The Statue of the Holy Trinity

The House with the Lions is located in Union Square, on the north side, being the first house to be built in this square, in Baroque style, dated 1758. Over time, the House with the Lions had several names, depending on its destination. Since 1840, the building was successively home to the "La Soarele de Aur" ("The Golden Sun") tavern, the "La Câinele Alb" ("The White Dog") grocery store and the "La Fluierul Mare" ("The Big Flute") shop. Early twentieth century, when the building belonged to the Weiss family, it was rebuilt in the Secession style, which is when the two life-size carved lions were added on the roof, thus dominating the façade of the house up to present day. The building is known as the "House with the Lions" or the "Weiss-Grünbaum Trade House". Text and photo sources: http://www.timisoara-info.ro/; https://timisoara.eventya.eu/

The House with the Iron Axis is one of the landmarks of the city. Is it known that in the eighteenth century each house in Timișoara had to wear an emblem in order to be recognized. The house located at 1 Ionel I.C. Brătianu Square has an iron axis with a length of 2.5 meters attached to it, resembling the axle of a cart and mounted at the wall intersection. There isn't much historical data, but according to the legend, the iron axis is the axle from Prince Eugene of Savoya's cart, in which he drove into the city on October 18, 1716, defeating the Turks. Text and photo sources: http://www.opiniatimisoarei.ro/; https://timisoara.eventya.eu/

The Brück House is an architectural jewel of Timișoara, built in Art Nouveau and Secession styles, with Hungarian folk motifs. The house is located on 9 Mercy St., on the corner of Union Square, and it was erected in 1910, based on the plans of architects Székely László and Arnold Merbl, at the initiative of the then owner, Salamon Brück. After the construction of the building in 1910, Salamon Brück opened at the ground floor a pharmacy that is still working today, preserving some of the old furniture. Over time, the building has been damaged. Lucky that an Italian, Gianluca Testa, who came to Timișoara on business in 1997, realised the historical importance, as well as the value of the property where he had acquired an apartment in 1999. He did not over think it, but took the initiative to restore the building, after obtaining the necessary permits from the relevant authorities. The rehabilitation works were aimed not only at the façade of the building, but also at the interior, thus both the stairway and the rooms were restored, the costs of the work amounting to 300,000 Euros. The building has regained its shine, catching the eye of all those who make it to downtown Timișoara. Text and photo sources: https://www.facebook.com/Casa-Bruck; https://timisoara.eventya.eu/

The Serbian Cathedral, dedicated to the Ascension, is located in Union Square, across from the Roman-Catholic Dome. The entrance to the cathedral is on Emanoil Ungureanu St., parallel to the Square, the place of worship being located with the altar facing the East. Next is the Serbian Orthodox Bishopric of Timișoara. The Serbian Cathedral was built of stone and brick between 1745-1748, during the time of the Serbian Orthodox Bishop of Timişoara, Gheorghie Popovici. From the architectural point of view, the building was designed in Baroque style, with Classicist elements, and the interior is exceptionally painted by Constantin Daniel, nicknamed the "Tizian of Banat". The woodwork of the cathedral was executed by the Ianici brothers. The iconostasis can itself be considered a masterpiece. Because of political reasons, the church towers could only be raised in 1791, during a restoration. The Cathedral was declared a historical monument in 1964. Text and photo sources: http://www.opiniatimisoarei.ro/; https://timisoara.eventya.eu/

The Metropolitan Cathedral, located in Victory Square, is the largest place of worship in Timișoara, declared a monument of art due to its architecture, painting and sculpture. The need to build this cathedral appeared in the political context of the Great Union of 1918. Starting that moment, Orthodoxy started to be encouraged: thus, in 1926 the old parish from the Cetate Neighbourhood was established again, and in 1939 the Timişoara Bishopric, which later became the Mitropoly of Banat, was established. The project of the impressive cathedral was entrusted to architect Ioan Traianescu, and the cornerstone of the building was laid in 1936. The consecration service was performed by Bishop Andrei Magieru. The bells and crossed of the Cathedral were sanctified in 1938, and the inauguration of the halidom took place in 1946, in the presence of King Michael I of Romania and Patriarch Nicodim Munteanu. The finishing work, interior and exterior paintings were only completed in 1956, as they were delayed by the World War II. From the architectural stand point, one may note the combination of the Romanian religious tradition with the Byzantine and Moldavian one. Because of the marshland, the building stands on a concrete slab supported by over 1,000 concrete pillars, sunk 20 meters deep. The exterior walls are decorated with red and yellow-orange brick, while the building is covered with glazed tiles, the colours of the Romanian flag, on a green background. It is the highest church in Romania (90.5 meters). The total built area is 1,542 meters. The Cathedral has eleven towers, of which the highest reaches 83,7 meters. The seven bells have a total weight of 8,000 kg. They were tuned by the famous composer Sabin Drăgoi. The Cathedral houses the relics of St.Joseph the New of Partoș, considered the protector of the Romanian Orthodox community from Banat, former bishop of Timișoara between 1651 and 1655. The necropolis of the Bishops of Banat lies in the basement, on the side facing the altar. In the basement, the visitor may find a rich collection of old religious art from the area of Banat and a valuable collection of icons. The museum owns 3,000 rare religious books, over 800 icons and paintings, and more than 130 ecclesiastical objects. Early Romanian manuscripts can be found here as well: the New Testament from Bălgrad (1648) and Cazania lui Varlaam (Varlaam's Homily) (1643). Text source: https://timisoara.eventya.eu/

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/