The House with the Lions

The Synagogue in the Iosefin Neighbourhood, also called the Orthodox Temple, was built between 1906 and 1910, in Eclectic style, with Moorish and Neo-Gothic elements. Currently, this is the only functioning synagogue in Timișoara, since the Jewish community here only has about 600 members. The Jewish community in town meet in the Iosefin Synagogue on holidays or Friday evenings and Saturday mornings, for the religious service. The Synagogue also hosts a special event for the Jewish community, the Bar and Bat Mitzvah - the Jewish coming of age ceremony. Also the great services of the New Year or Ros Hasana are performed there. The holiday begins on the first day of the New Year in the Mosaic tradition, and it ends 10 days later, with the very strict Yom Kippur fasting. Text and photo sources: https://ro.wikipedia.org/; https://timisoara.eventya.eu/

The Synagogue in Fabric Neighbourhood, also known as the New Synagogue or the Moorish Synagogue, was built between 1895 and 1899, in Neo-Moorish style, with elements typical of the Italian Neo-Renaissance style. The construction was performed based on Hungarian architect Lipót Baumhorn's design. It is a square building, with numerous towers and cupolas. The central cupola, equipped with eight rosettes and connected to the exterior walls through deep semi-circular arches, is impressive. The Synagogue is endowed with an organ manufactured in the workshop of Leopold Wegenstein. The Synagogue was inaugurated on September 3, 1899. It belonged to the Spanish Jewish Community in Fabric. Given the decrease of the Jewish Community after departure to Israel after the Second World War, the Synagogue was closed in 1985. In 2009, the Jewish Community of Timișoara leased the building to the National Theatre of Timișoara for a period of 35 years, for it to be used as a theatre hall. Text and photo sources: https://ro.m.wikipedia.org/; https://timisoara.eventya.eu/

The Synagogue in the Cetate Neighbourhood is a monumental building of Timișoara, built between 1863 and 1865, in Eclectic style, with elements of the Moorish style, by architect Ignatz Schumann. The initiative of building a bigger synagogue in Cetate belonged to Rabbi Mauriciu Hirschfeld. It was meant to host the major events of the Jewish community, continuously growing in number around 1849. The Synagogue was inaugurated on September 19, 1865. The building was erected as a rectangle, and that which singularizes it is the façade with the two massive towers, ending in cupolas. In the middle of the main façade there is a stained glass rosette. The Synagogue is endowed with a Wegenstein organ, installed in 1866. The marble plaque at the entrance, inscribed in Hungarian, speaks about the second inauguration of the Synagogue in 1868, in the presence of Emperor Franz Josef. 1868 has a historical significance in two respects: it is the year of the establishment of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy, and also the year when Jews in the Empire finally obtained full citizenship. Given the decrease of the Jewish Community after departure to Israel after the Second World War, the Synagogue was closed in 1985. In 2001, the Jewish Community of Timișoara leased the building to the Societatea Filarmonica for a period of 50 years, for it to be used as a concert hall. The Synagogue was reopened in 2005, for a concert organised by Societatea Filarmonica of Timișoara. Text source: https://timisoara.eventya.eu/

The Hunyadi Castle is a historic building, the oldest one in Timișoara, witness to the most important events in the life of this city, over hundreds of years. Due to the political unrest in fourteenth century Hungary, King Charles Robert of Anjou transferred his residence to Timișoara, building here a heavily fortified castle. The construction, built on an island, was completed in 1315, surrounding a huge quadrangular courtyard and being connected to the rest of the town through a draw bridge. The castle was rebuilt between 1443 and 1447 by John Hunyadi, Count of Timiș. After the reconstruction, the building served as the residence of all the kings, captains, as well as noblemen who would stop in Timișoara. Even during the Ottoman occupation, the Governor of the Vilayet of Timișoara used to live in the castle. The building of the Castle was damaged during the siege of the Austrian army, it situation worsened during the Revolution of 1848-1849. The Castle was rebuilt within a period of 7 years, and the façade underwent substantial changes. Today, the Castle preserves very little of the original architecture, but the placement around the rectangular courtyard was maintained, while still dominated by a low donjon tower, decorated with battlements at the top. The main entranced is flanked by two massive pilasters, each leading to a collection of weapons specific to the Middle Ages, revealing the Gothic appearance of the Castle. Since 1947, Hunyadi Castle has served as headquarters of the History Museum of Banat, housing the history and natural sciences departments. Currently, Hunyadi Castle is in repair, the National Museum of Banat being hosted by the Therezian Bastion. Text and photo sources: https://www.facebook.com/MuzeulBanatuluiTimisoaraOficial/; https://timisoara.eventya.eu/

The Maria Theresa Bastion is a part of the old fortress of Timișoara, which has survived until today, along with other wall fragments such as the ones in the Botanical Park and on Alexandru Ioan Cuza Avenue. The Bastion was built between 1730 and 1735, and was originally called the Storage Ravelin. Its name changed to Maria Theresa around 1744 to 1745, thus paying a tribute to the Empress. The Maria Theresa Bastion was intended for food storage. Alongside it, 8 more bastions functioned in the Fortress: Charles, Francis, Joseph, Hamilton, the Castle, Mercy, Eugene, and Elisabeth. In 1716, following the conquest of Timișoara by the Habsburg troops, the Fortress of Timișoara was entirely rebuilt in Vauban style, between the years 1723 and 1765, increasing its surface 10 times. Three star-shaped belts surrounded the inner city, and the access was done through 3 gates: Vienna, Petrovaradin and Transylvania. During the project entitled "Rehabilitation and revitalization of the fortress of the Timişoara Citadel, the Maria Theresa Bastion", financed by PHARE 2005, the Maria Theresa Bastion was rearranged, and reopened to the public in 2010. Currently, the Maria Theresa Bastion hosts two permanent exhibitions of the Museum of History of Banat: "Information and Communications Technology" and "The Violin – A Passion for Life". The Bastion is also used as a passage, which is where commercial spaces, restaurants, bars, a club and a reception hall are also hosted. Text source: https://timisoara.eventya.eu/