary Monument

Forests, parks and
gardens|

* Alpinet Park
* Anton Scudier Central Park
* Botanical Park
* Cathedral Park
* Civic Park
* Green Forest
* Ion Creangă Children's Park
* Justice Park
* Queen Marie Park
* Roses Park
* Zoological Garden

Public squares|

* Alexandru Mocioni Square
* Liberty Square
* Nicolae Bălcescu Square
* Pleven Square
* St. George Square
* St. Mary Square
* Timișoara 700 Square
* Trajan Square
* Union Square
* Victory Square

Sports venues|

* CFR Stadium
* Ciarda Roșie Stadium
* Constantin Jude Sports Hall
* Dan Păltinișanu Stadium
* Electrica Stadium
* Gheorghe Rășcanu Stadium
* Știința Stadium

Business centers|

* AFI Park
* Bega Business Park
* United Business Center
* Vox Technology Park

Shopping venues|

* Bega Shopping Center
* Iulius Mall
* Shopping City

Infrastructure|

* Cioca Airfield
* Port
* Timișoara East railway station
* Timișoara North railway station
* Timișoara South railway station
* Timișoara West railway station
* Traian Vuia International Airport

Edge cities|

* ISHO
* Iulius Town

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