Romania - Where to go

Dear readers Timisoara, the capital of Banat, is part of the European touristic and cultural patrimony. As a modern city, in all its complexity, alive and alert, you can discover its history, culture, social and economical as well.

The Banat region is of an overwhelming beauty.

You can find here anything from secular castles to wild passes in the way of restless rivers, from millenary health resort to coquette ski resorts, from breathtaking natural reservations, untouched by human hand, to museums filled with culture.

Timisoara, Banat, Romania, fascinating and abounding in picturesque traditions, we invite you to discover them all in the pages of the second edition of this book.

The publisher

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Welcome

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Welcome

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Content 08 10 12 16 28 34

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Romania Basic Facts Embassies & Consulates Timisoara 3D maps History Premieres Culture 36 Arts Museum 38 Banat Museum 40 Banat Village Museum 42 1989 Revolution Memorial 44 Timisoara National Theatre 46 German State Theatre 47 “Csiky Gergely� Hungarian State Theatre 48 Thespis Theatre 49 Aualeu Theatre and Doina Anesamble 50 Banat Philharmonic 52 Romanian National Opera in Timisoara Worship places Two Guinness Book Records in Timisoara Events Calendar Transportation Rent & Travel Health & Beauty Shopping Dining Chill Out Nightlife Business Connection Sport Discover Timisoara Banat Region 93 Banloc - Partos Monastery 94 Buzias Spa 95 Nako Castle 96 Bazos Dendrologic Park 97 Recas Vineyards 98 Valea lui Liman - Resort 99 Crivaia - MountainResort 100 Muntele Mic - Ski Resort 101 Garana Jazz Festival 102 Cheile Carasului - Natural Reservation 103 Trei Ape - Mountain Resort 104 Poiana Marului - Mountain Resort 105 Cheile Nerei - Natural Reservation 106 Baile Herculane - Spa 107 Semenic - Ski Resort 108 Straja - Ski Resort 109 Retezat - Natural Reservation Discover Romania 111 Bucharest 112 Dracula fiction and historic reality 114 Bucovina a cradle of old civilization 116 Maramures 118 Brasov and Prahova Valley 120 Sighisoara 122 Sibiu 124 Black Sea Resorts 126 Danube Delta UNESCO World Heritage Guest Book 2011

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Romania Basic Facts

Romania Basic facts Language Romanian. A Romance language with a very strong root and similarities with Latin.

Capital City Bucharest. Situated in the Southern part of the country in a plain region is the most important city from Romania inhabited by almost 2,1 million people.

Area 238,392 sq km.

Romania is the biggest country fromSouth-East Europe.

Population 22,276,056.

Administration Romania consists of 41 counties : Alba, Arad, Argeş, Bacău, Bihor, Bistriţa-Năsăud, Botoşani, Braşov, Brăila, Buzău, Caraş-Severin, Călăraşi, Cluj, Constanţa, Covasna, Dâmboviţa, Dolj, Galaţi, Giurgiu, Gorj, Harghita, Hunedoara, Ialomiţa, Iaşi, Ilfov, Maramureş, Mehedinţi, Mureş, Neamţ, Olt, Prahova, Satu Mare, Sălaj, Sibiu, Suceava, Teleorman, Timiş, Tulcea, Vaslui, Vâlcea, Vrancea Neighbours Hungary and Serbia in the west, Ukraine in the north and east, Moldova in the east, Bulgaria in the south and Black Sea in the southeast.

Time Zone EET (GMT+2). During summer time (from last Sunday of March to the last Sunday of October) is GMT+3.

Languages Romanian 91%, Hungarian 6.7%, Romani 1.1%, Other 1.2% Religion (2002 Census): Romanian Orthodox Church 86.7% Roman Catholic 4.7% Protestant 3.7%, Pentacostal 1.5%.

Highest point Moldoveanu Peak - 2544 m Deepest point Black Sea - 0m Temperature Average temperature in summer: 23-35°C, Average temperature in winter: 0-10oC below zero Currency 1 Leu/plural Lei (RON) = 100 bani. The exchange rate (January 2011 ) is 4,26 lei per Euro. Currency can be exchanged at the hotels, Banks or official exchange offices.

Electricity 220V, 50 Hz AC with two-pin European standard sockets.

Dialling code: +40 Business Hours For the Banks mostly 9 AM-16 PM. For the offices 9 AM – 5 PM. Shopping centers 10 AM-10 PM. Postal Offices Are spread all over the country and are usually open Monday – Friday 07:30 AM – 7 PM and on Saturday 07:30 AM – 14 PM. Credit Cards Most of the hotels, restaurants and shops will accept Visa and Master Card, but be sure to ask before. ATM’s are spread mostly near the bank offices or hotels and supermarkets. There are also available in the mall.

Transportation One ticket (two trips) for the public transportation is 3,50 lei. For Taxi you can ask your receptionist or to go in one of many taxi stations spread all over the city.

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Embassies in Romania There are currently 127 nations with Embassies in Romania.

We apologize that we don’t have enough space for all to be listed Embassy of the United States of America Chancery: Bucharest, Str. Tudor Arghezi nr. 7-9 Phone: (0040-21)316.40.52, 319.41.06 Embassy of the Republic of Argentina Chancery: 010031 Bucharest, Ion Campineanu street, no.11, 3rd floor, ap 301 Phone: (0040-21) 312.26.26; 312.30.44 Embassy of the Republic of Armenia Chancery: 704 821 Bucharest, Str. Calotesti nr.1, et.1, ap.2, Sector 3 Phone: (0040-21) 319.76.04 Embassy of the Republic of Austria Chancery: Bucharest ,Str.Dumbrava Rosie nr.7 RO-70254, Sector 2 Phone: (0040-21) 210.43.54; 210.93.77 Embassy of the Republic of Belarus Chancery: Bucuresti, Sos. P. Kiseleff 55, Vila 6, Sector 1 Phone: (0040-21) 223.17.76; 223.35.10 Embassy of the Kingdom of Belgium Chancery: 020061 Bucharest, B-dul Dacia nr. 58, Sector 2 Phone: (0040-21) 210.29.69; 210.29.70 Embassy of the Federative Republic Chancery: Bucharest Str. Praga nr.11, Sector 1 Phone: (0040-21) 230.11.30, 230.78.25 Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria Chancery: 011835 Bucharest, Str. Rabat nr.5, Sector 1 Phone: (0040-21) 230.21.50, 230.21.59

Embassy of the Republic of Croatia Chancery: 73 102 Bucharest, Str.Dr. Burghelea, Nr.1, Sector 2 Phone: (0040-21) 313.04.57, 313.03.74 Embassy of the Czech Republic Chancery: Bucharest, Str. Ion Ghica nr.11, Sector 3 Phone: (0040-21) 303.92.30; Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus Chancery: 10675 Atena, Str. Herodotou Nr.16 Phone: (0030-210) 723.78.83; 723.93.77; 723.27.27 Embassy of the Kingdom of Denmark Chancery: 731 021 Bucharest, Str. Dr.Burghelea Nr.3 Phone: (0040-21) 300.08.00 Embassy of the Republic of Finland Chancery: Bucharest, Str.Atena 2 bis, 011832 Phone: (0040-21) 230.75.04 Embassy of the French Republic Chancery: Bucharest, Str.Biserica Amzei Nr. 13-15, Sector 1 Phone: (0040-21) 303.10.00 Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany Chancery: 011849 Bucharest, Str. cpt.av.Gheorghe Demetriade, Nr.6-8, Sector 1 Phone: (0040-1) 202.98.30 Embassy of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Chancery: Bucharest, Str. Jules Michelet 24 Phone: (0040-21) 201.72.00

Embassy of Canada Chancery: Bucharest, Str. N.Iorga nr.36, Sector 1 Phone: (0040-21) 307 50 00

Embassy of the Hellenic Republic Chancery: Bucharest, Str.Pache Protopopescu nr.1-3, Sector 2 Phone: (0040-21)209.41.70-4

Embassy of the People's Republic of China Chancery: Bucharest, Şos. Nordului nr. 2, Sector 1 Phone: (0040-21) 232.88.58 (protocol) (0040-21) 232.17.32 (information)

Embassy of the Republic of Hungary Chancery: Bucharest , Str. Dimitrie Gerotă nr.63-65 Phone: 021/312-0073, 021/311-1542, 021/312-3281, 021/312-3225, 021/312-3285

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History Federal Republic of Germany Consulate Open: Mo – Thu 8 AM – 11:15 AM Fri 8 AM – 10:15 AM 10, Splaiul Tudor Vladimirescu St. Ph: +4 0256 309800 www.timisoara.diplo.de

Embassy of India Chancery: 712 663 Bucharest, Str.Uruguay Nr.11, Sector 1 Phone: (0040-21) 222.54.51, 222.87.15; 222.22.72 Embassy of Ireland Chancery: Bucharest 020492 Str. Vasile Lascăr, nr.42-44, et. 7, sector 2.

Phone: +40-21-212.20.88

French Honorary Consulate Open: Tue and Thu 10 AM – 1 PM 1, Gh. Duma St. Ph.: +4 0256 292 661

Embassy of the Italian Republic Chancery: Bucharest, Str.Henri Coanda Nr.9, Sector 1 Phone: (0040-21)305.21.00, 212.87.37Fax: (0040-21) 312.04.22; 312.42.69 Embassy of Japan in Romania Chancery: 010501 Bucharest, Str.Polona nr.4, Sector 1 Phone: (0040-21) 210.07.90/92 Embassy of the Republic of Macedonia Chancery: Bucharest , Str. Mihai Eminescu Nr.144, Sector 2 Phone: (0040-21) 210.08.80 Embassy of the Republic of Moldova Chancery: Bucharest, Aleea Alexandru nr.40, Sector 1, Phone: (0040-21)230.04.74, 230.07.32 Royal Netherlands Embassy Chancery: Bucharest , Aleea Alexandru nr. 20 Phone: (0040-21) 208.60.30 Embassy of the Kingdom of Norway Chancery: Bucharest , Str.Dumbrava Rosie nr.4 Phone: 210.02.74, 210.02.76, 210.02.77 Embassy of the Republic of Poland Chancery: Bucharest , Aleea Alexandru nr. 23, Sector 1 Phone: (0040-21) 230.23.30; Protocol 230.26.19 Embassy of the Portuguese Republic Chancery: Bucharest, Str. Paris 55, Sector 1 Phone: (0040-21) 230.41.36 Embassy of the Russian Federation in Romania Chancery: Bucharest , Sos. Pavel Kiseleff nr.6, Sector 1 Phone: (0040-21) 222.31.70, 222.34.59 (protocol): 223.16.52 Embassy of the Republic of Serbia Chancery: Bucharest, Calea Dorobantilor nr.34 Sector 1 Phone: (0040-21) 211.98.71; 211.98.72; 211.98.73; Embassy of the Slovak Republic Chancery: Bucharest , Str. Oţetari nr. 3, sector 2 Phone: (0040-21)300.61.00 Embassy of the Kingdom of Spain Chancery: Bucharest , Str. Tirana nr.1 Phone: (0040-21) 233.91.90 Embassy of the Kingdom of Sweden Chancery: Bucharest , Str. Sofia nr. 5, Sector 1 Phone - Information: 4067100

Consulates in Timisoara

Embassy of the State of Israel Chancery: 751 211 Bucharest, Bd.Dimitrie Cantemir Nr.1, Bl.B2, Et.5, Sector 4 Phone: (0040-21) 318.94.16; 318.94.17

Holland Honorary Consulate 8 A, Protopop George Popovici St. Ph: +4 0256 496994 Italy General Consulate Open: Mo – Fri 9:30 AM – 1:30 PM 6, Putna St. Ph: +40 256 408630 www.constimisoara.esteri.it Kingdom of Sweden Honorary Consulate Open: Mo – Fri 9:30 AM – 5 PM 10, Coriolan Brediceanu St. (City Business Center Timisoara 700) Ph: +4 0256 300933 swedish-honorary-consulate@airservice.ro Republic of Austria Honorary Consulate Open: Mo – Fri 9:30 AM – 1 PM 7, Marasesti St., Apt 2 Ph: +4 0256 294300 Republic of Serbia General Consulate 4, Remus St. Ph: +4 0256 490334 www.consulatulgeneral-serbia.ro Tunis Honorary Consulate 116 A, Mures St. Ph: +4 0256 487716

Embassy of the Swiss Confederation Chancery: Bucharest, Str Grigore Alexandrescu 16-20 Phone: (0040-21) 206 16 00 Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic Chancery: Bucharest, B-dul Lascar Catargiu nr. 50, sector 1 Phone: (0040-21) 319.24.67, 319.24.69 Embassy of the Republic of Turkey Chancery: Bucharest , Calea Dorobantilor 72 Phone: (0040-21) 210.02.79, 210.37.15; Embassy of Ukraine Chancery: 010572 Bucharest, Calea Dorobanţilor 16, Sector 1 Phone: (0040-21) 211.69.55; 2116986; 2116989 Guest Book 2011

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IOSEFIN ELISABETIN STREETS INDEX

n 1 DECEMBRIE STREET C2 n 16 DECEMBRIE 1989 BULEVARD A1-B1 n ADY ENDRE STREET B1 n B. ISCOVESCU STREET A1 n BARBU FILARET STREET C1 n BRASOV STREET C1 n C. BARAN STREET B2 n C. GROFSOREANU STREET B2 n C. PORUMBESCU STREET B2-C2 n C-TIN BRANCOVEANU BULEVARD A2 n C-TIN NOICA STREET A2 n E. GOJDU STREET A1-B1 n G. DRAGOMIR STREET C2 n GEN. ION DRAGALINA A1 n GHEORGHE DOJA STREET B1-C2 n GHIRLANDEI STREET C2 n H. BERTHELOT STREET C1 n I. CALIN STREET A1 n I. H. RADULESCU STREET B1 n INDEPENDENTEI STREET C2 n ION GHICA STREET A1 n IZVORULUI STREET C2 n LAUREAN TREBONIU STREET B1 n MIHAI VITEAZU BULEVARD C1-C2 n MIRON COSTIN STREET B1 n MOTILOR STREET B1 n N. LABIS STREET A2 n OCTAVIAN GOGA STREET A2 n REGELE CAROL I BULEVARD A1 n REMUS STREET C1 n ROMULUS STREET A2-B2 n ROZALIA STREET C1 n SPLAIUL N. TITULESCU A1-B1-C1 n SPLAIUL T. VLADIMIRESCU A1-B1-C1 n TIMOTEI CIPARIU STREET B1 n VICTOR BABES BULEVARD C2 n VIRGIL MADGEARU STREET B1-C1

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n VIRGIL ONITIU STREET n ZUGRAV NEDELCU STREET

B2-C2 B1

PUBLIC SQUARES INDEX

n AL. MOCIONI SQUARE n MARIA SQUARE n N. BALCESCU SQUARE n PLEVNEI SQUARE

B1 B1 C2 C1

PUBLIC PARKS INDEX

n ALPINET PARK n CATHEDRAL PARK n CENTRAL PARK n DOINA PARK

C1 C1 C1 C1-C2

TOURISTIC ATTRACTIONS INDEX

n 12. TRAIAN BRIDGE n 13. THE ROMANIAN RAILWAY

C1

HEADQUARTERS C1 n 14. THE „SAINT MARY” MONUMENT B1 n 15. THE REFORMED CHURCH B1 n 16. THE ROMANIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH B1 n 17. THE SINAIA RESTAURANT A1 n 18. NOTRE DAME ROMAN- CATHOLIC MONASTERY A1 n 19. THE ROMAN CATHOLIC PAROCHIAL CHURCH A1 n 20. THE ELISABETIN STEAM MILL A1 n 21. THE IRON BRIDGE B1 n 22. THE POLYTECHNIC SCHOOL C1 n 23. THE ROMAN – CATHOLIC CHURCH C2

FABRIC STREETS INDEX

n 3 AUGUST 1919 BULEVARD A2-B2 n ABRUD STREET B2-B1 n ACAD. C. MICLOSI STREET B1-B2 n ACAD. D. GUSTI A1 n ANDREI MOCIONI STREET A1-A2 n ANTON PANN STREET C2 n C. NEGRUZZI STREET C2 n COMANESTI STREET C2 n CORNELIA SALCEANU STREET A2-B2 n CORNELIU COPOSU BULEVARD A2 n C-TIN TITEL STREET C2 n CUVIN STREET B2 n DACILOR STREET C1 n DR. GHE. MARINESCU STREET B2 n E. TEODOROIU STREET C1-C2 n EP. AL. BONNAZ STREET B2 n EP. J. LONOVICI STREET B2 n EP. J. NISCHBACH STREET B2 n I. D. SUCIU STREET B1 n I. L. CARAGIALE STREET B2-C2 n IEPURELUI STREET C2 n INTR. PREDEAL A1-A2 n ION MIHALACHE STREET C2 n J. H. PESTALOZZI STREET A2-B2 n M. KOGALNICEANU STREET C1 n MARTIR L. BINCIU STREET A2 n N. IORGA STREET A2 n OFCEA STREET A2 n PETRU SFETCA STREET B1-B2 n PROF. D. LINTIA STREET A2 n REVOLUTIEI 1989 BULEVARD A2 n SEMENIC STREET A1 n SPLAIUL NISTRULUI A2-B1-C1 n SPLAIUL PENES CURCANUL C1 n SPL. PROT. MELETIE DRAGHICI B1-C1 n STEFAN CEL MARE STREET B2-C2

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n TIMOCULUI STREET n TITU MAIORESCU STREET n V. BRANISTE STREET n ZAVOI STREET n ZLATNA STREET

C1 C2 A1 C2 B2-C1

PUBLIC SQUARES INDEX

n AUREL VLAICU SQUARE n BADEA CARTAN MARKET n MITR. SULUTIU SQUARE n PETRU RARES SQUARE n ROMANILOR SQUARE n TRAIAN SQUARE

C2 C1 C2 C1 B2-C2 C2

PUBLIC PARKS INDEX

n MOCIONI PARK n POPORULUI PARK

A1-A2 A2-B2

TOURISTIC ATTRACTIONS INDEX

n 1. DECEBAL BRIDGE (1908) A2 n 2. THE PEOPLE’S PARK A2 n 3. THE NEPTUNE PALACE (1913-1914) A2 n 4. „J. L. CALDERON” HIGHSCHOOL A2 n 5. THE „APOLLO” CINEMA (1909) B2 n 6. THE FABRIC SYNAGOGUE B2 n 7. „MILLENIUM” ROMAN – CATHOLIC CHURCH n 8. THE ELECTRIC PLANT n 9. TRAIAN SQUARE (FORMER „KOSSUTH TER”) n 10. OBELISK n 11. THE BRRWERY

B2 B2 C2 C2 B2

CITY CENTER TOURISTIC ATTRACTIONS INDEX (see page 16-17)

n 1. NATIONAL THEATRE AND OPERA

HOUSE C3 n 2. UNIRII SQUARE D2 n 3. THE HOUSE WITH ATLANTIS C3 n 4. FORTIFICATION FRAGMENTS D2 n 5. BASTION FORTIFICATION E3 n 6. ST. ECATERINA ROMAN – CATHOLIC CHURCH D3 n 7. THE HOUSE WITH IRON AXIS E3 n 8. FORTIFICATION FRAGMENTS C3 n 9. THE DICASTERIAL PALACE E3 n 10. EUGENIU DE SAVOYA PRINCE HOUSE C2-C3 n 11. HUNIADE CASTLE C4 n 12. MILITARY HOSPITAL C2-C3 n 13. THE OLD MAYORALTY D3 n 14. MILITARY CASINO C3 n 15. CIVIC HOSPITAL C3 n 16. CETATE SYNAGOGUE C3 n 17. ROMAN - CATHOLIC EPISCOPAL PALACE D3 n 18. 19TH CENTURY HOUSE D3 n 19. THE HOUSE WITH „GUILDS TREE” D3 n 20. DEJAN PALACE E3 n 21. COUNT OF MERCY HOUSE E3 n 22. MIZERICORDIAN CHURCH AND HOSPITAL C3 n 23. FRANCISCAN MONASTERY CLOISTER C3-D3 n 24. CHURCH OF PIARISTS ORDER B4 n 25. BAROQUE PALACE D3 n 26. SAINT GEORGE ROMAN – CATHOLIC DOME E2 n 27. RUINS D3 n 28. LLOYD PALACE C3 n 29. METROPOLITAN CATHEDRAL B4

n 30.THE SZANA PALACE D3 n 31. THE „TRUMPETER” HOTEL D3 n 32. SAINT GEORGE SQ. BUILDING D3 n 33. THE STATUE OF VIRGIN MARY D3 n 34. THE SAINT TRINITY MONUMENT D2 n 35. ELECTROMOTOR HIGHSCHOOL D3-D4 n 36. THE SERBIAN ORTHODOX CATHEDRAL D2 n 37. THE ACADEMY LIBRARY D3 n 38. C. D. LOGA HIGHSCHOOL E4 n 39. „CARMEN SILVA” GIRLS HIGHSCHOOL F4 n 40. THE COUNTY LIBRARY D3 n 41. THE MEDICINE AND PHARMACY INSTITUTE F3 n 42. THE COUNTY COUNCIL, THE PREFECT’S OFFICE F3 n 43. THE „CAPITOL” CINEMA B4-C4 n 44. THE TIMISOARA TOWN MAYORALTY C4 n 45. CENTRAL POSTAL OFFICE E3 n 46. „LUPOAICA” STATUE B4 n 47. LOFFLER PALACE C4 n 48. NEUHAUSZ PALACE C3 n 49. MERBL PALACE B4-C4 n 50. DAUERBACH PALACE B4 n 51. HILT PALACE B4 n 52. SZECHENYI PALACE B4

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HISTORY Guest Book 2011

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History

History Traces of life on the actual hearth of Timisoara have been attested since the Neolithic Epoch, by random discoveries or by systematic archeological investigations

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The oldest traces In Fratelia neighborhood have been discovered houses and ceramic objects characteristic to the beginning of the Neolithic, around 6.500 B.C., while in the middle and late period of the polished stone settlements in the Fratelia and Freidorf quarters have been identified, as well as in suburban communes such as Giroc or Chisoda, some of these settlements continuing their existence in the passing period to the Bronze Epoch and also at the beginning of it. Much richer in discoveries is the Bronze Epoch: a settlement and a necropolis in Fratelia, a sanctuary and a tool storehouse in Padurea Verde (The Green Forest), an incineration necropolis around the Central Park area. Traces of Dacic settlement have also been identified, as well as numerous Greek, Dacic or Roman coins. From the migrations period have been discovered vestiges that can be attributed to the Sarmatians or the Goths, to the Slavs, Avars or even to the aboriginals.

The first mentioning The city’s name comes from the river that recrosses it and which until the 18th century was called Timis. It t

appears as well in the Papal tithes in the period between 1332-1337, period in which Tmisoara had the status of a city. Initially the settlement called “castrum (regium) of Tymes” (the citadel on the Timis River), but the second half of the 14th century it appears as Temesvar, Themesvar, Themeswar, Temeswar. A rural settlement with earthen fortifications and a wooden palisade existed on the city’s nowadays area during the Banathian Voyvode Ahtum, beginning the 11th century, but after his defeat by the Hungarian King Stefan the 1st, it entered under Hungarian suzerainty while in 1177 the first Comitee of Timis, Pancratiu is attested in documents. The first documentary attestation of the citadel is around 1212, on the occasion of some royal donations of localities belonging to this citadel, and in 1278 King Ladislau Cumanul the 4th’s presence inside the citadel is mentioned.

A citadel in the Hungarian Kingdom During the 14th century Timisoara would become wellknown throughout Europe, after the Hungarian King Carol Robert of Anjou built here a castle and a stone fortress, replacing the old earthen one. The new walls have been built by Italian masters, between 1308 and 1315, and in the following eight years because of the hostilities

Statue of Gheorghe Doja Guest Book 2011

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shown by a great deal of the Noblemen and because of the anarchy that ruled the empire, the King moved his court in Timisoara. In the Banathian citadel as well Carol Robert of Anjou also left in 1330, in the campaign directed against Walachia (Rom. - Tara Romaneasca), which ended with a pungent defeat of the Hungarian army. In 1342 Timisoara is attested as “civitas” (city), and since 1365 it had its own seal, while the city’s patron was Saint George.

Mentioning in 1373 the “judes” (judges) and the jurors indicates the existence of an administration. Since late 14th century, Timisoara’s citadel would play an important strategic role against the Turks, who spread their ruling to the Danube area. On many occasions Timisoara was the concentration ground for the Christian armies, where most of the anti-Ottoman campaigns began.

The city met a period of prosperity during Filipo Scolari’s ruling (also known as Pippo Spano – a Florentine Condotiere under the service of King Sigismund of Luxemburg, who was a Comitee of Timis between 1404 and 1426). Excellent administrator and diplomat, a fearful military commander, Scolari was remarked through numerous measures which contributed to the city and of the entire Banathian province’s prosperity, province

under its government, Timisoara’s citadel being one of his favorite residences. The castle, being ruined, was renovated, the Renaissance spirit entered the citadel, numerous buildings were constructed, the defense walls were rebuilt. The masters and the merchants came to the citadel contributed to its economic and commercial prosperity, the period’s cultural life also being remarkable.

Filippo Scolari was entrusted the kingdom’s borderlines guard between Severin and Belgrade and he carried numerous successful campaigns against the Ottomans in the Danube area.

An anti-Ottoman strategic role Pippo Spano’s preoccupations were continued successfully by his disciple Ioan of Hunedoara, whom he had taken page, afterwards shield-bearer at the castle in Timisoara, teaching him the Italian military techniques. He was named ban of Severin in 1439 and two years later Voyvode of Transylvania and Comitee of Timis. In Timisoara, Ioan concentrated his military forces in 1443, where he started alongside Vlad Dracul (later known as Vlad the Impaler) the ruler of Walachia, the long campaign, in which he won numerous

t Ioan of Hunedoara and Harman knight (XVth century) Radu Oltean graphics Guest Book 2011

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History

q Pavel Chinezu (1432-1494). Radu Oltean graphics

his ruling. The exact place of his birth is not known, but there are clues that it was most likely in Banat, possibly in a village in Banat, named Kenez, around 1432. Pavel Chinezul asked the King the favor to fight against the Turks only, thus the role of Comitee of Timis and of the main citadel under his suborder visibly increased, gaining the fame of being the only Christian army commander to have won all the military campaigns against the Ottomans. The tortures to which the Comitee’s Turkish prisoners were submitted terrified the entire Muslim world, forcing Sultan Baiazid the 2nd to ask for peace. Banat came across a period of peace and economic stability, after the province was repeatedly devastated by the Turks, in the same period there were also brought thousands of Serbians over the Danube, part of them settling in Timisoara. During Pavel Chinezu’s ruling Timisoara had almost 5.000 inhabitants, a significant number in the period, it was called a “civitas” and became a border line, and a new line of fortifications was built as well as the first bastions for artillery. After his death in 1494, Timisoara would no longer have peace and flourishment for many years, Pavel Chinezu being the last pro-eminent personality in Banat and in the citadel of Timisoara before the Turks conquered the Hungarian Kingdom.

Doja’s insurgents’ siege victories against the Turks. After King Vladislav Iagello the 1st’s death in Varna he was chosen in 1446 Governor of Hungary, until King Ladislau Postume the 5th would come of age.

Ioan reconstructed Timisoara’s castle and fortifications after a devastating earthquake which occurred in 1443, and after receiving the citadel as a gift from the King in 1455 he continued at his own expense the extension and embellishment works on the fortress. Timisoara was the place from where Ioan of Hunedoara left in his great campaigns against the Turks and here he also received numerous ambassadors from the kings and princes of Europe. After defeating Mohamed the 2nd, the conqueror of Constantinople in the battle at Belgrade in 1456, the famous commander would find his end in the camp in Zemun, killed by plague.

Timisoara would remaining under the ruling of the Huniad family until the end of Matia Corvin’s ruling, son of Ioan of Hunedoara, who was for 32 years king of Hungary and during all this time will come to enjoy a remarkable progress.

Ending the 15th century, Pavel Chinezu was named Comitee of Timis, one of the most famous commanders of King Matia Corvin’s armies, whom he faithfully served until the end of

One of the most dramatic confrontations was that in which Timisoara’s citadel would face Gheorghe Doja’s insurgents’ siege, which instead of heading for the antiOttoman crusade rebelled against noblemen. In the summer of 1514 the insurgents arrived under the walls of Timisoara, where numerous noblemen found refuge, but despite some ingenious attempts to change the riverbed in order to easily take the citadel under siege and despite the privations to which the citadel’s inhabitants were submitted to as well, the peasant army was consequently defeated by the troupes sent by Transylvania’s Voyvode.

The rebels’ leaders, Doja also, were captured, jailed inside the citadel and submitted to a barbarian torture, without match in the Epoch.

Although the citadel could not have been conquered, it suffered considerable damages, which lowered its defense capacity, and the entire weakened Hungarian Kingdom will no longer last against the Ottoman offensive. In 1526 the well-known Sultan Suleiman the 1st agnomen the Magnificent defeats the Hungarian army at Mohacs, King Ludovic the 2nd dying on the battlefield. A long period of conflicts for the throne’s succession follows between the Voyvode of Transylvania Ioan Zapolya, and Ferdinand of Guest Book 2011

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Timisoara 1778-1880 Map made by Radu Oltean u Habsburg, King Carol the Quint’s brother.

In 1529, the fight between the two sides was given under the city’s walls and Suleiman installed the Transylvanian Voyvode, under his protection, King of Hungary. The new Comitee of Timis, Petru Petrovici, devoted to the Zapolya family, managed to establish for a while peace in the region, after mediating an agreement with the Turks, but after Ioan Zapolya’s death in 1540, who had left his possessions to the Habsburg House, Suleiman transforms – as a consequence of a military action – a great deal of Hungary into a Pashalic. Queen Isabella, Zapolya’s widow would definitively renounce Transylvania and Banat in 1551, in favor of Ferdinand of Habsburg, fact which would give birth to the Ottomans’ immediate retort.

A Turkish citadel Facing danger, Timisoara’s citadel was reinforced and Italian style bastions were built, but the new Comitee of Timis, Stefan Losonczy, proved skeptical concerning its resistance capacity for a longer period. In October 1551, the Ottoman troupes surrounded the citadel and began the siege over Timisoara, provoking numerous damages and weakening the fortress’ walls. Unprepared for a winter siege, the Turks dropped out, but during the summer of 1552, a new army, led by Pasha Ahmed set for Timisoara and after a month of siege, the negotiations for the capitulation conditions began. Those were not though respected by the Turks, Comitee Stefan Losonczy was decapitated, Timisoara’s garrison – massacred and the occupied citadel was transformed into a elayet centre (a pashalic). For 164 years, the time in which Timisoara’s citadel was under Ottoman siege, it underwent numerous changes, its aspect and city life being strongly marked by the Oriental imprint of the Muslim conquerors. The citadel’s fortifications reinforcement was a continuous preoccupation of the Turks’, Timisoara’s strategic role being considered extremely important. Many of the Turks re-conquering attempts failed. At the end of the 17th century the Half-Moon’s power began paling while the Ottomans began loosing the territories conquered in the Austrian-Turkish wars began in those years, in the favor of the Habsburgs.

Under Habsburg siege After 17 years of relative peace as a result of Karlowitz Peace signing, the Austrian-Turkish war broke out again in the summer of 1716, and ended two years later Guest Book 2011

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with the Passarowitz Peace signing, bringing Timisoara as well as Banat under Habsburg siege. For the second and for the last time in its history, the citadel was to be conquered by besiegers. After the Imperials were victorious against the Ottomans in Petrovaradin in the summer of 1716, Prince Eugeniu of Savoya, the commander of the Imperial armies, decided to begin the siege over Timisoara and surrounded the citadel.

For over a month and a half, the fights for conquering Timisoara have not ended, and after the uninterrupted attacks from the Imperials, on October the 13th the Ottoman garrison’s capitulation act was signed. The

History

following days, the Ottoman armies and the population were leaving the citadel, setting for Belgrade, and Prince Eugeniu of Savoya made his triumphant entrance in the city through the Forforosa gate.

Though the 1718 Peace Signing in Passarowitz, Banat became an Imperial Province, its first Governor being Count Florimund of Mercy. An Austrian military administration was set up by 1751, when it was replaced by a provincial civil administration. The new administration in Vienna’s courts preoccupied especially with the economical development of the entire province but of the citadel as well, also

reorganizing other activity fields such as justice and the financial system. The Austrians reconstructed Timisoara’s fortifications, in a Vauban style and rebuilt the citadel from scratch, remarkable being the imposing military constructions they built. The city was ran by Confessional Mayoralties, Catholic and Rascian (Orthodox), managed by magistrates, helped by counselors chosen every year by the community and confirmed by Banat’s administration, for after the city’s conquering numerous families of German colonists and other ethnics from the Empire set in Timisoara. Many investments were made in the city, according to the Guest Book 2011

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merchant principles of the Epoch’s imperial context.

Manufactures and factories opened, the city became an important commercial centre, Bega – transformed into a navigable canal.

Province of the Hungarian Empire In 1778, Maria Tereza, successor of the Habsburg possessions which belonged to King Carol the 6th signed the incorporation of Banat Decree to the Hungarian Kingdom, excepting the military border, thus a year later the province was once again split into Comites. Through

the privileges diploma given by King Josef the 2nd in 1781, ulterior renewed by other emperors, Timisoara became a free royal city, with another administrative status, a series of advantages and new economical perspectives.

The confessional mayoralties disappeared and the city’s general mayoralty was founded. In 1790 Vienna’s court accepted that Timisoara receive the right to vote in the Diet in Buda. The city had notable contributions during the Napoleonian wars, and according to some in 1809 sheltered the Imperial House of Habsburg’s thesaurus.

In 1848, the year of revolutions which covered the entire Europe, many gatherings took place in Timisoara, in the context of the existing dispute between the Hungarians

p Opera House original facade t Commerce and Industry Chamber Corso p Loefler Palace u Romano-Catholic Dome from Unirii Square uu Guest Book 2011

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History

and the Serbians on the one side, and the Austrian authorities on the other. In 1849’s spring and summer, the Hungarian revolutionary troupes, led by General Josef Bem, besieged the citadel, its conquering being requested

by Kossuth Lajos himself, the revolution’s leader. The Baron von Rukavina, leading the Pro-Habsburg military garrison in the citadel, heroically resisted the attacks, despite the numerous lacks and losses, and the Imperial army’s victory at Becicherecul Mic ended the siege.

After defeating the revolution, beginning the Neoabsolutist period instituted by King Franz Josef, a new administrative province was founded, autonomous towards Hungary – “The Serbian Voyvodine and the Timis

Banat” with its capital in Timisoara, which through an Imperial order in 1851 maintains its status of a “free royal city”. Many institutions meant to promote the city’s economic development were founded, remarkable edifices were built, which changed the urban aspect of the city and numerous progresses of the most notable were registered.

The Imperial political liberalization determined the Hungarian political circles to ask for Banat’s incorporation’s to Hungary, thus, in 1860, their solicitation was granted by an Imperial Decree. The Comitat of Timis was founded again with is residence in Timisoara, the administration reorganized following the existing legislation in 1848,

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p Decebal Bridge

the German clerks were replaced by Hungarians, and by 1880 the dualist Austro-Hungarian empire’s borders, built in 1867, Timisoara received the Municipal status, doubled by a relative autonomy. The following decades characterized by the province’s sustained politics of Hungarian colonization and most of all of Timisoara’s, the city’s political life being dominated by the Hungarian Liberal Party. In 1869 the Romanians in Banat and Hungary National Party was founded, and in 1881, by the union with the Transylvanian Romanians Party the Romanian National Party was set. The city’s economy is, during all these years, in a continuous progress, thus ending the 19th century when the fortifications wouldn’t justify their existence, slowing the urban development down, in 1892, the walls and the entry gates’ demolishment began, the ample operation ending only after the First World War. The fortified citadel of Timisoara came to its end and new systematization projects appeared radically changing its aspect.

The union with Romania’s Kingdom

p Former Railway Station

p Former Timisiana Bank Guest Book 2011

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The First World War’s breakout meant the militarization of the main factories, mobilizing over 12.000 men in the Austro-Hungarian army, the declaration of the siege state in September 1916 and numerous privations.

General Mackensen himself had his general headquarters in Timisoara in 1915, enjoying many favors from the officials. At the end of the war, Banat was occupied by the Serbian army, but because of the numerous abuses, which profoundly displeased the populations it was replaced ending February 1919 with the French army. In the period previous to the Grand National Rally in AlbaIulia on December the 1st 1918, despite some Hungarian and German initiatives which sustained founding an autonomous Banathian Republic inside Hungary, the Romanian population opted for the union with its mother country.

Although they were slowed down on many occasions by the Serbian authorities, many of Banat’s inhabitants managed to reach Alba-Iulia and three of Timisoara’s inhabitants – Aurel Cosma, Stan Vidrighin and Lucian Georgevici – were copted at the Romanian Grand National Counsel. After the Peace conference in Paris, despite the arguments presented by the Romanian officials, only two thirds of the historical Banat was given to Romania, while one third was given to the Serbians, Croatians and Slovenians’ Kingdom. Once the Romanian administration was installed, Doctor Aurel Cosma was named Prefect of

History

the new county Timis-Torontal, and on August 3rd 1919 the Romanian Royal Army, under the managing of Colonel Virgil Economu, entered the city. It was welcomed with all honors in Unirii Square, which – since then – bears this name, in the presence of the Prime-Ministry Ionel Bratianu and of the local officials.

During the interwar period, Timisoara was a multiethnical and multi-confessional city, where traditional factories continued their activity and new ones open as well, as a consequence of the technical discoveries in the years to come, a city where the citizens’ welfare was felt in the town’s image also, through the numerous public and private investments.

The Communist Regime The years following the Second World War meant the beginning of the hardest era in the city’s history. The Vienna Dictate in 1940 was followed by the moving to Timisoara of some of the institutions in the occupied area and by protests in front of the German Consulate, as a consequence of the territorial losses the country suffered. Romania’s part in the war, since June 1941, meant the mobilization of thousands of men and a series of shortcomings for the civilians. The war directly affected the city since June 1944, when the successive bombings of the allied troupes caused noteworthy damages. After the Romanian Army passed on the other side, Timisoara was attacked by German and Hungarian armies, which managed to penetrate the city’s peripheries, but the enemy troupes were counterattacked, thus being forced to withdraw.

The Soviet occupation Regime imposed shortly after, the ban of the historical parties’ activity, the King’s forced abdication and the replacement of the constitutional monarchy with the republic also the institutions of the “popular democracy” – actually a dictatorship of the Communist Party, all followed. Many protest actions more or less clandestine started against the newly-imposed regime, protests which culminated with the powerful students’ manifestations in October 1956 generated by the outbreak of the Anti-Communist Revolution in Hungary, though brutally defeated by the Regime’s repression machinery. Communism meant the nationalization of the private factories, of the agricultural properties, the houses’ abusive nationalization, hardship in the country’s jails, deportations and persecutions for “the people’s enemies”, the building of energy-consuming

p Maria Square

p Traian Square

p Street from Libertatii Square Guest Book 2011

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History

in the rush of a reckless and abusive city and village systematization policy.

December 1989

p 16th of December - blocked trams in Iosefin Square tt 17th of December, military trucks full of armed troupes going to appointed objectives t 17th of December, set on fire tank Photos used with the 16th -22nd of December Revolution Memorial approval and polluting plants, mostly in the very heart of the city, which carried their activity by the inimical standards of the planned economy. It also meant flats neighborhoods, built by quote, many offering precarious comfort, in which thousands of village families were crammed after having lost their lands, or those whose houses were demolished

During the last decade of the Communist Totalitarianism, the generalized lacks which the population had to deal with became unprecendently acute, in an era in which in the Central European countries the communist regimes ended through the system’s reforming policies. In Romania it was cold, dark, the stores’ shelves were empty, the basic alimentary products, insufficient, were rationalized and could only be bought wasting time at enormous queues.

Around the PCR’s (the Romanian Communist Party) 14th Congress which took place on November 1989, a strike attempt happened at a factory in Timisoara, and the people’s malcontents manifested obviously. The spark lit on December 15th when the authorities tried to evacuate the protestant pastor Tokes Laslo, known for his anti-communist sermons. The following day the first clashes between the thousands of men gathered in front of the pastor’s house and the police occurred, many arrest were made, thus the following evening the revolt covering the entire city was responded with fire arms. Tens of Timisoara’s citizens lost their lives, hundreds were hurt and arrested. The repressions continued the following days, but on December 20th the army fraternized with the population constituting the Romanian Democratic Front, as a new political formation, Timisoara being declared the first free city. The next days, the population in other cities rebelled against the regime, while on Decemeber 22nd Nicolae Ceausescu’s flee ended the dictatorial regime. A challenging period followed in the city’s history for those who desired to preserve some of the old structures and privileges and those who fought for an authentic democracy, through reinstalling parties and creating a frame for truly free elections. An important document was the Proclamation in Timisoara (March 1990), which also pointed out that the Communist Party’s activists and security officers would withdraw from the political life and their politic dignities. The former structures vehemently opposed maintaining their important places in the new contexts as well, but on the other side, the democratization process, which is imposed only in small steps, proved to be, in many cases, irreversible.

The city’s planning, lacking a coherent project, developed rather chaotically, the buildings in the historic area being mostly degraded and on many of the facades hapless interventions were made. n Liana PAUN Guest Book 2011

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PREMIERES Guest Book 2011

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Premieres

The city’s coat of arms 1334 Timisoara is the only city on the nowadays territory of Romania which appeared on the Italian navy map of Angelino Dulcerto, known as a royal residence of Carol Robert of Anjou for eight years 1365 the first city in the Hungarian Kingdom which had its own seal given by King Ludovic the First of Anjou which depicted the city’s patron Saint George killing the dragon 1459 the Italian Humanist Poggio Bracciolini, it was the first to demonstrate the Latinity of the Romanian language and people 1498 Pelbart of Temeswar, the only incunabulae writer born on Romania’s territory, prints in Germany hundreds of sermons written in Latin the 15th century the Water Tower is built between the citadel and the castle which ensured the filtered water supplies in Timis, the only of its kind on Romania’s territory 1716 the brewery is built in Timisoara, the oldest in Romania 1719 the Transylvania Barracks begin being built, which, after their finishing in 1729 measured 483 meters, thus being the longest in Europe 1724 a silk manufacture is founded

1727 the postal and diligence service in Vienna is introduced 1727-1728 the rafting canal is dug on old Timis’ riverside – meanwhile became Bega – between Faget and Timisoara 1732 the first river vessel travels from Timisoara to Pancevo, thus the epoch of river travel alongside Bega canal being inaugurated 1732 the first mechanic hydraulic installation is built, with elevating wheels which filtered and carried water through the citadel by underground canals, the first of its kind in Central Europe 1735 the construction of the first hospital in the city begins, that of the Mizericordians – nowadays the Ophthalmology Clinic – finished in 1737 1745 the City Hospital is built, before those in Budapest and Vienna 1754 Johann Michael Haydn composes „Missa Trinitatis”, especially for the inauguration of the Roman-Catholic Dome in Timisoara 1760 a public illumination system is introduced on the streets of Timisoara with one hundred street lamps fueled by suet Guest Book 2011

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1769-1770 Wolfgang von Kempelen, Banat’s Aulic Counselor, establishes a worldwide premiere: the first machine which can play chess with a person, machinery invented in Timisoara 1771 the first print house opens. Named „Mathias Heimerl”, this is where the periodical „Temeswarer Nachrichten” – a German publication, published in series Banat’s first history 1771 Timisoara is the first city in Romania in which an Italian Opera’ troupe comes on tour

1815 Josef Klapka opens in Timisoara the first public library in the Austrian Empire where people could lend books also having a reading room 1819 for the first time in Central Europe, the anti-pox vaccine is administered in Timisoara 1827 the polluted waters in the city water alimentation canal are directed in a dead river branch which becomes a sanitary ditch, a premiere in Romania

1774 the hydraulic machine in fabric is built, alongside Bega’s riverbed, from where drinking water is stored in a brick tower and then distributed in the Citadel, through 14 pumps 1775 the Normal School is opened, the first institute in Romania which prepared teachers

1830 Pavel Vasici – a doctor in Timisoara – translated for the first time in Romanian a human physiology manual

1787 the first bookstore opens in Timisoara

1846 Timisoara is the first city in Romania in which Franz Liszt gave a concert

1790 the first bank opens

1846 in Josefin neigborhood the cigarette factory is built, the largest in Romania and the second largest in the Hungarian Kingdom, which will be opened two years later

1847 at the Military Hospital the first ether anesthetics in Romania is made, after only 112 days after it was discovered 1850 the Commerce and Industry Camber of the Serbian Voyvodine and the Timis Banat is founded in Timisoara, the first of its kind in Romania 1853 Johann Nepomuk Preyer, Mayor of Timisoara, publishes in German the first City Monographic in Romania 1853 Timisoara is connected to the telegraphic network

p 1815 Josef Klapka library Guest Book 2011

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1856 Timisoara is the first city in Romania in which the horse driven omnibus is introduced as the first public transportation means, on a portion of 949 meters, between the citadel and the quarters

Premieres 1716 The brewery q

1857 the plant and the air gas distribution network is being inaugurated – the first of its kind in the South-Eastern Europe 1857 the city is connected to the rail network by using the railway between Szeged and Timisoara, though which the link between Budapest and Vienna is made. At the same time the first rail station is built in Timisoara.

1858 Count Coronini arranged the city’s first park between Cetate and Fabric neighborhood, nowadays the People’s Park 1869 the Romanian National Party in Banat is constituted, the first political party in Romania 1869 „Temeswarer Zeitung” newspaper publishes a series of „Timisoara in the year of 2069”, the first science-fiction work in Romania 1869 the first spirits factory in Romania opens at Timisoara

1869 Timisoara is the first city in Romania which inaugurates goods and persons river transportation, on a permanent schedule 1869 a new premiere in the South-Eastern Europe takes place in Timisoara, the first horse tram rail 1874 „Priculici” newspaper appears, the first Romanian language publication in Timisoara 1879 Ignatz Leyritz obtains the license to install the first urban telephone exchange in Timisoara, initially with a network which counted 52 subscribers 1884 Timisoara is the first city in Europe which on November 12th inaugurates a public network of street illumination in Cetate neighborhood entirely and on the main streets of the Fabric and Josefin quarters.

1886 the first voluntary saving station in the Hungarian Kingdom is founded Guest Book 2011

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1889 Ioan Ivanovici, born in Timisoara, composes the notorious waltz „Danube’s waves”

1899 the city hosts the first football match in Romania, between the students of the Piarist Highschool

1891 Timisoara hosts in Fabric neighborhood the first agroindustrial exhibition to which 3000 participants attended and which Emperor Franz-Josef considered to be the most significant in Central Europe

1899 the first electric tram line is inaugurated, on a rail of 6,636 meters from the Turkish Prince (Fabric) neighborhood to the North Train Station, which consequently replaced the horse driven omnibus

1891 the Golden Anchor Bridge (Dragalina Boulevard) is opened, the first road bridge made of steel

1907 the first cinema is built in Timisoara, approximately on same place of today’s Capitol Hall

1892 the first province drugstore in the Hungarian Kingdom opens at Timisoara, becoming one of the largest producers and distributors of medicines

1907 the hydro-electric power plant is built, being finished by 1910, when it was connected to the electric network, being the first plant of its kind in Romania

1895 Carol the First Boulevard (between Dragalina and Vacarescu boulevards, up to I. Maniu Street) is the first street in the city to be asphalted, carrying a warranty of 25 years

1913 the first football stadium is opened in Timisoara, on the former spot of the cycling track and named “The Chinese” after the name of the football team of Timisoara’s railway workers

1897 the first cinema projections take place in Timisoara’s cinema halls

1921 „Dura” company is founded, the first in the country to produce illumination devices

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Town Hall

1926 the first bus range was inaugurated, between Fabric train station and Padurea Verde (The Green Forest) which traveled on Sundays and on holidays 1938 professor Corneliu Miclosi is the author of a worldwide premiere, his invention was a train and tram rail welding machine 1942 the trolley bus is introduced as a means of transportation, Timisoara achieving once again a national premiere 1953 Timisoara is the only European city to have three state theatres: a Romanian, a German and a Hungarian speaking 1955 the first show of Timisoara’s radio station is aired 1961 MECIPT-1 (The Electronic Calculation Machine of the Polytechnic Institute in Timisoara) is finalized, the first electronic computer built in a Romanian university, presently a museum piece 1969 professor doctor M. Ghermanescu publishes the first encyclopedic treaty of functional equations in the world 1980 the international airport in Timisoara is inaugurated 1986 the Green Forest zoo is opened 1996 the first in vitro baby in Romania is born in Timisoara 2001 the first heart laser operation is made in Timisoara, a national premiere Selection made

by Liana Paun 1850 The Commerce and Industry Chamber u t 1986 the Green Forest zoo is opened Guest Book 2011

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CULTURE Guest Book 2011

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Culture

Culture Cultural Centers

Libraries

French Cultural Center Open: Mo – Thu 10 AM – 6 PM; Fri 10 AM – 5 PM 46, C.D. Loga Blvd.

Ph: +4 0256 490544; www.ccftimisoara.ro

Romanian Academy Library from Timisoara 7, Episcop Augustin Pacha St, Ph: +4 0256 430666

German Cultural Center Open: Mo – Thu 12 PM – 6 PM 2, Episcop Augustin Pacha St. Ph: +4 0256 407058; www.kulturzentrum-temeswar.ro Italian Cultural Center Open: Mo – Fri 9 AM – 5 PM 4, Victoriei Sq., 2nd flour, Apt 13, door ph 25 Ph: +4 0256 200519; ufficio_euroita@yahoo.com

Eugen Todoran University Central Library 4, Vasile Parvan Blvd, Ph: +4 0256 490353 German Cultural Center Library 2, Episcop Augustin Pacha St, Ph: +4 0256 407058 German Forum Library 10, Gheorghe Lazar St, Ph: +4 0256 499614 Timis County Library 3, Libertatii Sq, Ph: +4 0256 430746 Serbian Union Library from Romania 5, Unirii Sq, Ph: +4 0721880789 French Cultural Center Media Library 46, C.D. Loga Blvd, Ph: +4 0256 490544

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Arts Museum Few chronological bench-marks The beginning of the museum’s art collection dates back to 1879, when the institution’s evidences registered the first painting. Between 1888-1895, an important donation was added. It was a part of Ormòs Zsigmond’s personal collection, a remarkable personality in Timisoara’s cultural life, a collector, an arts historian and one of the museum’s founders. His donation, including Italian, Fleming, Dutch, German, Austrian, Hungarian

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and Romanian paintings, form the museum’s nucleus.

As proof of Ormos’ pioneering work in the museum field stands his arts collection catalogue edited in 1874, reedited and completed in 1888, alongside tens of other titles in arts studies, archeology and history.

Between 1901-1921, doctor Berkeszi István, as the museum’s custodian directed his attention towards the local plastic arts. Getting to acknowledge the

p European Frans Pourbus cel Tanar - Child portrait

p XXth century Banat Julius Podlipny - Autoportrait

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Culture painters in Banat’s creations consequently determined the museum’s collections nevertheless subsequent to a rigorous selection of the works of art bought by the institution.

Once Ioahim Miloia was named the museum’s custodian, in 1928, the scientific research intensifies. The museum also owes him the first pieces of old-Romanian art collection. Tracking and buying some religious icons in Banat offers today the possibility of presenting the first expressions of local plastics. Worthy to mention Ioachim Miloia’s efforts for obtaining a new location, more adequate for a museum, endeavors which materialized only after his death, when in 1943, under the painter Aurel Ciupe’s management the museum moved into one of the Culture Palace’s wings, the actual location of the National Theatre’s.

Aurel Ciupe continued Ioachim Miloia’s initial preoccupations for forming a modern and contemporary Romanian painting collection. Relocationg the museum in 1947 inside the Huniad Castle also meant the first proper space able to value the existing collections’ optimum capitalization. The gradual reorganization of the exhibition’s until 1951 required a sustained effort which Marius Moga, as the museum’s manager, has made over the years raising the museum’s prestige.

In the period between 1968-1972, Banat’s Museum extends inside the Bastion’s building where the ethnography side moves while inside the actual French Cultural Centre building on C.D. Loga boulevard sheltered – unfortunately only temporary – the plastic arts side’s collections. Also, in 1971, the popular architecture reserve was inaugurated at Padurea Verde.

In 1987, the Arts Section at Banat’s Museum moves to a new location, in the west wing of Baroque Palace’s in Unirii Square. This space, too limited for exhibiting large collections, sheltered until today only temporary exhibitions.

In the last years, after the Timis County Council took over Banat’s Museum, as a consequence of the development in each side’s preoccupation in diversifying the cultural offer, Banat’s Museum underwent important reorganization. Beginning January the 1st 2006 the Arts Side in Banat’s Museum transformed into a selfmanaged museum named The Arts Museum in Timisoara, housed inside the marvelous location in Unirii Square – the Baroque Palace. n

INFO

INFO

Arts Museum Baroque Palace Open: Tue – Sun 10 AM – 6 PM Entrance fee: 5 RON Address: 1, Unirii Sq.

p XIXth century Banat Ludwig Bersuder - Parade

p Interwar Banat Ioan Isac - Venice landscapes

p Decorative - XVIIIth century Sevres manufacture - Chimney clock with candle holders Guest Book 2011

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Banat Museum The visitors have the possibility to see the main discoveries of Banat

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Because of the consolidation works that momentarily are taking part inside the Huniade Castle, several rooms of the Museum were closed, so that the permanent exhibition can be visited only partially.

Archaeology and History

INFO

A History lesson inside the oldest building in Timisoara can be something quite unique. If you are interested in Prehistory or you would like to understand the roots of the city you visit, Museum of Banat is the right place.

First of all, you should visit the SANCTUARY OF PARTA, which is the only Prehistorically sanctuary reconstructed inside of a museum from Europe.

We asked prof. univ. dr. Gheorghe Lazarovici, who discovered this sanctuary in 1989, to tell us some interesting things about this important discovery. “Sanctuary of Parta was the most important discovery of my life and of my career as an archaeologist. The archaeological site from Parta was also a very important school for many archaeologists. The Sanctuary of Parta represents one of the most beautiful artistic and architectonic accomplishments of the of Neolithic man indicating the presence of the most important population of Late Neolithic period in the center and North region of Banat. Was dedicated to the Great Mother Goddess and the Bull God and the statues founded made possible that the discovery from Parta to be included on the list of the Prehistorically Temples. The Sanctuary together with

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Address: Piata Huniade, no. 1 Schedule: Tuesday – Sunday between 10 and 16 Ticket price: 2 lei for adults, 1 leu students and retired persons For Archeology and Natural Science sections are separate tickets for sale.

Culture

the House of the Tribe represented the economical, social and religious pole for the Culture of Banat, during 53005100 CAL BC..”

The sanctuary lies at the ground floor, can be visited only by request and you should not be extracharged.

At the first floor children and adults have the opportunity to follow briefly the evolution of man since Paleolithic Age to the Copper Era: mammoth bones, tools, religious objects, prehistorically toys, boots, systems for stone cutting and hundreds of other objects.

At the second floor you can visit the Modern and Contemporary and the Natural Sciences Exhibitions. Also at the second floor there is the room for temporarily exhibitions. During the last years we organized the following temporarily exhibitions: Live Reptiles, The Castle and his Knights, Traditions in China, Interwar Evening: fashion show, music and poetry, The Museum’s collection of Fire Guns etc.

Natural Sciences For minerals lovers there is an exhibition of esthetic minerals donated by Constantin Gruescu. Is a beautiful collection of minerals collected from all over the world and of course, from Romania. He was born and raised in a family of miners and he discovered at very young age the mysteries of the Earth. He donated beautiful minerals to Caen (France) and to other three museums from Romania: Iasi, Constanta and Galati and founded a beautiful museum of esthetic mineralogy of iron in Ocna de Fier.

He is preparing to donate a collection also to Serbian museum. Don’t hesitate to visit the Museum of Banat, don’t forget to ask for a guide to show you exhibitions and to give explanations. The Museum of Banat organizes also touristic tours in Timisoara and around Timisoara: Recas, Ocna de fier and so on. n Monica Varga Museum Specialist

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The Art of Pottery Trade Ioan Stepan at the age of 87, the potter managed to turn his profession into art Guest Book 2011

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INFO

Banat Village Museum Open: Tue – Sat 10 AM – 6 PM; Sun 12 AM – 8 PM Entrance fee: 2 RON Address: 1, Aleea CFR St.

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Culture

The potter Ioan Stepan was born on May 15th 1923 in Binis, Caras-Severin county. He is now a pottery master and he graduated the School in Binis. He lives with his daughter’s family, him being a widower.

Since childhood, mister Ionica Stepan became accustomed to the pottery trade, coming from a potters family, from a village in which this activity prevailed. At the age of 86, the potter managed to turn his profession into art, remaining the last active representative of the traditional ceramic objects creators in Banat. He became well known throughout the world due to his activity representing Romania in numerous international exhibitions beginning the seventies, his pots and pipkins reaching Germany, Italy, France and the United States of America as well.

His clay pots helped mister Ionica see the entire Europe.

“No one does this kind of pots anywhere else and they are curious to see how they’re made. So they invite me everywhere, at all sorts of fairs and museums. I was in Germany, France, Spain, everywhere. In Germany I also worked for a while, at a museum in Hamburg. But still at home feels better. You can find me here all day long, with my wheel and my pots”, mister Ionica says.

During time he taught hundreds of young people to become accustomed to the handicraft, at his home, as well as within the framework of periodic educational programs, the last one taking place last July at the Banathian Village Museum in Timisoara.

Mister Ionica’s art objects can be purchased at the Banathian Village Museum’s shop, inside the institution or directly from his home. n

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Revolution Memorial

INFO

Since 1990 and until 1999, the Association set up a memorial complex in the Heroes Cemetery in Timisoara and other 12 monuments

16-22 Revolution Memorial Open daily: 9 AM – 5 AM There is no official entrance fee but a donation should be left in the honesty box.

Address: 8, Emanoil Ungureanu St. During the year it’s possible that the Memorial will move its location in Bastion historical buildings.

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The 16th-22nd of December 1989 Revolution’s Memorial Association with its headquarters on 8 Emanoil Ungureanu Street was founded on the 26th of April 1990 with the statutory purpose of honoring the December 1989 Romanian Revolution’s victims repression. Since 1990 and until 1999, the Association set up a memorial complex in the Heroes Cemetery in Timisoara and other 12 monuments raised in the December 1989 repression areas in our city.

Beginning 1998, within the Memorial a December 1989 Revolution National Documentation, Research and Public Information Centre is functioning. Timisoara’s city hall offered the Association a building in the civic centre of the city – an 18th century baroque building, a monument

Culture

construction. The building was in an advanced state of degradation, and it needed important works of consolidation and redesigning which have not been finished yet.

By Law 46/2000 “The Revolution’s Memorial” was declared a national objective. The Center’s declared purpose is to become an operative means of information regarding the events that led to the fall of the Communist Regime in Romania, proposing to value the Romanian historical information circumscribed to the 1989 events in Central and South-Eastern Europe. Because these moments cannot be fully understood without knowing the communist regime on the whole, the Centre is also preoccupied with studying the communist period in Romania.

We wish to concentrate, in functional spaces and adequate techniques, proofs of oral history on audio, video or digital support. Now, we are working to transfer the entire database on a digital format.

Within the Association there are galleries which hold exhibitions on the Revolution, Cold War, the Ceausescu dictatorship period, also on other themes which regard the European contemporary history. Here, documentaries titrated in English, German and French can be previewed while within the library more than 400 titles can be lectured.

At the Banat Metropolitan Church building’s ground floor an ecumenical chapel was realized in the memory of the martyrs in the Romanian Revolution in 1989. n Guest Book 2011

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The National Theater in Timisoara The National Theatre in Timisoara, is at this moment, probably the most interesting and non-conformist theatre in Romania

p The Reviser Remember p Julius Caesar u Artifcial Silk Tablecloths uu Guest Book 2011

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Culture

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Timişoara is a town of encounters. Encounter between cultures, languages, ethnic groups, civilizations, and last, but not least, between people. A city such as this one – an openminded and friendly city – had to have a theatre to match it.

And it does. At the moment, The Timişoara National Theatre (TNT) is probably the most interesting and nonconformist theatre in Romania.

We are used to regarding the theatre as an institution that defies time, from a great height. With a history that goes back 135 years, with its imposing stature (it was designed by two great Viennese architects, Helmer and Fellner)), the theatre in Timişoara completely manages to reinvent itself periodically.

Is there a way to regard TNT other than as a cultural institution in no way different than any of its kind? There is; by seeing it as it is today: the generator of a young, contemporary and active type of theatre, full of dynamism and open-mindedness.

We break through the limits of the commonplaceness. We overcome conventionalism. Even more, we surpass the boundaries of theatrical creation proper and plan to “invade” the city. The theatre itself must be an ex-centric space, and we manage to do just that: beside the established theatre hall, theatre goers in Timişoara may choose to see a play either in the former Imperial Manège, now Sala 2 (Theatre Hall no.2) – the most modern alternative theatre hall in Romania, either in Studio 5, an “under the roof” theatrical space. And even, soon enough, in a circus tent destined for the extreme forms of performance and syncretic art. With the same goal in mind, we chose to lay the foundations of the first European Center for Theatrical Anthropology in Romania precisely in one of the abandoned monument buildings we made reference to earlier – the former Synagogue in one of Timişoara’s historical districts, the Fabric district. This is one of our programs that is now under way and due to begin its activity in 2011.

Everything that the TNT manages to do and, at the same time,

to be – its constant preoccupation with the latest technology in stage equipment, the organizing of an international festival dedicated to performing arts, the editing of theatre books and the theatre magazine “atent”, the partnership with the European dramaturgy translation network “Atelier Européen de la Traduction”, its presence in Romanian and international festivals, its theatre tours, the Europe Cultural Award offered to our theatre by KulturForum Europa (2009), the fact that one of its productions was included in the 2008-2009 theatre season by the Odeon Theatre in Paris – stands for a constant desire for dialogue, for encounter. TNT has established an open dialogue with its public and its partners and responds with an offer of extremely diverse cultural activities, whose purpose is to articulate a structure that participates, with everything that is particular to it, in the creation of a common and coherent European language that is functional at any level. n

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The German State Theatre in Timisoara Each year, the theatre’s repertoire is enriched with the most diverse productions, set by stage directors in different cultural spaces q Female Bold Singer

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The German State Theatre in Timisoara is a public institution subsidized by the Local Council. Each year, the theatre’s repertoire is enriched with the most diverse productions, set by stage directors in different cultural spaces. An during the 2010-2011 theatrical season the German scene in Timisoara welcomes its spectators with shows dedicated to the most varied tastes, such as:

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Photo: Antal Botond

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Shaking Shakespeare by W.Shakespeare Fatsoes in skirts by N.Silver The bald female singer by E.Ionesco We all share the same story by D.Fo & F.Rame All in their own time by D. Ives Comedy in the dark by P.Shaffer Waiting for Godot by S. Beckett Who’s afraid of Virginia Wolf? by E.Albee Fräulein Braun by U. Hub

The newest productions: Tickets 2 Alba Iulia Street Opening hours Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday: 10 AM to 1 PM Wednesday, Friday: 10 AM to 1 PM and 5 PM to 7 PM and one hour prior to each show Reservations at telephone no: 0256-435743 fax no: 0256-201293 www.teatrulgerman.ro

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u The chambermaids by J.Genet u The mountain bikers by V.Schmidt u The invisible man a remake after H.G.Wells by A.Halka

Musicals: u u u u

The sound of music by R.Rodgers The wizard of Oz after L.F. Braum Snow White after the G. Brothers Beauty and the Beast after J.M.L. de Beaumont

Photo: Biro Marton

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CSIKY GERGELY Hungarian State Theatre

The Hungarian Theatre tries to cover a multitude of preferences, by means of a rich repertoire

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“Csiky Gergely” Hungarian Theatre tries to cover a multitude of preferences, by means of a rich repertoire, in accordance with the taste of the public for classic or contemporary authors. Therefore, we offer different types of performances: classic and contemporary theatre, non-verbal performances, musicals, puppet and marionette theatre plays.

The troop of the “Csiky Gergely” Hungarian State Theatre of Timişoara is young, enthusiastic, with awards for their level of professionalism. We are in a continuous search of new forms of artistic expression. Among the main projects of the theatre: TESZT, the Euroregional Festival of Theatre Timişoara, this year in its 5th edition. The international event is meant to promote the knowledge and good practice of multiculturalism but also to inform the public about the latest events in the world of theatre mainly from the DKMT Euro-region but not

limited to that. Throughout the years, the Festival has turned into a platform for cultural exchanges and into an open invitation to dialogue with artists and theatre personalities.

Every year, TESZT brings new, enriched proposals such as: movie projections, book launchings, debates, set design exhibitions and workshops. They all complete the artistic experience. Moreover, the Theatre opens its doors and brings the joy of the performance and music into the street, closer to the public. Some important notices need to be made.

We offer our public simultaneous translation into Romanian either through earphones or subtitles in order to facilitate the access, but also to show that language is not an impediment but a binder, a port to a different culture. n

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Thespis Students’ Theatre

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Thespis Students’ Theatre took place in 1965 at the Timisoara University Club

Contact Adrian Korek Thepsis Coordinator www.thepsis.ro contact@thespis.ro Reservations: 0721 907 468

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The first theatre gatherings of those who would constitute later on the Thespis Students’ Theatre took place in 1965 at the Timisoara University Club. Later, in 1969 Thespis’ birth certificate was signed in order to take part in an international festival in Zagreb, where they received the jury’s special prize.

Following the 1989 Revolution Thespis Students’ Theatre is part of the Students’ Culture House in Timisoara, the collaboration leading to their activity’s blossoming. At the time, the company counted 30 stable members, students and graduates of the most diverse faculties. Its members are actors, directors, they arrange the set, the costumes and promotion.

Thespis Students’ Theatre still holds shows each week at its “headquarters” – the 202 “Lelu Bihoi” Theatre Studio inside the Students’ Culture House. Theatre of the absurd, expressionist and classic plays are presented, the repertoire including theatre-dance and non-verbal shows as well. From texts written by its students members (Traian Soimu, Cosmin Gheorghe, Dinu Bodiciu, Noemi Dumitrescu, Alexandru Das, Mihaela Ciutacu, Alina Gutuleac, Andra Duteanu, Ciprian Irimies) to texts borrowed from the national and universal thesaurus (William Shakespeare, A.P. Cehov, Luigi Pirandello, I.L. Caragiale, Petru Ispirescu, Marin Sorescu, Albert Camus, F.G. Lorca, Boris Vian, Eugen Ionesco, Matei Visniec, Samuel Beckett, Fernando Arrabal, Woody Allen, Daniil Harms, J.P. Sartre – all found a theatrical pre-text on Thespis’ scene).

Thespis gives the students the possibility to artistically express themselves, to create, to liberate, to be themselves, to be many others, to acknowledge what they are capable of doing, to make friends for life, to do whatever they cannot do elsewhere, to grow, to stay young and naïve, to applaude, to feel and breathe theatre… n

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Aualeu Theatre Aualeu is a free enterprise born from a dream

In 1959 “Doina Timisului” came into being, an ensemble which grew to be known in a short time

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After almost a half of century and so many national and international prizes they are still here to charm us with our traditional ancestry folk dances such us: “MUNTE” dance that comes from the mountain area of Banat, which through its movements at a rapid pace, through the girls continuous turns under the boys’ arms, through the boys’ movements full of vigor restores the alight temperament of this zone; “MOLDOVA” - a dance from the Northeast of the country.

From the beginning till its end the dance is colored with all kinds of witty couplets: satirical, lyrical and of course urges to dance; “SES” - a dance specific for the plain of Banat being characterized by a larger representation in space and accompanied by smoother movements.

“BRIURI” - a men dance representing the mountain area of Banat. The shepherds dances were preserved till nowadays, the most representatives ones being very well put on stage by our ensemble. n www.doinatimisului.ro

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Not wearing any makeup, direct and rough Aualeu Theatre continues its path ignoring holes and barriers.

Out of neccessity and good will Aualeu Theatre’s little brother came to life – Scart Easy Place, the theatre’s main financer, host and which mostly welcomes the guests offering lots of good stuff. When you come to us, one evening at a show, you must know that you’ll be watching the spectacle in a garage or a small room and that the entrance price you paid was set by others, who came before you, through free vote.

And if you’re wondering which shows you should best see we recommend you come and see them all instead you living them through others’ eyes. Generally, at Aualeu Theatre people laugh.

It would be best if came a quarter hour earlier before each show so we can start at the time anounced, if you shut your phone off and not take photos without our prior permission.

If you have any idea, a crazy proposal or other interesting stuff we’re glad to listen. The promotion materials for each show, posters, programs, flyers are free for the public.

AUALEU THEATRE team – MARIANA BOGHIAN, CHRISTINE CIZMAS, IOAN CODREA, VICTOR DRAGOS, NORBERT LOVASZ, OVIDIU MIHAITA and MARIAN PIRVULESCU wishes you a warm: We’ll tear your tickets and you’ll harm your palms! n

Aualeu Theatre and Scart Easy Place 1 ZOE Street, Timisoara (in Balcescu, across Doina Park) www.aualeu.ro/facebook – scârt loc lejer si auăleu teatru Reservations: 0751 892 340

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Banat Philharmonic In 1796 took place the premiere of The Enchanted Flute Mozart opera Guest Book 2011

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D INFO Reservations Tel.: 0256 492521; filarmonicatm@ yahoo.com filarmonicatm@ gmail.com Open: Monday - Tuesday, Thursday - Friday 10 am - 02pm Wednesday 14-19

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Did you know that the first concert in Timisoara was held over 255 years ago? In the wonderful Dome in the Unirii Square, Johann Michael Haydn, the renowned Joseph Haydn’s brother, conducted his own composition Missa in honorem SS-me Trinitatis.

Did you know that here, in Timisoara in 1796 took place the premiere of The Enchanted Flute Mozart opera, only five years away from its worldwide premiere? Did you know that the Philharmonic Society in Timisoara was the guest home for notorious musicians such as Pablo de Sarasate, Henryk Wieniawski, Joseph Jochim, Johannes Brahms, Bela Bartok, Arthur Rubinstein, Fritz Kreisler, Eugene Ysaye or Traian Grosavescu?

Did you know that between 1920-1943 George Enescu held no less than 12 concerts on different stages throughout the city, who in 1931, for his 50th birthday was awarded the title of Timisoara’s Honorary Citizen?

All these and other exceptional musical traditions are hoarded by the Banat Philharmonic in Timisoara which counts concerts in over 140 musical seasons. If you wish to attend one of Timisoara’s Philharmonic concerts, you have made a fortunate choice! A variety of programs is offered, suiting all preferences, from symphonic and vocal-symphonic concerts to chamber music concerts, recitals or corals á capella. The repertory’s profusion and the interpretation’s quality both make up the resistance pillars of each concert. The Philharmonic lodges alike its own musicians’ productions and prestigious guests from Romania and outside the country’s boarders.

The festivals that the Philharmonic in Timisoara holds each year grand an elitist aura to its artistic activities: Musical Timisoara Festival (each May),George Enescu Musical Days (each September), the Jazz Gala (each November) and the Sacred Music Days (each December).

The public’s appetite for quality music is the main motivation of this institution in its goal to finding not only a large interest repertoire but also to establish new means of presenting it in unconventional spaces as the abutter plateau of Bega’s water course, Timisoara’s international airport, in the Padurea Verde (Green Forest) area, on the Metropolitan Cathedral’s esplanade. Within the Philharmonic’s precinct you can enjoy a permanent exhibition with documents regarding the city’s musical life as well as the institution and its musicians’ history.

You are welcomed at the Philharmonic’s concerts and you will surely leave “loaded” with memories and esthetic emotions of the noblest essence. n

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The Romanian National Opera in Timisoara Timisoara was and still is western Romania’s most powerful cultural centre; its geographic position – at the confluence of Eastern and Central Europe

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The Romanian National Opera in Timisoara is a national opera, operetta and ballet company, a public institution with a judicial personality under the direct suborder of the Culture and National Patrimony Ministry in Romania.

The institution was founded by Royal Decree no. 254 on March 30th 1946. It’s first manager was Aca de Barbu.

The Culture Palace’s building construction begins in 1871 according to Viennese architects F. Helmer and H. Fellner Guest Book 2011

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(who built numerous theatre hall throughout Europe – Budapest, Vienna, Odessa) and was finished in 1875.

Two large fires devastated the building, the first in 1880, after which the reconstruction lasted until 1882, entirely preserving the construction’s original aspect, built in a Renaissance style. Following the second fire in 1920 only the lateral wings of the building’s remained unharmed.

The reconstruction follows architect Duiliu Marcu’s plans,

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INFO Reservations Tel.: 0256 201 286 ort@artelecom.net www.ort.ro

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preserving the original style only in the lateral facades, the main façade and the show hall being “reinterpreted” in a Neo-Byzantine style – characteristic to the Romanian architecture of the period. The novelty of this building is that it harmonically shelters four art institutions – a unique case in Europe: the National Romanian Opera, “Mihai Eminescu” National Theatre, the German State Theatre and “Csiky Gergely” Hungarian Theatre.

The Romanian Opera in Timisoara’s inaugural show was Verdi’s Aida performed on April 27th 1947. It was a unforgettable spectacle, highly artistic, a triumph of Romanian interpretative art surprised perfectly by the period’s press.

As years passed, at the initiative of the great musician Nicolae Boboc, conductor and manager of the Romanian Opera in Timisoara – stage 1968-1969 the first edition of “Musical Timisoara” Festival is held, meant to become the year’s event, a high-end manifestation. Following the 4th edition the festival becomes an annual event and in 1993 it receives an international character, preserved to this day.

Beginning the autumn of 2000, at the institution’s management maestro Corneliu Murgu, an artist on worldwide recognition, is instated. After his return in

Romania, he refreshed the Opera’s activity, appealing to his managerial knowledge accumulated throughout his international career. In 2000 on the Opera’s stage 41 spectacles premiered: opera, ballet and operetta.

The Romanian Opera in Timisoara’s stage is held each year on a period of 10 months presenting around 100 shows inside and outside the country’s borders, with a frequency of 8-10 shows each month. The number of shows is not as large, but considering that the show hall is used 50 percent by the Opera and the other 50 percent by “Mihai Eminescu” National Theatre it is quite remarkable.

The spectacle hall can sit 686 people, the average of tickets sold being around 350-400 for each show. The tours inside and outside Romania were highly appreciated by the public and critiques as well: whether in the former Yugoslavia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Italy, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Qatar and Greece.

On September 24th 2004 the Opera in Timisoara becomes a National Opera as a recognition of the company’s merits for the entire assiduous work in the field of Romanian art and culture inside and outside the country.

Another major event in the institution’s history was written during the Romanian Revolution in December 1989, which began and unfolded on the building’s balcony – an image that surrounded the world. n Guest Book 2011

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CHURCHES Guest Book 2011

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Churches

Worship Places In Romania an overwhelming majority of the country’s citizens are Christian.

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86.7% of the country's population identified as Eastern Orthodox in the 2002 census Other Christian denominations include Roman Catholicism (4.7%), Calvinism (3.7%), Pentecostal denominations (1.5%) and the Romanian Greek-Catholic Church (0.9%).In Timisora are a very large number of churches, most of them orthodox or catholic, but there are also a several churches from other confessions such us Luteran, Calvinist, Reformed, Neoprotestant or synagogues.

Piarists Romano-Catholic Church Regele Ferdinand I St Services in German, Hungarian and Romanian.

Evangelic Lutheran Church Ionel I.C. Bratianu Sq Services in German, Hungarian and Romanian.

Romanian Orthodox Church from Iosefin Alexandru Mocioni Sq Services in Romnian.

The Romanian Orthodox Church (The Old Cathedral) bearing the Feast of the Falling Asleep of the Most Pure Virgin Mary, today an archbishop church. Built in the inter-war years in a neo-Byzantine style the edifice’s construction has been inspired by the Saint Sofia Church in Constantinople and painted by Catul Bogdan and Ioachim Miloia.

Martyrs Orthodox Church D. Juganaru St Services in Romanian.

Metropolitan Orthodox Cathedral Victoriei Sq Services in Romanian.

The works for the building of the church began in 1936, during King Carol the 2nd’s Reign, the fundamental stone being set in December by I.P.S.S. Andrei Magier, bishop of Arad. The cathedral was built following architect Ioan Traianescu’s plans, inspired by the style of the Moldavian monasteries. The cathedral was sanctified in 1946 in the presence of Mihai the 1st, whose votive picture can be found in the church’s narthex.

Reformed Parochial Church – City Timotei Cipariu St Services in Hungarian.

q Iosefin Catholic Church

Millennium Romano-Catholic Cathedral Romanilor Sq Services in German, Hungarian and Romanian.

The „Millenium” Roman-Catholic Church (1896-1901) built with the occasion of the 1000 years since the Hungarians settled in the Panonia Fields memorial. The church was designed in a Neo-Romantic style.

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Romano-Catholic Church from Elisabetin Nicolae Balcescu Sq Services in German, Hungarian and Romanian.

The Roman-Catholic Church bearing the Feast of the Saint Heart of Jesus was built during 1912-1919 in a Neo-Gothic style.

Romano-Catholic Church from Iosefin Gen. Ion Dragalina Blvd Services in German, Hungarian and Romanian.

The Roman-Catholic Parochial Church (1774), inside its courtyard being sheltered Saint Nepomuk’s statue (1722) – the spiritual patron of Banat.

pRomano-Catholic Church from Elisabetin

Romano-Catholic Dome Unirii Sq Services in German, Hungarian and Romanian.

The Cathloic Dome was built between 1736-1754 after the plans of Erlach, in a baroque style. The church’s crypt shelters the remains of many bishops of the Cenad Dioceses. The altar’s painting was made by Michel Angelo Unterberger, Viennese painter.

The Catholic Dome in Unirii Square q Serbian Orthodox Cathedral Unirii Sq Services in Serbian and Romanian.

The Serbian Orthodox Cathedral was built in Viennese Baroque style in 1744/45-1748. The towers have been reconstructed between 1791-1792. The rood screen was sculpted by Mihailo Ianici (1833-1836) and painted by Constantin Daniel (1838-1843). The church remains only Serbian since 1865.

Synagogue- City Marasesti St Services are suspended.

The Marasesti Street Synagogue – built between 18631865 in a Moor style, after architect Ignatz Schumann’s plans.

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Records

The biggest beer pint in the world

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The biggest beer pint in the world symbolizes the first brewery in Romania, founded in 1718 in Fabric Quarter.

The giant pint has been recently moved in front of Timisoreana Brewery’s building. It measures almost six meters in height, three meters in diameter and has a capacity of 11,000 liters, weighing 2.8 tons. „The pint has been attested by World Records Academy.

The Guinness Book representatives accepted our file, because they were convinced by the press appearances.

We now have to send them the Mayor’s, the person who built it and my signature as well” Coriolan Garboni declared – the FACT (the foundation that realized the first two record projects for the Guinness Book) manager.

The first giant street lamp The giant street lamp is 6,5 meters long, weighs 1,139 kilos and is completely functional. The lamp is lit by a half meter light bulb. It reminds of the fact that 125 years ago Timisoara became the first European city to have its streets electrically lit. On November 12th 1884, the old gas-lit lamps were replaced by 71 electrical lighting lamps. „Unlike the pint, where we had to break Malaysia’s record there is no other functional electric lamp in the Guinness Book. We will dare the next ones to make a bigger one”, Garboni declared. (see photo on page 28) n

t The Guinness Book record beer pint

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EVENTS Guest Book 2011

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Events in Timisoara

Events Calendar Romanian Drama Festival April The 16th edition of the Romanian Drama Festival arrives in Timişoara in spring, in mid April. The festival will have several sections, enabling the public to choose between contemporary Romanian drama, contem-porary international drama, dance performances, concerts, exhibitions, etc. The climax of this multi-artistic concept will be a performance famous all over Europe.

Timisoara Music Festival May 2nd to 28th - the 36th edition As an initiative of great musicians such as Nicolae Boboc – conductor at the Romanian Opera in Timisoara and Ion Romanu – conductor and director of the Banatul Philharmonics in Timisoara, in the musical stage 19681969 the first edition of Musical Timisoara Festival takes place - conceived as to become the year’s main event, an exhibition of luxury. After its 6th edition, the festival becomes an annual event while in 1993 it receives an international character – kept to this day.

During all of the 35 editions important names in the national and international scene have responded to the organizers’ invitations and were crowned with success in the shows realized by the Opera in Timisoara: Giuseppe Zampieri, Louis Quilico, Ivette Perrin, Hirako Yamane, Amelia Benvenutti, Gloria Lind, Gaetano Bardini, Dan Iordăchescu, Teodora Lucaciu, Cleopatra Melidoneanu, Ion Dacian, Maria Biesu, Elena Cernei, Nicolae Herlea, Medeea Amirasvili, Giuseppe Taddei, David Ohanezian, Cornelu Stavru, Valentin Teodorian, Nelly Miricioiu, Iuri Marusin, Vladislav Piavko, Ludovic Spiess, Octavian Naghiu, Victoria Bezeti, Angela Gheorghiu, Maria Slatinaru-Nistor, Elena Stoianova, Elena Gudzi, Corneliu Murgu, Ileana Iliescu, Stefan Banica, Margareta Drozdova, Valerii Kirilov, Galina Mezenteva, Konstantin Zakunski, Elena Mosuc, Nelly Miricioiu, Leo Nucci and many others.

This year’s festival will reunite on the Romanian Opera in Timisoara’s stage high-end events as to confirm the value

of 35 uninterrupted editions held with common efforts, of organizers and artists invited, and it will take place between the 2nd and 28th of May 2011.

The four weeks of festival will reunite opera shows such as: „Attila” by G. Verdi (opera in concert), the premiere of „Adriana Lecouvreur” by F. Cilea, „Traviata” by G. Verdi, „Aida” by G. Verdi.

The Timishort International Film Festival May The Timishort International Film Festival is an annual event which, although reaching only its third edition, has the ambition of engendering a new cinema wave, representative of the western region of the country.

The festival is aimed at discovering, by means of the Official Competition, and, starting from last year, the „Videorama“ program, dedicated to experimental film and video art, talented Romanian and foreign film makers.

These two main sections are accompanied by other, noncompetitive ones, panorama, portrait or retrospective in style, conceived so as to offer spectators from all over the world short films catering for all tastes. The international films selected for the competition manage to offer, despite their short duration, less than 30 minutes, the film makers’ personal views on the world in which we all live.

Timişoara Little Vienna May- September Is a project run by the City of Timişoara, aimed at young as well as experienced artists. From May to September, each year, the artistic events of the Union Square give continuity to the cultural life of Timişoara.

Euroregional Drama Festival May Among the main projects of the theatre: TESZT, the Euroregional Festival of Theatre Timişoara, this year in its 5th edition. The international event is meant to promote Guest Book 2011

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the knowledge and good practice of multiculturalism but also to inform the public about the latest events in the world of theatre mainly from the DKMT Euro-region but not limited to that. Throughout the years, the Festival has turned into a platform for cultural exchanges and into an open invitation to dialogue with artists and theatre personalities.

Every year, TESZT brings new, enriched proposals such as: movie projections, book launchings, debates, set design exhibitions and workshops. They all complete the artistic experience. Moreover, the Theatre opens its doors and brings the joy of the performance and music into the street, closer to the public, so that, in the end, everybody may experience and feel the celebration of the theatre.

The Old Music Festival May The fourth edition of the “Old Music Festival” is aimed at presenting old music representative of some of the historical periods. The invited artists capitalize on this musical selection by means of vintage musical instruments, making the listener familiar with the musical peculiarities of those historical periods.

The International Gaudeamus Fair May The International Gaudeamus Fair is one of the most important exhibitions in Romania devoted to education.

The participants are publishers, education institutions, book and press agencies, multimedia companies and NGOs. The Gaudeamus Caravan includes exhibitions Guest Book 2011

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organized in the main academic centres of Romania and has reached its 6th edition. A pavilion exhibition will host, for a week in the Union Square of Timişoara, the latest and most successful printed materials of Romanian and foreign publishers.

Street Delivery Festival June An event which plans to channel all the joy of a city in just one street, filled with history and intense experiences: Florimund de Mercy Street. This year, the street will host the fifth edition of the Street Delivery.

Bega Boulevard June The fourth edition of the Bega River Holidays will include a series of concerts, theatre performances, fireworks, sports, dancing courses in the open air, numerous activities for the children, drawing workshops, juggling, exhibitions and information desks. The citizens of Timişoara will also take part in the traditional plastic duck contest on the Bega River.

Stradart June The «Stradart» project was initiated in 2007 by the French and German Cultural Centres in cooperation with the City of Timişoara. This year’s edition will be the fifth of this kind.

After the success of the first Stradart editions, the event will continue to promote contemporary art in the street among the general public, especially the communities in

Events in Timisoara

the less fortunate neighbourhoods of the city. Stradart will offer children and young adults a week of interactive workshops, open air contemporary art performances and exhibitions, orchestrated by young professional artists from France and Romania. Local associations will also be invited, the experience and expertise of the professionals offering them support during the workshops. On the one hand, this project revives and reintegrates poorer neighbourhoods in the life of the city, thus promoting the communities living here, offering them free access to high brow culture. On the other hand, it capitalizes on Timişoara’s cultural heritage by means of happenings performed in the historical centre.

edition, for it presented the latest productions and the most loved shows of the Opera’s in Timisoara. It has been reflected in the public’s response to the cultural offer during the six editions, reaching an audition peak in 2008 when 8.000 people came to see the show.

This 7th edition we propose a first – two weekends with 7 titles: „Traviata” by G. Verdi, „Voievodul tiganilor” (The Gypsies’ Voyvode) by J. Strauss, „Turandot” by G. Puccini (on the first weekend) and the Opera and Operetta Gala: „Vaduva vesela” (The Happy Widow) by Fr. Lehar, „Motanul incaltat” (Puss in boots) by C. Trailescu – opera for children in the morning and „Nabucco” by G. Verdi (during the second weekend).

Hearts’ Festival July Every year, for five days, Timişoara becomes the capital of international traditional art with the help of the Hearts’ Festival, the first event of this kind in Romania which is included in the UNESCO cultural agenda. The parades and shows of the festival feature performers from all over the world.

Plai festival September Plai is a yearly festival organized in Timişoara, which celebrates music, art and multiculturalism for three days.

For three weekend days in September, Timişoara invites important names of world music, displays the traditions of various cultures and ethnic groups, books and films, it organizes lectures or workshops. Music is only one of the forms in which daily diversity manifests itself.

“Ariegarda “ Cultural Event July 31st The Ariergarda Cultural Association’s main aim is that of promoting cultural tourism in the city’s historical centre.

Timisoara City Day Augus 1st – 3rd For three days there will be concerts of various genres and styles, with Romanian and foreign artists, but there will also be art exhibitions, as well as events commemorating the personalities who did credit to our city. In fact, Timişoara’s Day must be the moment when we look back, proudly, on our historical heritage and our exceptional ancestors who improved our city’s life.

The Festival of Opera and Operetta Part 1: August 19th – 20th – 21st 2011 Part 2: August 26th – 27th – 28th 2011 Reaching its 7the edition, the manifestation is now received by Timisoara’s inhabitants as a natural event which must exist, closer to its public. Conceived from the very beginning (in August 2005) as an event coorganized by the local authorities and the Culture House of Timisoara, it offered the viewers – free of charge – during the last weekend of each August a spectacle to remember. The event was a true success from the first

Eurothalia European Drama Festival November Organized by German State Theatre of Timişoara (TGST), the third edition of the festival is a project meant to increase the dynamics of the free transfer of ideas between the East and the West, in a multiethnic and multicultural spirit.

Kamo Blues Jazz Gala November Starting with 2010, the Blues Jazz Gala, whose artistic director and organizer was Bela Kamocsa - Kamo, for 19 editions, will turn into the Kamo Blues Jazz Gala, as a sign of respect and appreciation. For the 21st edition of the Kamo Blues Jazz Gala will have guests from Romania and abroad.

The Days of Sacred Music December Coral art has a rich history in the Banat region. The Days of Sacred Music being is an event for the promotion of church choirs, this festival has already become a tradition, which inaugurates the winter holidays. The program will include choir pieces by Romanian and foreign composers.

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TRANSPORTATION Guest Book 2011

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Transportation

Transportation Airport Info 2, Aeroport St. 307200 Ghiroda – Timiş Ph.: +40 256 493639 int./2149 flights info (07-19h) +40 256 491637 int./2144 operator call center - 24h www.aerotim.ro

Airlines Austrian Airlines 6, Unirii Sq. Ph: +40 256 490 320

Carpatair 10, Brediceanu St. (City Business Center) Ph: +4 0256 300903 Lufthansa Traian Vuia Timisoara International Airport Ph: +4 0256 490397 Malev Traian Vuia Timisoara International Airport Ph: +4 0256 493194

Tarom 3-5, 1989 Revolutiei Blvd.

Ph: +4 0256 493563 Wizz Air Traian Vuia Timisoara International Airport Ph: +4 0256 200003

Airline Services Providers

International Trains CRIS R48 05:00 – 08:47 Budapest Keleti TRAIAUS R46 16:20 – 20:17 Budapest Keleti Trains to Bucharest IC 592 06:30 R 694 13:45 IC 594 16:00 R 696 22:40;

Menzies Aviation Traian Vuia Timisoara International Airport Ph: +4 0256 386005

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RENT & TRAVEL Guest Book 2011

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Rent & Travel

Rent & Travel Travel Agencies Aerotravel Lufthansa City Travel 3, Piatra Craiului St. Ph: +4 0256 292960 Cardinal Vacance 2A, Paris St. Ph: +4 0256 272760 Colibri 1, Janos Bolyai St. Ph: +4 0256 201200 Eximtur 2, Piata Victoriei Sq. Ph: +4 0256 492958 Paralela 45 8, Eugeniu de Savoya St. Ph: +4 0256 221025 Recreation 1 AB, Calea Martirilor St. Ph: +4 0256 294393 Ruefa Escape Travel 1, Unirii Sq. Ph: +4 0256 435529 Sirona Travel D12, Renasterii St. Ph: +4 0356 413 329

Rent a Car Sfara Tours 2 and 10, Lucian Blaga St. Ph: +4 0256 433333 Ultramarin 2, Dr. Nicolae Paulescu St. Ph: +4 0256 499706 West Tour 6, Gheorghe Lazar St. Ph: +4 0256 210820

Real Estate ImoServ Group 17, C. Brediceanu, St. Ph: +4 0256 201027 Intermedius Imobiliare 2, Nicu Filipescu St. Ph: +4 0256 242516 Mediana Servicii 5, Paul Chinezu St. Ph: +4 0256 221484

API Rent a Car Traian Vuia Timisoara International Airport Ph: +4 0724 859 590 Auto Europa 1, Miresei St. Ph: +4 0256 444144 Avis Rent a Car Traian Vuia Timisoara International Airport Ph: +4 0256 203234 Bavaria Rent a Car Traian Vuia Timisoara International Airport Ph: +4 0256 386106 Budget Car Rental & Leasing Traian Vuia Timisoara International Airport Ph: +4 0723055168

Hertz Traian Vuia Timisoara International Airport Ph: +4 0256 220252 Yry Rent a Car Rent a Car & Operational Leasing 11, Naturii St. Ph: +4 0723526182

Expo Centers Expovest 7, Calea Lugojului St. Regional Business Center (CRAFT) 22, Eroii de la Tisa St.

Business Centers City Business Centre 10, C. Bradiceanu St. Ph:+40256491042

RHM Cartier 4, Gheorghe Lazar St. Ph: +4 0256 220443 Sedako Group 2, Paul Chinezu St. Ph: +4 0256 437192

SimpliCITY 6, Unirii Sq. Ph: +4 0256 222299

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HEALTH & BEAUTY Guest Book 2011

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Health & Beauty

Health & Beauty Medical Centers Athena Hospital Athena hospital can count over 160 obstetrical, gynecological and surgical interventions. It is the only private hospital in the area which ensures a 24-7 program, an ATI permanent guard line, neonatology and obstetrics-gynecology. The Vitro fertilization and infertility centre is the best endowed in the Country.

113, Calea Aradului St. Ph.: +4 0256 275 625 contact@athenahospital.ro www.athenahospital.ro Brol Medical Center Brol Medical Center is a private clinic that offers plastic and reconstructive surgery (especially cosmetic surgery), general surgery, gynecology, neurosurgery, orthopedic, dermatology and cosmetic services.

From 2009 Brol was moved in a state of the art hospital built according to the latest European standards.

MARCELA BRATU STUDIO 6, Franyo Zoltan St. Highly trained hair stylists awaits you Ph.: +4 0256 306your 108 desires for special occasions to fulfill or casual day to day life. www.brol.ro

Fast Therapy Specialized in manual therapy of muscular and skeletal dysfunctional recovery 7, Al. Golescu St. Ph: +4 0744 525709 On Clinic International Medical Center 7, S. Barnutiu, 1st floor.

Ph: +4 0256 302588

Dentists Dental Office Martir P. Domasneanu St. Bl.72 Ph.: +4 0256 482115

WHERE TO CARE

9A, Memorandului St. Ph.: +4 0724 135 522

Dr. Oana Agoston Clinic They are waiting for you in a newly rearranged AS STYLING house, fullyHair equipped asmanicure, a medical pedicure, clinic to ensure: styling, O.R.L., dermatology, intern, cosmetic are psychiatry, the professional services that As Styling offers in a comfortable and endocrinology, pulmonology, cardiology, gynecology, suitable location. surgery, 33, gastroenterology, physiotherapy, Gheorghe Lazar St. therapeutically massage, Ph.: +4 0256 224 111 homeopathies, bleeding analyzesWISH STUDIO The kind 19 A, Bucovinei St. and qualified personnel –instructed at Hed Academy in Iasi and Ph.: +4 0256 227 092 by some of the best academies in the entire world – will only offer quality

services:Medical haircutCenter and hairstyling, Elos Cosmetic manicure, pedicure and spa, facial 6, Gheorghe Lazar St. cosmetics, waxing and make-up.

Ph: +4 0256 201347 3, Bishop Joseph Lonovici St. (the former Splaiul Coloniei street) Ph: +40 256 433 470 www.wishstudio.ro

LORENZA BEAUTY SPA

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Dr. Istodorescu Clinic 2B, Liege St. AP 8.

Ph: +4 0256 242478

Optics Skyoptic Iulius Mall – Ground floor.

Ph: +4 0256 247595 Sover Iulius Mall – Basement.

Ph: +4 0256 247560

Pharmacies Enigma – natural treatments Iulius Mall – Basement Help Net 5, Victoriei Sq. Sensiblu Iulius Mall – Basement Vlad 1 51-53, 16 Decembrie 1989 Blvd.

Aerobic & Fitness Alana’s Perfect Body Alana’s fitness centre is exclusively dedicated to women and is impressive from all points of view. At the same address Krasotka can be found – a beauty saloon (also for men)and a coffee shop, which transforms the location in a veritable complex dedicated to beauty and to a healthy way of life.

24, Independentei St. Ph.: +4 0356 110 086 www.alnasfitness.ro Emma Beauty Concept 46, Bolzesti St. Ph: +4 0724576172

Iguana Fitness Club For a healthy lifestyle you can choose, at your convenience, depends where you come from, one of two locations of Iguana Fitness Club.

49, Simion Barnutiu St. Open: Mo.-Sat. 09:00-23:00; Sun. 12:00-16:00 28, Gheorghe Ranetti (entrance from Liviu Rebreanu Blvd., near Agip gas station) Open: Mo.-Sat. 08:00-01:00; Sun. 12:00-16:00 World Class Fitness Center Timisoara Iulius Mall – 2nd floor, terrace entrance Ph: +4 0723186162

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Health & Beauty

Marcela Bratu Studio Highly trained hair stylists awaits you to fulfill your desires for special occasions or casual day to day life.

9A, Memorandului St. Ph.: +4 0724 135 522 Perfect Nails –Manicure Saloon Iulius Mall – Basement., Ph: +4 0356 455570 Wish Studio The kind and qualified personnel –instructed at Hed Academy in Iasi and by some of the best academies in the entire world – will only offer quality services: haircut and hairstyling, manicure, pedicure and spa, facial cosmetics, waxing and make-up.

3, Bishop Joseph Lonovici St. (the former Splaiul Coloniei street) Ph: +40 256 433 470 www.wishstudio.ro

Beauty Saloons AS Styling Hair styling, manicure, pedicure, cosmetic are the professional services that As Styling offers in a comfortable and suitable location.

33, Gheorghe Lazar St. Ph.: +4 0256 224 111 Breathless Beauty Center Iulius Mall – Ground floor.

Ph.: +4 0256 247 739

Spa Lorenza Beauty Spa Body and mind treatment. You could try a multi-sensorial experience of aromas, hot stones massages; chocolate, lavender, honey, green tea or ivy wrappings; de-toxin therapeutically treatments with marine algae; facial regeneration, hydration and regeneration treatments; coffee and marine algae waste treatments and many others.

1, Demetriade St., Iulius Mall – Ground floor Open: 10:00-22:00 Ph.:+40 721 041 627 www.lorenza-beautyspa.ro Guest Book 2011

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SHOPPING Guest Book 2011

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Shopping

Shopping Gifts & Souvenirs

Handmade

Banat Souvenir Situated in the heart of Timisoara, Banat Souvenir offers souvenirs and handmade objects, such as t-shirts, magnets, cups, mouse pads, clocks, bookmarks, post cards and many more with images from Timisoara and the Banat Region.

10, Lucian Blaga St Open: Monday to Friday 10 AM - 7 PM. Saturday 11 AM - 3 PM. Ph.: +40 721 481 130

Cloud Factory Cloud Factory is looking to promote the all things handmade. Cloud Factory manufactures your dream...in the cloud world reality is beautiful because every dream is real.. our factory encourages those with there head in the clouds. and a muse at the same time.

Ph.: +40 724 108 787 www.cloudfactory.ro

Preciosa Jewlery Preciosa, a brand first registered in Bohemia in 1915 plays to this tune, adding value to the magical sparkle of crystal. It cautiously maintains and guards its inheritance: tradition, skill, quality, reliability and an innovative approach.

1 Republicii Street (inside „Lux” Igiena hair salon ) Ph.: 0721799322; 0744781468 e-mail: adina.simionescu@onthespot.ro

Artcraft Etno Art Offers you a wide varieties of gifts: popular costumes – they can produce for you on a basis order – well known Romanian embroidered blouse (Ie Rom.), hand made ceramics, religious icons, paintings, graphic art, souvenirs, hand made glassware.

1, Demetriade St., Iulius Mall Open: Monday – Sunday 10 AM – 10 PM Ph: +40 745 325 443

Flower Shops Lotus Iulius Mall - Ground flour Total Trade Bega Commercial Center – Ground flour

Wines Enoteca de Savoya Refined wine bar for tasteing and buying a very special and delicious varieties of wines. You could be assisted by a professional in your journey of wine tasting.

11, Eugeniu de Savoya St. Open: Sunday – Thursday 11 AM – 11 PM Friday – Saturday 11 AM – 1 AM Ph.: +40 256 433 644 www.enotecadesavoya.ro

Galleries Calina You will find a very interesting weekly update contemporary art collection available for sale.

1-3, Marasesti St Popas This is the gallery of Romanian famous Guiness Book record-holder caricaturist Stefan Popa Popas.

8, Vasile Goldis St

Shopping Center Iulius Mall Timisoara 1, Aristide Demetriade St Bega Shopping Center Proclamaţia de la Timişoara, St. Guest Book 2011

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Photo: Floriana Barbu

DINING

Dining

The savoir of the * Romanian mititei

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Of all the wonderful dishes in the Romanian cuisine we chose to present the renowned mititei. For this we use the “mititei recipe at Carul cu Bere (the Beer Cart)” in Bucharest dating back to 16th of June 1920, written by the pub’s Maitre Cuisineur at that time: ”Mititei are a culinary product made of beef, of a size up to 7-8 centimeters and a thickness of about 3 centimeters, which serve as a snack between the main courses with a beer pint, as an entrée or even as main course. The mititei originate in Balkan, coming from Serbia, but can also be found in Greece or Turkey, where they were adopted from by the Romanian cuisine. As the name says it they are shaped into small rolls, being therefore also named mici (Romanian for small) in the Kingdom, made of spiced meat and meant to enchant the guests’ taste.

They are served only freshly fried on embers grill, either with a fork and a knife, or on a toothpick as a snack.”

For preparing the dish, he tells us that “…the meat is taken from the cow’s neck, without removing the fat and is minced twice in the meat grinder… if the meat is too meager some beef suet will be added”, “a gravy of cow

Photo: Floriana Barbu

bones, marrow as well, will be brought to boil”, carefully stirring, adding to the meat the spices only he knew: pepper, savory, juniper, coriander, Turkish cumin, starry anis, lemon zest, garlic, cruet. After that “the meat is worked in a bowl for about an hour… the mixture is covered and put to the ice box for a day and a night”, then taken out and some other studied movements are applied, after that being “put once again into the ice box until the next day”.

Three hours before being fried and served, the mixture is taken out of the ice box… “the mititei are formed into thumb-size long and two-finger-thick shapes, oiled… fried on a live red-hot coal… without letting the heat penetrate the meat too much, so that the juices containing the savor won’t be lost”.

“They are served with fresh rolls or white loaf, with Dijon mustard or piquant and aromatic mustard, with salt and chili.”

The recipe was kindly offered by Mr. Petrica Moise

* grilled minced meat balls

Photo: Cristian Sertea

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Photo: Cristian Sertea

Aquarium With the outstanding view over the city, this classy restaurant offers you fine fish and sea fruits dishes.

700 Sq, City Business Center, 6th floor Ph: +4 0356 170380. Open: 12:00-24:00 Casa cu Flori In the very hart of the city you will be amazed by services, Romanian and International cuisine, location – House of Flowers. Smell it and taste it!

1, Alba Iulia St Ph: +4 0256 435080. Open: 12:00-24:00 Goethestrasse Cozy, cozy, cozy. Good, very good, best German food in town. Do you lihe to chill on the candlelights?

17, Ianos Paris St Ph: +4 0256 492028. Open: Mo-Sa,16:30 – 24:00 Guest Book 2011

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Intermezzo You will be welcomed in this veritable Italian restaurant.

3, Unirii Sq Ph: +4 0256 432429. Open: 12:00-24:00 Porto Arte Authentic traditional Romanian cuisine and International cuisine. The most spectacular restaurant terrace in the city on the bank of Bega. Live concerts.

1, Splaiul Titulescu St Ph: + 4 0728 893 331

Dining

Taverna You will gladly enjoy the Boheme atmosphere, people, live music, really good Greek food in this authentic small tavern.

Go back in time, take a deep breath and relax a bit far away from day to day life.

13, Badea Cartan Sq Ph: +4 0727 210787. Open: Mo-Sa,17:00-01:00 Sabres Various dishes of local and oceanic fish and sea fruits will be offerd. A very nice location for all year long you will find. This is really the best fish restaurant in town. Catch them, they are swimming away from you!

1, Craiova St. (behind OMV-Cluj gas station) Ph: 0356 430001. Open:11:00-23:30

Catering Restaurant Clasic Catering 49A, Dambovita Blvd Ph: +4 0256 274731 Pro Magnum Catering 36, Gheorghe Lazar St Ph: +4 0256 476078

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CHILL OUT Guest Book 2011

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Chill out

Chill out 700 Coffee & Lounge In a central location, near 700 square, at the ground floor of the City Business Center, there is 700 Coffee & Lounge to offer an elegant an friendly place where you can stop by for a coffee or a breakfast in the morning, for a quiet talk during the day or for a glass of wine or a cocktail after work. The evenings brings a lot of events and live concerts. 700 Coffee & Lounge always a pleasure!

Open: Mo.-Thu. 08:00-24:00; Fri. 08:00-02:00; Sat. 10:00-02:00; Sun. 17:00-24:00 City Business Center, ground floor, 700 Sq. Ph.: +4 0771546688

Savastia’s Book First cofee shop of its kind in town. You could enjoy fine drinks, cofees and tea reading one of more then 2000 Sevastia’s books or watching many documentaries or historic movies.

Mo – Fri: 8 am - 12 am Sat – Sun: 9 am – 12 am Swiss House Club Distinction. Refinement. Luxury. Those words are theirs motto and you have to believe it.

1-3, Vasile Parvan St. Ph.: +4 0256202043

Cafe Bonjour A very rafined place, french like cafe.

Open: Mon.-Fri. 08:00-23:00; Sat.-Sun. 12:00-23:00 4, Gh. Lazar St. (next to Lenau Highschool) Ph: +4 0356 176 080 Cafe Corso When shopping is too weary you will enjoy a quiet and confortable oasis inside the mall. Wi-Fi available.

Open: 10:00-22:00 Iulius Mall, Ground Floor Ph: +4 0770 422 720 Eve Fashion Lounge You can’t miss the real taste of lounge bar. Discover a nice fusion of snacks and appetizers, piano bar and soft DJ sets, famous designers boutique.

Open: Mo-Fri 08:00-01:00; Sa-Su 09:00-02:00 1, 3 August 1919 Blvd Ph: +4 0356 100909 Java Coffee House In the middle of the day or in the evening you will find flavored coffees, hot drinks and tasty pizzas. Don’t forget the location: in old classy building in style decorated.

6, Augustin Pacha Ph: +4 0256 432495. Open: 24 hours

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NIGHTLIFE Guest Book 2011

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Nightlife

Nightlife Beer & Bricks Genuine pub. Shady terrace.

7, Mercy St. Ph.: +4 0722 471 833 Club Rock House Live music. Old school rock.

9, E.Ungureanu St. Ph.: +4 0763304084; +4 0760812102 Irish Public House Classic Irish pub. Cool atmosphere.

4, Eugeniu de Savoya St. (corner to Tarcului) Ph: +4 0721106362

Scottish Pub Very vivid and entertaining DJ ‘s parties.

Live music.

9, Eugeniu de Savoya St. Ph.: +4 0722932109

CLUBS Club 30 Great atmosphere, oldies but goldies Good drinks, DJ’s and a lot of fun.

7, Victoriei Sq. Ph.: +4 0256 247878 D’Arc Modern concept in an old beautiful building: on the ground floor coffee bar and down stairs dance club. Wi-Fi available.

5, Unirii Sq; Ph: +4 0722891085

Fratelli Lounge Club & Restaurant Their motto: “ Dream as you’ll live forever, live as you’ll die today.” – James Dean 7, Vasile Parvan St. Ph: +4 0722122123 Le Cinema Newest and most luxurious club in town situated in a former cinema very well arranged.

August 3rd Blvd. , Parcul Poporului (People’s Park) Ph: +4 0740822181

CASINOS Senator 7, Calea Lugojului St (behind Hotel Club Senator) Ph: +4 0256 230 270 Valoro 5, Revolutiei 1989 Blvd.

(Continental Hotel) Ph: +4 0256 490 068

Photo: Cristian Sertea

PUBS

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Banat Region

in rythm with companies' exigences

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Business Connections Public Institutions Mayoralty 1, C.D. Loga St. Ph: +4 0256 408300 Timis County’s Prefecture 17A, 1989 Revolutiei Blvd.

Ph: +4 0256 493667 Timisoara Touristic Infocener 2, Alba Iulia St. Ph: +4 0256 437973 Trade, Industry and Agriculture Chamber 3, Victoriei Sq. Ph: +4 0256 490769

Translations Babylon Consult 4 Gh. Lazar Street, Apt 2/2, Ph: +4 0356 171171 Complet Trad 5, Unirii Sq, 1st flour, Ph: +4 0256 437074

GSM

Couriers

Banks

Taxi

Cargus Ph: +4 0740303160

Alpha Bank 1, Popa Sapca St, Ph: +4 0256 221304

Tudo +4 0256 945

DHL Romania Ph: +4 021 2221777 Fan Courier Express Ph: +4 0256 220059 TNT Romania Ph: +4 0256 498513 Velo Speed Curier Ph: +4 0256 444684

Couriers & Moving World Media Trans Ph: +4 0256 497616

Exchange Offices Royal 3, Carol Telbisz St. Strelitia 1, Revolutiei Din 1989 Blvd.

Orange 8, Republicii Blvd.

Vodafone 2, Republicii Blvd.

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B.C.R. 11, Calea Aradului St, Ph: +4 0256 494400 BRD Societe Generale 1, Socrates St, Ph: +4 0256 302089 Ing Bank 54, Simion Barnutiu St, Ph: +4 0356 406041 Italo Romena Bank 1, Revolutiei 1989 Blvd, Ph: +4 0256 293913 Raiffeisen Bank 8-12, Circumvalatiunii St, Ph: +4 0256 243447 The Royal Bank of Scotland 3, Carol Telbisz St, Ph: +4 0256 290777 Transilvania Bank 4, Republicii Blvd, Ph: +4 0256 293448 Uni Credit Tiriac Bank 7, Republicii Blvd, Ph: +4 0256 293444

Radio +4 0256 940

Professional Restoration Romedilges 12, E de Savoya St., Apt. 15 Ph.: +40 356 458 966

PR & Advertising Cris & Jay Media Professional layout and graphics for the best looking magazines, brochures, catalogues & more. office@crisandjay.ro Ph: +4 0724 37 27 72 Portare media • pr • ads Your partner in Timişoara for specialized writing, public relations and media interaction.

Eye catching graphic design from airport web pages to books and packaging. www.portaremedia.ro; media@portaremedia.ro Ph: +40 722 656 132

Business

Public-private partnership law acquisition contracts financed through funds of the contracting autho­ -rity are attributed, in the case of the public-private partnership law the project’s financing is done by the private investor, respectively the project’s financer.

Vintilă – Secoşan grouped law offices Timişoara, 9 Eugeniu de Savoya St, int. 17-21, 300085 Tel./fax: 0040/356/429179 Mobile: 0040/722/595074 Mobile: 0040/744/996231 www.vintila-secosan.ro

INFO

u What do you think about the Public-private partnership law? Does it offer the premises of an accelerated economy development? w A relative legislative void has been replaced to this form of investment through Law 178/2010 concerning the publicprivate partnership, creating the environment for projects of proportions, particular to this variant of investment.

As a distinctive feature, the law prefers negotiation as a means of determining the private partner, in comparison to the biding procedure.

The negotiation, as defined by article 14 in the law, is the stage where the selected private investors are consulted referring to the clauses mentioned in the contract, the value of the investment and the period of the contract’s validity.

This procedure offers the transparency needed for the publicprivate project’s definition and in order to select the private investors, mainly according to their capacity of financing and managing this type of project. u According to you, is the public-private partnership law an alternative to OUG 34/2006 concerning public acquisition contracts, public works concession contracts and services concession contracts? w The difference between the two normative acts is essential.

If OUG 34/2006 concerning public acquisition contracts, public works concession contracts and services concession contracts establishes in which conditions the public

u Which could be the effects determined by the publicprivate partnership law’s coming into effect? w The law tends to stimulate the private investments process’ attraction into public interest projects, both nationally and locally. In comparison to the actual legislation, the publicprivate partnership grants special attention to public-private partnership projects which imply co-financing with structural cohesion funds.

In conclusion the State, through its authorities can now demonstrate it can become a better administrator of its patrimony. n

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A city opens to sport The city is fighting the nationwide trend of giving up the practice of sports

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It has become part of the local myth that Romania has lost its appetite for practicing sports. While televised sports events capture millions in viewers, the numbers of registered athletes of any kind is decreasing each year.

The newspapers blame the insufficient amount of mandatory sports classes in schools and the diminishing infrastructure, as sports clubs with tradition spanning across decades are being destroyed either by incompetence or bad will.

However, all is not lost in the realm of sports and fitness. At least not here, in TimiĹ&#x;oara.

An independent study conducted by a local city planning firm has revealed that the locals have been provided for with enough gyms, courts and stadiums to meet the European Unions standards although they are hardly used for their intended purposes. As most of those facilities have been built or rebuilt to be used by the younger demographic without supervision, they have sustained damage in the process of improper use or have been forcibly remodeled to accommodate football games, regardless of their original destination. The bigger challenge is not creating facilities, but using them properly, because as, other independent study suggest, the lack of mandatory sport in schools will have very unhealthy effects on the next generations. This is where the private sports clubs and facilities strongly come into play in TimiĹ&#x;oara. The last few years have seen a number of important sports and fitness facilities built by private investors.

Fitness goes private As football remains the number one option for sports with the younger male populations, women of all ages are attending fitness classes and working in gyms in such numbers that they have created a class of their own. There is a number of women-only clubs in the city, which offer gyms, spas, pools, complete with coaches of everything from Pilates to selfGuest Book 2011

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Sport

in the country and the number of bicycle runways in the city increases each year, although they are not always interconnected for a safe cross-town stroll on the bike.

You may have heard of…

Timişoara is one of, if not the first place in the country to see a game of European football. Ever since, the city has seen a number of great teams, but the one that captures everyone’s attention is Politehnica Timişoara. Regular title contenders in the last years, the club has seen many years of rises and falls and in 2011, in its 90th year of existence, it is at the peak of its performance. They’ve been defeated in European qualifiers by Premiership title challengers Manchester City, but their performance in the Romanian league is what matters most for the fans, as the club is yet to produce a championship title in all of its history. With support from local authorities which provide the 50 years old stadium and training grounds but also sponsorships in the range of millions of euros, the club is able to attract an average attendance of 12.000 people to the home games.

Derby games and European matches attract around 27.000 fans in the stands, but that only happens up to 10 times in a season of 34 rounds.

Everything for the crowd

defense techniques. While those facilities are modern and safe, their prices suit most income ranges.

The average adult male dweller is offered at least double the amount of facilities. The number of private small football fields with artificial grass surface is in the dozens, some being open 24/7. Due to the growing competitions, investors build bigger and better change and rest rooms, saunas and bars to completely service their clients. If football or gym is not their sport of choice, the men and women of Timişoara can choose to jog in the many parks the city or on the rubber runway of the Technical Institute. Tennis, squash and badminton clubs with complete facilities also function in the city and they are more and more in demand by the middle and upper class.

The authorities and the business community are very active locally to the problem of sports and each year they organize long distance running and biking competitions. The city hosts one of the most active pro-biking lobby movements

The second most popular sport in the city is basketball.

BCM Timişoara, The Lions, as they are called, depends on city authorities for financing and therefore they can’t match the strength of other clubs which are backed by powerful private companies. Still, the heart of the team is its Serbian core, and their fighting spirit attracts up to 2.000 fans to their games, making BCM the second most important sports franchise of the city.

Struggling to avoid relegation Handball also represents the city in the highest tier of sports in Romania. However, due to its poorer financing from the city hall and Technical University, the club has seen a lot of declining lately. The team managers can’t hold the players when the better offers arrive, so Politehnica Timişoara Handball Club are now considered at most a good source for cheap and promising players. No more than hundreds attend their games and those often leave worried about the future.

Dan Jakabhazi www.portaremedia.ro Guest Book 2011

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DISCOVER TIMISOARA

Photo: Cristian Sertea

Guest Book 2011

Discover Timisoara

Discover Timisoara The theatre and opera’s building (Victoriei Sq.) – built between 1872-1875. The present façade was built during 1934-1936 period.

Unirii Square – this architectural assembly is representative for the old citadel and was built in 18th century. The actual name was given in August 3rd 1919 when the colonel Virgil Economu’s Romanian troupes arrived in Timisoara and they received a great honors festivity.

Bastion fortification: the works at Timisoara fortification system (Vauban style) began in 1732 and have been finished in 1765. At the present time only fragments of it can be seen: Therezia Bastion (Hector-Popa Sapca St.), Eugeniu Bastion fragments (Brediceanu St. – 700 Sq.), Elisabeta Bastion fragments (Calea Aradului St. - Marasti Sq. and Botanic Park).

The Dicasterial Palace (Tepes Voda Sq.) – built in Florentine Renaissance style in 1855-1860.

Prince Eugeniu of Savoya House (Eugeniu de Savoya St. corner to Marasesti St.) - built in 1817 on the place of the former Forforoza Gate, through which the Prince entered the fortress of Timisoara in 1716.

Huniade Castle – built by Carol Robert of Anjou (13071315), rebuilt by Filippo Scolari and Iancu of Hunedoara (the 15th century). Renovated again after Timisoara was conquered by the Austrians in 1716 and rebuilt almost entirely in 1856. It became a museum in 1947.

The Old Mayoralty (Libertatii Square) – was built between 1731-1734.. The edifice was radically renovated

in 1782 and afterwards in 1935, modifying almost entirely the old building’s aspect.

The military casino / The New Generalat (Libertatii Square) – was built during the middle of the 18th century and was destined for the General Commander of the Banat troupes. In 1788 new construction works are being recalled.

The Marasesti Street Synagogue – built between 18631865 in a Moor style.

The Roman-Catholic Bishopric (4 Augustin Pacha Street) – bishop residence since 1780.

The 8 Augustin Pacha House (The Timis Culture, Cults and Patrimony Department) – here operated since 1815 the Klapka Library, the first lending library with reading room in the Hapsburg Empire, owning almost 4.000 volumes.

The house with “The Guild Tree” (Proclamatia de la Timisoara St. corner to Griselini St.)– the building was built in 1752 by baker Leopold Kayser. The Original tree is at the Banat Museum, on the building being placed a replica, realized with the same technique used by the craftsman who conceived the original.

The Dejan (Deschan) Palace – built between 1734-1735 . In 1802, the building’s wing facing the present street of Proclamatia de la Timisoara was added another floor, and the façade was rebuilt in neoclassical style.

The Baroque Palace (the present Arts Museum) – Unirii Square – the old Prefecture – built in 1752-1754, it was the headquarters of the Banat governors. Between Guest Book 2011

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Opera House in Vctoriei Square u

1779-1848 – the County House, between 1849-1860 – Voivodina’s headquarters, afterwards again – the County House. Presently, Arts Museum.

The Lloyd Palace and the western side of the Victoriei Square’s buildings – Timisoara’s “corso”, were built between 1910-1912.

The Cathloic Dome in Unirii Square – built between 1736-1754 after the plans of Erlach, in a baroque style.

The church’s crypt shelters the remains of many bishops of the Cenad Dioceses. The altar’s painting was made by Michel Angelo Unterberger, Viennese painter.

The Metropolitan Cathedral – Victoriei Square – was built between 1936-1946.

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The Szana Pallace (where the Writers’ Union Subsidiary headquarters is presently situated) – was built in 1913

by Szana Sandor.

Photo: Cristian Sertea

Discover Timisoara

The “Trumpeter” Hotel (Augustin Pacha Street, corner to Eugeniu of Savoya) – in the hotel’s protocol apartment slept, in 1866, Alexandru Ioan Cuza, after his abdication, and on his way to exile. The emperor Francisc I of Austria also slept here for one night in 1807. The hotel, with only one floor initially, was built in 1747 . The second floor was added in 1899.

Palace in Timisoara. It was built between 1847-1855.

Here were the oldest square and the first city centre.

The statue in Libertatii Square – the Virgin Mary statue and of Saint Nepomuk’s, reckoned Banat’s saint patron.

It was designed in Vienna in 1759 (late baroque style) from where it was brought by water means and installed in the Paradelor Square (the present Libertatii Square).

1st Saint Gheorghe Square Building (today the headquarters of the BCR Bank) – was the first Bank Guest Book 2011

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One of the Bastion’s entrances u

One of the 1989 Revolution’s monuments - The Bell sculpture in Traian Square u Guest Book 2011

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Discover Timisoara

The Saint Trinity Monument (The plague monument) – placed in Unirii Square, and built after the plague epidemic in 1738 by Deschan de Hansen, a distinguished inhabitant of the city. After losing his wife and child during the epidemic he swore that if he were to outlive the plague, he would build a monument. The statue was sculpted in Vienna between 1739-1740.

The Serbian Orthodox Cathedral (Unirii Square) – built in Viennese Baroque style in 1744/45-1748. The towers have been reconstructed between 1791-1792. The church remains only Serbian since 1865.

The Academy Library (7 Augustin Pacha Street) – the city’s first museum, opened in 1891. Built in the German Renaissance style.

The Timisoara Town Mayoralty – former commercial highschool. Architect Laszlo Szekely began the construction in 1914 and was finished in 1920 by architect Adrian Suciu.

“Lupoaica” statue – Victoriei Sq. was inaugurated in April 23rd 1926 as a gift from Italian Officials.

The Roman-Catholic Church (Balcescu Square) - bearing the Feast of the Saint Heart of Jesus was built during 19121919 in a Neo-Gothic style.

Decebal Bridge (Recolutiei 1989 Blvd to 3 August 1919 Blvd) – was built in 1908.

The People’s Park (on 3 August 1919 Blvd is the main entrance) - designed in 1862.

The Fabric Synagogue (J. lonovici St.) - built in 1899 in a Moor style.

The „Millenium” Roman-Catholic Church (1896-1901) – Romanilor Square, built with the occasion of the 1000 years since the Hungarians settled in the Panonia Fields memorial.

The church was designed in a Neo-Romantic style.

The Electric Plant (behind the Millenium church) functioning since November the 12th 1884, Timisoara thus becoming the first European city with its streets electrically illuminated.

Traian Bridge - built on the area of the former Huniade Bridge, after the latter had been moved on wheels in 1916 and can be seen today facing Andrei Muresanu Street.

Traian Square – an eclectic architectural ensemble, where the main edifice is the Sf. Gheorghe (Saint George) NeoRoman styled church, Serbian since 1863. It used to be the neighborhood’s public square and here is also where the weekly fairs were being held.

The „Saint Mary” Monument (Maria Sq.) - built in 1906 and placed on the site where the torture of Gheorghe Doja is supposed to have taken place.

Obelisk with a cross on top in Traian Square, built in 1774.

The Romanian Orthodox Church (The Old Cathedral) in Alexandru Mocioni Square bearing the Feast of the Falling Asleep of the Most Pure Virgin Mary, today an archbishop church. Built in the inter-war years in a neo-Byzantine style the edifice’s construction has been inspired by the Saint Sofia Church in Constantinople and painted by Catul Bogdan and Ioachim Miloia.

The brewery (Pestalozzi St.) built in 1718 and reconstructed in 1890.

The Roman-Catholic Parochial Church (Gen. Ion Dragalina Blvd.) was built in 1774. Iinside its courtyard being sheltered Saint Nepomuk’s statue (1722) – the spiritual patron of Banat.

The Iron Bridge (crosses the canal between Tudor Vladimirescu St. and Nicolae Titulescu St.) disassembled in 1913 and rebuilt on its present placement in 1917.

Bulding in Fabric u Guest Book 2011

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BANAT REGION Guest Book 2011

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Banat Region

Banloc Castle Partos Monastery

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At 50 km from Timisoara is Banloc Castle. Although many testimonies suggest that Banloc was between 1552 and 1716 the pasha’s headquarters from Timisoara, the present castle was built on old structures in 1793 by the count Lázár Karátsonyi. The building and the park as well were decorated throughout the entire 19th century and until the first years of the 20th century. After World War I the Serbian occupation brings the first devastations prefiguring the robbery at a larger scale that followed between 1948 and 1989. Encumbered of debts, the last count Karátsonyi – Keglevich Imre sells, in 1935, what was left from the domain, including the castle and the park, to the ex-Queen Elisabeth of Greece, the sister of Carol the 2nd of Romania, who shall live here until she will be forced by the communists to leave the country in 1948. She renovates the entire complex, in this way the castle having a last period of glory. Elements of the castle’s decorations became a source of inspiration for the Princess for the decoration of Elisabeth Palace of Bucharest. The castle also has an impressive park in the

style of the English gardens, which unfortunately are not cared for sufficiently.

Partos Monastery At only a few km from the castle is situated Partos monastery (57 km from Timisoara), which has Saint Joseph the New from Partos as titular saint, the orthodox spiritual patron of Banat. The monastery was also a very special place for Queen Elisabeth. The oldest documentary remark that is known to us, this religious establishment dates from 1571, the present church being built in 1750.

After the hard years during the communism, when the religious life from here was interrupted, the place being taken over by Partos parish, in 2008 the monastery is set up again with destination for monks. Today, the laic, social and civic education and religious activity of father Varlaam Almajanu brings more and more visitors. n

Banloc Castle p Partos Monastery p Guest Book 2011

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Buzias Buzias city is a health resort localized in Banatului Depression, documentary attested in 1321

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Buzias city (documentary attested for the first time in 1321) is a health resort localized in Banatului Depression, at an altitude of 128 m, at 34 km South-East of Timisoara. It is one of the oldest health resorts of Romania being famous mainly for Buzias table mineral water bottled here.

Buzias is well known for the carbonated, ferruginous, sodium, chlorinated, bromine-iodide, bicarbonate, calcium and magnesium containing mineral waters, which are known and used since 1811. The resort is recommended for the cure of the cardiovascular system’s diseases, an also for the cure of some hepatic-bilious diseases, posttraumatic affections, peripheral neurological affections, digestive diseases and related diseases.

The pure air, without dust and allergic particles, with plenty of ozone and negative ions, offers the possibility

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of some treatments for asthenia, some endocrine disorders, respiratory disorders, weakened body, physical and intellectual overstressing, anaemia, and rachitic diseases.

Of the most important touristic objectives, we mention: the covered colonnade, unique in Europe, built in Byzantine style in 1875; the park with a surface of 20 ha – it is a dendrologic park with many rare species of trees, the mot important being the Sycamore – a real peace and relaxation oasis; the Balnear Museum, the first museum of this kind in Romania; the popular art collection Iula Florea Troceanu that includes parts which are characteristic for the popular art of Banat; the Roman-Catholic Church; Bacova and Silagiu villages with activities that are specific to rural tourism. n

Banat Region Nako Castle Entrance q

Nako Castle Is built beginning with 1864 by the Nako family of Macedonian-Romanian origin

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Localized at 60 km from Timisoara, in Sannicolaul Mare, it is built beginning with 1864 by the Nako family of Macedonian-Romanian origin, settled here at the end of the 18th century. Since it was built, the castle became quickly the political and cultural centre of the city.

From the city’s monography written by Ioan Romosan, we find out that this castle was not only an architectural monument, but also a veritable museum, in which there are exposed objects of inestimable value that belong to the personal collection of Nako family. Among these there were 5.000 of volumes from the family’s library and a Cinqueccento altar. In the lordly saloons there were exposed famous paintings made by well known artists all over the continent, from different epochs; a Carducci statue from Venice; hunting trophies; invaluable old furniture; silver objects; bronze sculptures, china collection. In the countess’s bedroom there is an very old jewellery box containing original letters from Richard Wagner, Franz Liszt, Istvan Szechenyi, Ferenc Deak. All of these valuable objects were lost without a trace after 1919.

In the communist period it was a school for tractor drivers, a museum, the house of pioneers and a disco, and in the present is the city’s House of Culture and a museum. n Guest Book 2011

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Bazos Forest in Autumn p Bazos forest in Spring

Bazos Dendrologic Park It is one of the most valuable collections of trees and scrubs from Romania

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This lovely arboretum is situated at 20 km East of Timisoara in Bazosul Nou locality, in an area of depression. It is one of the most valuable collections of trees and scrubs from Romania. It is extended on a surface of 60 ha and it was built from an oak forest arranged in landscape style. The natural oak forest, 150 years old, is of peculiar beauty, and the scientific collection is a living museum that can be visited in any season.

The first species of the collection (The American Park) were brought in 1909 and 1913 from Arnold Arboretum (the arboretum of Harvard University, the largest in the world). Bazos arboretum has the richest collections of Guest Book 2011

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American oaks (Carya hicory) from Romania, magnolias, as well as some unique species from North America.

The park was the property of Ambrozy family until 1934, when, being bought by the House of State’s Forest Rangers, it was given for use to the Institute of Forestry Research and Management (ICAS). It has the statute of scientific reservation since 1954 and of nature monument since 1988. Since 1994 it is considered a secured area for the protection of gene pool and ecological resources biodiversity. The park has an important role in the effort of maintaining of ecological balance in Timis County. n

Banat Region

Recas wine vault Older legends say that on these lands was born and spent his childhood Bachus the god of wine

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From the oldest times the vine from this area aroused and then quenched the thirst of the body and spirit.

The first general information about the crop of vineyard in the area of Banat belongs to the period of Roman occupation in Dacia province, 3rd century AD. Older legends say that on these lands was born and spent his childhood Bachus the god of wine at Dacians adopted afterwards by Greeks as Bachus-Dyonisos, and by Romans as Bachus.

The oldest written document about the vineyard of Recas dates back to the 11th of November 1447, being a document by which Mihail of Ciorna, the Ban of Severin, buys the vineyard from Ioan and Ecaterina Magyar for 32 Hungarian golden florins.

Beginning with 1772 and until 1786, emigrated in the region willingly or determined by poverty a large

number of Swabians, habitants of Bavaria, of Ulm area, area in which the Scwaben dialect was spoken.

The cohabitation between Romanians and Germans completed the legend’s premises: rich land, generous sun, hardworking and skilled people.

Passing from the tradition and history to the present, it can be said that the blessing of the legendary god continues to protect the destiny of Recas Vineyards.

The people from here were not satisfied to live from memories and brought to Recas everything that is new in the field of vine and viticulture. The result: an excellent vine, pour les connaisseurs, a sincere vine, worthy of the man choosing it. The Recas Vineyards is at 21 km from Timisoara on the main road and await you with a restaurant worthy of the quality of vines that are produces here. n

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Liman Valley At the feet of Poiana Rusca Mountains you can hike in the area, you can ride the bicycle and you can visit Tomesti Glass Factory

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From Cosava locality, situated on DN68A (E673, LugojDeva), at approximately 100 km from Timisoara, you can start-up on the county road DJ684 until Valea lui Liman resort. The touristic complex was built in the 70’s and it was recently bought by a local investor who restores it.

At the feet of Poiana Rusca Mountains you can hike in the area, you can ride the bicycle, you can visit Coltu Cave and the old trout farm from Luncani, which are nearby. The road from Luncani continues towards Guest Book 2011

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t Tomesti Glass Factory p Tomesti church Zsolt – Gladna Romana – Gladna Montana, place from which you can get to Firdea and Surduc Lake. Touristic objectives that can be visited in the area: Romanesti Cave; Izvorul Miron monastery (1911); the glass factory of Tomesti (1820).

At Valea lui Liman the famous folklore festival “Nedeia romanilor de la Valea lui Liman” is being held each year, in the 3rd Sunday of August. n

Banat Region

Chalets in Crivaia resort u Valiug lake q

Crivaia ... is the second touristic base as size and importance from Semenic Mountains

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Placed on the southern edge of Gozna Lake, at an altitude of 650 meters, in a glade surrounded by thick forests, it is the second touristic base as size and importance from Semenic Mountains. The local climatic factors, the forest’s and of mountain peaks shelter, the fresh air with lots of ozone, creates the perfect atmosphere for relaxation, rest and recovery. The resort offers possibilities of hikes on touristic routes, nautical sports, accommodation and fun.

Gozna Lake or Valiug Lake is not included in the park, but it is situated at its limit. It is nearby Valiug locality. It was built in 1953, it has a length of over 3 km, a surface of 66,2 ha and a capacity of almost 12 million cubic meters. There can be practiced nautical sports because there are docks equipped with boats and pontoons, the lake representing at the same time an ideal place for relaxation, fun, bath and tanning.

Crivaia Resort is situated at 25 km of Resita (110 km of Timisoara) and the access is very easy by road. n Guest Book 2011

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Mic mountain ski resort p

Muntele Mic Muntele Mic resort is at an altitude of 1525 m

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At approximately 22 km from Caransebes (117 km from Timisoara) on DJ 608A you can reach to Valea Craiului ski lift station (773 m altitude), where a chairlift with a length of 3492 m (the longest in the country) and an altitude gap of 799m allow a fast ascension on Muntele Mic. From here, the access in the resort can be also made by an asphalted road from which one can see the barrier lake and the daffodil glade from Zervesti (where annually takes place a beautiful village feast) and the ruins of Ruieni tower, Ovid Tower which in the Middle Ages was a defence fortification and a surveillance point at the same time. Stoica de Hateg believed that through here passed in his road to exile, the unfortunate Ovidiu, who delighted by the beauty of these lands would have said: “Cara mihi sedes� (my beloved home), and that would be the origin of Caransebes city Guest Book 2011

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name. Muntele Mic resort is at an altitude of 1525 m and from here you can reach Caleanu or Tarcu peaks (where an important meteorological station is situated) in about three hours, you can reach Cuntu peak (in here there is also a meteorological station) and in four hours in Poiana Marului resort which is situated at an altitude of 680 m. An important part of these resorts is played by altitude, pure air with Mediterranean influenced climate, the flora and fauna, the cold rivers and superb views.

The winter sports that can be practiced on Muntele Mic from November to May on one of the three tracks: Valea Soarelui, easy level, 1700 m; Caladare, medium level, 600 m; Sub Teleschi, hard level, 1400 m. The ascension is made by two modern ski lifts. There is also a nocturne installation. n

Banat Region

Garana A fairy tale location the only missing thing that people have created was a festival – Garana Jazz Festival

p Garana Jazz Festival

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Garana Sculpture Camp p

Garana locality is situated at 146 km from Timisoara.

At an altitude of approximately 1000 meters, Semenic Mountains with their impressive fir and beech forests occupies the entire landscape. Place occupied in the past exclusively by colonized Germans, Garana became an appreciated resort for its moderate climate and the air that is rich in ozone and ultraviolet rays. For those who like water, there is a swimming pool with a beach at only 10 minutes by foot, situated in a lovely forest of firs.

During the cold season, the ski, sledge and snowboard amateurs find their ideal environment. The hiking that you can make to the Semenic plateau is unforgettable.

To such a fairy tale location the only missing thing that people have created was a festival – Garana Jazz Festival (www.garana-jazz.ro). This year, during 23-25 of July there will be the 14th edition. During the anterior editions the scene from Garana known nationally and internationally famous namesw. n Guest Book 2011

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Cheile Carasului

Cheile Carasului represents a true natural museum

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Cheile Carasului represents a natural reservation in which real carst formations meet: Buhui cave; Buhui lake; Lucai river; Comarnic cave – approximately 6201 m long, with 2 stages, monument of the nature, cave reservation; Tolosu cave with 5 siphons, approximately 1847 m long and 87 m dislevelment; Liliecilor cave, approximately 800 m long; 50 m dislevelment and numerous stalagmite formations.

Cheile Carasului has as starting point Carasova locality that is situated on road 58, between Anina and Resita, at approximately 2 hours from Timisoara. An important departure point towards the openings is constituted by Guest Book 2011

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Semenic and Crivaia resorts on the routes: - DJ 582: Resita - Valiug - Pasul Prislop - Semenic (40 km); - DJ 582: Resita - Valiug (22 km) + Crivaia variant (another 6 km).

Routes: Carasova - Prolaz - Cheile “inaccessible” - Tolosu Cave - Prolaz - Pasac Hill – Carasova; Marking: blue strip; Time: 5 - 6 hours or Semenic - Goznei Glade - Crivaia resort - Betii Glade - Prolazului Meadow - Iabancea carst plateau - the ruins of Carasova Stronghold – Carasova commune; Marking: blue strip; Time: 5 - 6 hours. n

Banat Region

Trei Ape Brebu River, Gradistea River and Semenic River that meet here in order to give birth to Timis River

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It is situated on the shore of the barrier lake Trei Ape, at an altitude of 850 meters, being nearby (10 minutes) Garana locality (146 km from Timisoara) and Brebu Nou locality. In here there can be practiced nautical sports, boating and water-bicycling, there being multiple possibilities of accommodation in hotels, chalets, cottages, pensions, camping. The lake has a surface of 45 ha and a volume of 6,3 millions cubic meters, representing the highest barrier lake from Semenic Massive. The lake is formed by the barrier of three waters Brebu River, Gradistea River and Semenic River that meet here in order to give birth to Timis River. n

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Poiana Marului Poiana Marului resort is only at 145 km from Timisoara in a picturesque landscape dominated by pine and deciduous forests spread between Muntele Mic and Varful Pietrii

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The sub-zone Poiana Marului is placed at an altitude of 500 meters. In Poiana Marului resort you can get

by DN68, Caransebes-Hateg, with deviation by Zavoi commune.

In 1977 was given for use a hotel with 400 places, a trout farm and some hunting areas, in this way being marked the beginnings of organized tourism in this part of the country.

The local climate is of moderate-continental type with under-Mediterranean influences. According to the measurements effectuated by a group of French specialists, the negative ionization coefficient from the area is 10 times higher than the one existent in the water fall point from Niagara Falls – or the one of Danos resort from Switzerland. n

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Banat Region

Cheile Nerei Nera River has a length of 131 km, it springs from Semenic Mountain, under Piatra Goznei Peak (1447 m) and flows into the Danube

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It is situated at the South-West limit of the country, to the South of Aninei Mountains, in Caras-Severin County, at approximately 170 km from Timisoara. It includes a carst area on the middle course of Nera River that also constitutes the spine of the Park. You can get in the Park on the following county and communal roads: Reşiţa - Oraviţa - Anina - Bozovici ; Reşiţa - Anina - Bozovici ; Bozovici Şopotu Nou - Cărbunari ; Băile Herculane – Bozovici.

Nera River has a length of 131 km, it springs from Semenic Mountain, under Piatra Goznei Peak (1447 m) and flows into the Danube. Inside the Park, after it goes through Almajului Depression from NE to SW, in front of Sopotu Nou locality, Nera changes its direction towards NW going through the beautiful Channel of Nera. On the Park’s territory there are two natural lakes: Dracului Lake, unique carst phenomenon in our country, with a surface of about 700 square meters and a depth of maximum 12 m and Ochiul Beiului with a surface of 284 square meters, maximum depth of 3,6 m.

The geologic sub-stratus is formed of carst phenomenon

that gives the region a special picturesque aspect. The park constitutes the largest compact stock of calcites from Romania, crossed by Nera River, making a sector of wild openings of 20 km, with all possible carst phenomenon (grooves, sinkholes, dry valleys, blank valleys, caves, springs, etc.). The opening’s view is dominated by abrupt walls bent in some places, at the basis of which Nera has created numerous bounded meanders and erosion pressure cooker. There are also remarked tunnels and access paths made by man.

Possible activities: tourism, ecotourism and hiking on the marked routes, especially during May – November; rafting on Nera on spring and the beginning of summer; alpinism on the specially arranged tracks; bicycle tourism on the forest roads; speleology in the Park’s cave (the activity requires special equipment and training); taking pictures and filming the flora and fauna are made with the approval and under the surveillance of the Park Administration’s staff. n Guest Book 2011

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Baile Herculane The resort is one of the oldest health resorts of the world, with an age documentary attested of 1848 years

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Baile Herculane resort (198 km from Timisoara) is one of the oldest health resorts of the world, with an age documentary attested of 1848 years. Situated on Valea Cernei, at 5 km from the road that connects West of the Country to Bucharest – DN 6(E70) and the international railway Bucharest – Timisoara – Moravita, the resort is accessible also by the Danube, from East: Sulina – Galati – Drobeta Turnu Severin – Orsova, from West: Vienna – Budapest – Belgrade – Orsova.

Baile Herculane resort is an integrant part of Valea Cernei-Domogled National Park and it has and extremely picturesque position. Its attractive and fascinating settling on Cerna Valley, at an altitude of 160 m, confers the resort a pleasant climate with Mediterranean influence.

The uninterrupted existence for two millenniums of Baile Herculane resort was favoured by the miraculous

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efficiency of thermal springs and also by the picturesque settlement of the resort in a valley sheltered by the mountains, of a special beauty. The rich diversification of cure methods from the classical balnear cure to different methods of physical and electrotherapy, massages, acupuncture, etc. confers this resort a high degree of attractiveness. The resort has accommodation places in the large sanatorium-balnear hotels, motels, touristic pensions, rooms in the houses of the locals in a pleasant environment, and camping as well inside or outside the city. The multiple means of relaxation and fun – restaurants, bars, summer terraces, swimming pools with thermal water, sauna, massage, billiard, etc. – as well as the hiking and camping possibilities in the resort and on Cerna Valley, constitutes another attraction for the visitors of the city-health resort Baile-Herculane. n

Banat Region

Semenic

On Semenic you can go hiking, go skiing and snowboarding on the resort’s tracks

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Semenic resort is situated in Caras-Severin County, in Semenic Mountains (Semenic Moutain peak 1476 m), that belong to the Western branch of the Meridional Carpathians that are surrounded by old woods of beech, white birch or fir-tree, and place from which spring the rivers: Barzava, Nera, Timis.

The access is made by DJ 582 Resita – Valiug – Pasul Prislop – Semenic (40 km from Resita). From Valiug there is another option with chairlift. Between Timisoara and Resita there are 111 km. The touristic attractions are: Semenic Mountains; Valiug barrier lake; Trei Ape barrier lake; Crivaia resort; Anina Mountains; Cheile Carasului; Comarnic Cave; Saint Ilie Monastery. On Semenic you can: go hiking; go skiing and

snowboarding on the resort’s tracks; do mountain-biking; paraglide jumps; go fishing and practice nautical sports on the barrier lakes from the area; visit the caves from Cheile Carasului. Semenic resort is recommended especially for winter sports because the winters have abundant and persistent snows (60 – 80 cm, the average thickness of the snow layer), and the snow lasts until the spring season. Ski tracks: For beginners: low difficulty, 350 m length, 42 m altitude gap, T-bar lift; Goznuta: medium difficulty, 500 length, 110 altitude gap, T-bar lift; Large slalom: high difficulty, 1200 m length, 220 m altitude gap; Slalom: high difficulty, 520 m length, 180 m altitude gap. n

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Straja The resort is worth visiting in the summer and winter as well because of the superb landscapes and the extremely clean air

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Straja touristic complex is situated at an altitude of 1380 m in the heart of Valcan mountains and one can get there from Lupeni via Petrosani on DN 66A. The resort is worth visiting in the summer and winter as well because of the superb landscapes and the extremely clean air. Straja has a good accommodation capacity at pensions and villas of 1, 2 or 3 stars.

In Straja there are arranged 7 ski tracks, each one

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of them being equipped with cable transportation installation (ski drag). Four of these tracks are beneficiating of a nocturne installation, this making possible the use of the tracks until late in the evening. The tracks are arranged in Straja by 5 equipments of snow ramming in order to keep them in optimal conditions for skiing. n q Straja Resort Ski

Banat Region

Retezat National Park In Retezat there are over 1190 species of plants

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It is situated at 200 km from Timisoara (DN68) and it is one of the most beautiful mountain parks of the world, unique in its biodiversity and because of the beauty of the landscapes, with minimum human interference in these places. In Retezat there are over 1190 species of plants, of which 90 cannot be seen anywhere else; 185 species of birds; 80 lakes; more than 20 peaks of over 2000 m.

The access from the South is made through Petrosani by train and bus. To Lupeni one can get by train, and in the area of Lupeni railway station you can get on microbuses (maxi-taxi), that circulate on hourly basis, starting with 6 a.m., until 6 p.m. (in the winter season) or until 8 p.m. (in the summer season).

You can visit and obtain information from the Visiting centers of Nucsoara and Ostrovel. In here also you can find the touristic map of Retezat and other materials.

There is public transportation (train or maxi-taxi) in order to get to Carnic (PNR entrance from the North) or to Campu lui Neag (PNR South entrance).

Outside the park there are multiple accommodation options in hotels, villas and pensions. Touristic objectives near the park: Huniazilor Castle, Deva stronghold, Tara Hategului museum, Ulpia Traiana Sarmisegetuza, Densus church, Nucsoara church, Gura Cetatii cave, etc. n Guest Book 2011

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DISCOVER ROMANIA Guest Book 2011

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Banat Region

Bucharest

p CEC Palace

Bucharest (Romanian: Bucureşti) is Romania’s capital and largest city (2 million inhabitants)

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Bucharest (Romanian: Bucureşti) is Romania’s capital and largest city (2 million inhabitants). Bucharest is the primary entry point into Romania known in the past as “The Little Paris”, has changed a lot lately and today it has become an interesting mix of old and new that has little to do with its initial reputation.

Important Landmarks u Parliament Palace - In the center of Bucharest the tourist can see the world’s second largest building (after the US Pentagon), formerly named “Casa Poporului” (People’s House). u Old Center - contains an assortment of middle 19th century buildings, ruins of the Wallachian princes’ medieval court, churches, bank headquarters, a few hotels, clubs, restaurants and shops. u Revolution Square (Piaţa Revoluţiei) - Site of part of the Romanian Revolution of 1989. Centrally located. u The Arc of Triumph (Arcul de Triumf). u The Most Important Museums: Village Museum (28-30

Kiseleff Road); Art Museum -located in the building of the former Royal Palace (49-53 Calea Victoriei); Cotroceni Palace Museum (1 Geniului Blvd)1 - today it is also the residence of the Romanian presidents ; National History Museum (12 Calea Victoriei); Military History Museum (125-127 M. Vulcănescu) ; “Grigore Antipa” Natural History Museum (1 Kiseleff Road). u Churches: Curtea Veche (Old Court) Church (1559).Near Piata Unirii; Patriarhiei Church (1658) and Mitropoliei Palace (1708), on the hill overlooking Piata Unirii; Colţea Church – (1702) Near Piaţa Universităţii; Sfântu Gheorghe Nou (New St. George) Church –dating from the 18th century, houses the tombs of the princes Constantin Brâncoveanu and Ion Mavrocordat. u Parks: Cişmigiu Garden (designed 1845-1860), located in city center; Herăstrău Park (in the north); The Botanical Garden, established in 1884 near Cotroceni Palace; Carol Park (designed in 1906), a quiet oasis not so far from Piata Unirii. n Guest Book 2011

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Dracula Fiction and Dracula, fiction character

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If you are going to ask a 14 years old kid from Japan, an old lady of 75 years from the U.S.A. or a young lady of 25 years from Sweden who was Dracula, most probably all of them will answer that he was a vampire from Transylvania who lived for hundreds of years.

What do these people have in common and why they believe this? The answer is simple: in 1897 appears the novel of the Irishman Bram Stoker – Dracula. Although some critics affirm that he had no knowledge about the medieval history of Romania, others believe that the inspiration character for Stoker was the ruler of Walachia, Vlad Tepes/Vlad the Impaler – opinion that I share.

The popularization of this fictional character began once with staging of the theatre play Dracula (adaptation of Stoker’s novel), on Broadway in 1927 and which had a huge success having 261 representations. The play’s star, Bela Lugosi, was shortly called to Hollywood where he glowed once again in the featured film Dracula, in 1931. From here on there was a real explosion of films, theatre plays, books, documentaries, articles, commercials, etc. Although I am not the adept of many compatriots of being offended because a national hero is practically denigrated for such a long time, I will try to briefly explain the real historic character Dracula.

Dracula, historic character Son of the ruler Vlad Dracul and the great grandson, on his mother side, of Alexandru cel Bun, ruler of Moldavia, the new Walachian prince embodied the most chosen qualities of his predecessors, belonging to the Romanian dynasties of the Middle Ages: Basarabs (in Walachia) and Musatins (in Moldavia).

He beneficiated of princely education, he spoke 4 Guest Book 2011

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historic reality foreign languages – Latin, German and Hungarian, Turkey (that he learned when he was held prisoner by the Turks between 1442 and 1448) – he had a exquisite military training, fighting in the campaigns next to great commanders of those times, such as Iancu of Hunedoara. After his father’s death becomes the ruler of Walachia several times: 1448, 1456-1462, 1476.

His fame is owed to the brutality with which he treated his enemies, torturing them, tortures among which the favorite was the impalement because of which he gained his alias of Tepes (the Impaler).

Although the stories about him were very exaggerated, especially by the Saxon traders from Transylvania, let us not forget that Vlad the Impaler lived in an epoch in which brutality, cruelty and tortures were ordinary and constituted weapons on the basis of which the psychological war was carried. It also important to

remark that the impalement, as punishment method, was “invented” by Turks, which were the greatest enemies of Vlad, and which as an irony they sensed to the full.

Discovering the real Dracula you must visit Sighisoara (the place where he was born), the stronghold’s ruins from Targoviste, Curtea Veche of Bucharest, Snagov monastery, where the legend says that he is buried, Brasov and, of course, the famous Castle of Bran.

Departing from Timisoara towards Brasov (399 km by road) you can visit in here in a few days Bran Castle and Sighisoara, which is the only inhabited medieval stronghold from Europe. Going towards Bucharest (50 minutes by plane from Timisoara) you can visit Curtea Veche in the capital and Snagov Monastery (at a few km from Bucharest) and from here Targoviste stronghold (82 km by road). n

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t Medieval Sunset Tower Targoviste

He was born in Transylvania, at Sighisoara, in 1430 or more probably in 1431, the year in which the candidate Vlad Basarab, his father, who took refuge in here, was received by the Roman-German emperor, Sigismund of Luxembourg, in the Order of the Dragon, cavalry order founded in 1408 for the defense of Catholicism and the relegation by crusade of the Turkeys from Europe. The blazon of the dragon smitten by the cross will bring him the alias “Dracula”, and for his children born after this date, Vlad and Radu cel Frumos, that of “Drăculea” (or “Draculea”) with the sense of “the son of the Dragon”, in folksy language “the son of Dracu – eng. Devil”.

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Bucovina a cradle of old civili This region is known worldwide for its famous painted monasteries

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Bucovina as a historic region is now split between Romania and Ukraina. Its southern part is now in Suceava county (NW on Romania map) , where history blends with legends and religion.

This region is known worldwide for its famous painted monasteries - UNESCO patrimony: Voronet – with its famous frescos painted in the unique “blue of Voronet”, Putna – where is the tomb of Stefan cel Mare/Stephan the Great, Moldovita, Sucevita, Dragomirna, Varatec, Humor.

All these architectonic wonders are completely by an beautiful natural surroundings. The Rarau Mountain, the valley of Sucevita and of Moldova with its tributary stream, Moldovita, the pass of Bistrita river, the centenary old forests from Slatioara are only a few highlights of this area.

The popular architecture is really unique. The verandas, doors and window - frames, wells and gates are real wooden art crafts. The embroideries, the decoration of Easter eggs with geometrical shapes, the manufacturing of traditional costumes, are also important part of Bucovine’s unique treasury.

Guests are warmly welcomed in Bucovina with a glass of wine or of traditional home-made “tzuica” (plum brandy), and the local gastronomy is a real adventure with temptations: the traditional “mamaliga” (polenta) with cheese, the smoked trout and cheese, and the sarmale (meat rolls in cabbage leaves) are all local specialties waiting to be tasted by visitors.

The easiest way to rich Bucovina is to go on Suceava – where you could also visit the 15th century Throne Fortress of medieval Moldavia - by car (575 km), train (661km) or plane as you wish and to established there your headquarter and then to enjoy all the wonders of this blessed land. n

Voronet monastery UNESCO monument p Guest Book 2011

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Banat Region

zation UNESCO patrimony

p Suceava XVth century throne fortress

p Gura Humorului

Putna monastery UNESCO monument u Guest Book 2011

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Maramures is not only

The most famous attraction in Maramures are no doubt the wooden

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The easies way to rich Maramure is to take an internal flight to the Baia Mare airport . By car or by train Baia Mare is about 350 km away from Timisoara.

Located in the northwestern extremity of our country, at the border with Ukraine Maramures altitudes vary between 200 m in the lower areas and 2300 m in the alpine areas The highest is Pietrosu Peak in Rodna Mountains (2303 m), situated at 10 km away from Borsa. In these mountains there is the most important natural reservation in the north of the country, attested

by UNESCO. Gutai Peak (1443 m) belongs to the volcanic mountains that also represent an important geologic reservation in Romania. Maramures Mountains are also worth mentioning for the picturesque setting they make, but the routes are rather difficult. In this touring area you will also encounter several lakes, such as: Firiza (a barrier lake), Ocna Sugatag and Costiui (salty water lake with curative value), Iezerul (glacier lake in Pietrosu Peak). Moreover, in this area you will come across several mineral water springs located at the foot of the mountains, among which we mention: Borsa, Craciunesti, Breb, Botiza, etc. Ski resorts: Cavnic, Borsa, Izvoare, Suior, Mogosa.

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the wooden churches

n churches, unique in the world Important Cities in the region are: Baia Mare is the residence city of Maramures county even from 1329, situated at he foot of Gutai Mountains; Borsa is a health resort, situated at the intersection of Viseu River with Fantana River, at the foot of Rodna Mountains; Sighetul Marmatiei is a locality of great importance to the Romanian history due to the prison where political representatives, lay persons and culture personalities were imprisoned, being victims of the regime imposed in Romania in march 1945; Sapanta is a famous village for its graveyard “Cimitirul Vesel” (“the Jolly Cemetery”) as well as for the hats worn by the men who live here, called “clop” and which are highly appreciated by tourists.

The most famous attraction in Maramures are no doubt the wooden churches, unique in the world, are spread all over the area, in every village. In Surdesti there is the wooden church with the highest steeple (54 m in height). The oldest wooden church in the world erected in 1364 is to be found in Ieud village; here, there was also found the oldest book written in Romanian “The Ieud Codex”. The highest wooden construction in Europe is also to be found in Maramures, in Barsana Monastery that has a steeple of 62 m. n

Wooden church u Merry Cemetery Sapanta detail uu Guest Book 2011

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q Bucegi Mountains view from Busteni

q Brasov Council Square at Christmas

q Peles Castle

q Poiana Brasov ski resort

q Rasnov medieval fortress

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Brasov & Prahova Valley Brasov is a touring center par excellence due to its social-cultural values

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This area overlaps on the territory of Prahova and Brasov counties and it represents one of the most important touring areas in Romania due to the different winter sports that can be practiced here, to the mountaineering trips one can take up the mountains as well as due to the wonderful scenery along Prahova Valley.

Brasov is the residence city of the county bearing the same name, documentary attested in 1234 under the name of Corona Nowadays, Brasov is a touring center par excellence due to its social-cultural values and to the fact that it represents a starting point for mountaineering trips in the surrounding areas. Moreover, in Brasov the music festival “Cerbul de Aur” takes place every year. Sightseeing: Brasov fortress; Bartholomew Church is the oldest monument in the city (1223); Black Church (1384 - 1477); Piata Sfatului Square, White Tower,etc.

You can reach Brasov by plane, by car (399 km from Timisoara) or by train.

Bucegi Mountains are situated mainly on the territory of Prahova County and they represent one of the most interesting sightseeing points in Romania. Their altitudes exceed 2000m: Omu Peak, 2505 m; Costila Peak, 2498 m, Caraiman Peak, 2326 m; the scenery is wonderful, the abysses and the peaks alternate with strange wind or rain shaped rocks Sfinxul, Babele. Bucegi Massive was declared

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t Black Church in Brasov

a National Park that includes several complex natural reservations. To the wonderful scenery the alpine vegetation should be added; this is extremely varied from one season to another. Many plants species were declared “natural monuments”: the edelweiss, the wild carnation, the orchid.

Several itineraries pass through these reservations and here you can admire the natural setting, the vegetation and sometimes the fauna (the wild black goat, the bear etc).

Sinaia is a mountain resort situated at 45 km from Brasov, at an altitude of 800 -1000 m. It is at the foot of Furnica Mountain in Bucegi Massive. If you happen to be in Sinaia, do not miss to visit Peles Castle inaugurated in 1883 and built by Carol the 1st in German Renaissance, Italian and British Renaissance style; French Rococo and Hispanic Moor styles intermingle in this interior design. Peles Castle, nowadays a museum, includes many works of art: stained glass, tapestries, embroideries, paneling, paintings, sculptures, wood or ivory statues, oriental carpets, all these being rare and valuable art objects. Pelisor Castle was built from 1899 to 1903 in Art Nouveau style. Sinaia Monastery was built in 1695.

Also important resorts are: Poiana Brasov, Busteni, Azuga.

Major sightseeings in the region are: Bran Castle, Rasnov Castle, Prejmer fortress, Harman fortress, Ghimbav fortress and those are only a few. n

Some of the Predeal Inn’sq

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Sighisoara The town of Sighisoara is the most enchanting of all the Transylvanian towns

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Situated in the heart of Transylvania Sighisoara is 332 km away from Timisoara. The quickest way to rich there is to take a direct flight to Sibiu (50 min.) and then by road another 90 km.

The town of Sighisoara is the most enchanting of all the Transylvanian towns. Its medieval buildings, gilded roofs and towers have been unspoiled by war or modern industry.

Sights

ppp Medieval street pp The house with stag detail p The orthodox cathedral t Puppet Tower

Sighisoara Citadel - a 12th Century Saxon edifice, it is the historic center of the city. Still inhabited, the citadel is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Clock Tower (“Turnul cu Ceas”)- Built in 1360 and standing at 60 meters tall atop the citadel hill. History museum inside, balcony with a great view on the top.

Monastery Church (“Biserica Mânăstirii”) - Lutheran church in late Gothic style, located next to the Clock Tower, built starting with 1291 by the Dominican Order Weapon Museum - next to Vlad’s birthplace. Very small, but it contains an interesting selection of medieval weapons (swords, arrows, etc.).

Covered Staircase (“Scara Şcolarilor”) - an old stone staircase with a wooden roof along the whole span. This leads up to the Church on the Hill, the cemetery and the Joseph Haltrich High School (a.k.a. “School from the Hill”).

Church on the Hill (“Biserica din Deal”)- Lutheran church in late Gothic style, contains many frescoes and a crypt.

Vlad Dracul House (“Casa Vlad Dracul”) - allegedly the place where Vlad Tepes “The Impaler” (a.k.a. “Draculea”) was born.

Bust of Vlad Tepes - located around the corner from his birthplace, within sight of the Clock Tower. n Guest Book 2011

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Sibiu The former European Capital of Culture in 2007 Sibiu is 256 km away from Timisoara

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The former European Capital of Culture in 2007 Sibiu is 256 km away from Timisoara. You can get there by plane, by car or by train very comfortable and very easy.

Touristic sights: The Huet Square - the oldest market in the city (12th century); The Large Square first mentioned in documents in 1411 as a cereal market; Defense Towers, in 1751 Sibiu had 39 defense towers nowadays, only 9 of these have been preserved; The Evanghelic Church, located in Huet Square raised in the 14th century, with a height of 73.34 meters, the tower is the tallest in Transylvania; The Asylum Church, 4 Azilului St., it is a hall-like church built entirely in bricks; the first hospital in Sibiu, attested since 1292 also functioned in this location.

The Brukenthal National Museum – is a complex of five museums: Brukenthal Palace; The Altemberger House Museum of History; Museum of Natural History; Museum of Pharmacy; The “August von Spiess” Museum of Hunting; The Complex of Astra museums group together four ethnography and anthropology museums: ASTRA Traditional Folk Civilization Museum; ‘Emil Sigerus’ Museum - German cultural heritage; ‘Franz Binder’ Museum of Universal Ethnography.

Around Sibiu you can visit: Marginimea Sibiului (a unique ethnographic area); a series of fortified churches from 13th-15th century; Ocna Sibiului resort for spa and relaxation; Paltinis resort for winter sports; natural reservations – Balea, Cindrel, Arpasel, Fagaras, Cisnadioara. n

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p Large Square

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p Saint Sevastius fortified church

p Central Square

p Sibiu by night Sibiu Large Square panoramic view q

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Black Sea Resorts One can find everything there: modern hotels and facilities, a busy night-life

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Marvelous weather from spring to autumn and miles of golden sand make Romania’s Black Sea resorts a very attractive destination for beach holidays. One can find everything there: modern hotels and facilities, a busy night-life, a wide range of sports facilities and numerous inland attractions (close to Danube Delta, Murfatlar vineyards, Adamclisi Roman monument).

Constanta

With an international airport (direct flight from Timisoara), a busy seaport, many trains linking it the main Romanian cities and a 2,500 year history (the Roman poet Ovid lived in exile here), Constanta is the very kind of cosmopolitan place a seaside vacation needs. Hotels, shops, ancient monuments, a magnificent casino by the sea and interesting museums complete the picture. All the Black Sea resorts are easily accessible either by train or bus.

Mamaia The major resort near Constanta sited north of the city, between a magnificent 4.5 miles long beach of unbelievably fine sand and a lake. Sports like subaqua diving and paragliding offer thrills from May to October. Restaurants, bars and nightclubs enliven the evenings.

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Aquapark Mamaia view from Telegondola p t Sunrise on the Black Sea

South of Constanta From Constanta 31 miles strip of fine golden sand stretches all the way to the border with Bulgaria and it hosts a series of resorts poetically named after women and mythological gods.

Among the most popular are Neptun and Olimp offers de-luxe villas and excellent hotels, some on the beach, others in the quiet Comorova forest between the shore and a lake. Tennis and other sports, open air restaurants, discos, night clubs and cabarets all cater for demanding visitors.

The resorts of Jupiter, Cap Aurora, Venus and Saturn offers a variety of inexpensive hotels, campsites and rented accommodations, while Costinesti is mostly a youth resort, with basic accommodations and informal entertainment.

Mangalia Is renowned for therapy treatments.The 6th century BC fortified town of Callatis became today’s balneary spa of Mangalia, with a special cure hotel. Here, as in Eforie Nord, Eforie Sud and the spa in Neptun, a wide variety of therapeutic treatments are available, including the famous Romanian Gerovital cure. Medical staff are highly qualified and clinics and consulting rooms remain open all through the year. So you can combine professional treatment with all the pleasures of a seaside holiday. n Guest Book 2011

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Danube Delta UNESCO World Heritage The Danube Delta is the only Delta in the world entirely declared as Biosphere Reserve

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The Danube, springs from Germany and it gathers all the tributary streams from 10 countries and crosses 4 capital cities. After covering 2860 km and before following into the Black Sea, it forms a delta. Related to the surface of Romania, the Danube Delta is situated in the Southeastern part of the country, it has the shape of the Greek letter “delta” and it is bordered in the Southwestern part by Dobrogea Plateau, in the Northern part by the Ukrainian border and in the Eastern part by the Black Sea. The Danube Delta is the only Delta in the world entirely declared as Biosphere Reserve (1990). With a surface of 580 000 hectares - 2,5 % of Romania’s surface is 22nd place among the deltas in the world and 3rd place in Europe, after Volga’s and Kuban’s Deltas. Also is one of the biggest wetlands in the world, habitat of the waterfowl. In te same time Danube Delta is the biggest area of compact reed beds on the planet and a living museum of biodiversity, with 30 types of ecosystems.

A natural genetic bank with inestimable value for the natural world heritage Danube Delta is easy to rich. First step for visiting it is to arrive in Tulcea by train, by car or by the river, then with a various of boats you will enter on one of three delta’s branches: Sfantu Gheorghe, Sulina or Chilia.

From Timisoara you can first fly to Constanta (1h 30 min), then by train or by car you can go to Tulcea (124 km from Constanta). n

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p Sunser on the Danube Delta

Shops in Water u Woman in a boat uu

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Our Team Publisher Virgil Maxim

Layout & DTP Cris & Jay Media

Executive manager Mihai Radu

Photos Floriana Barbu Nicu Darastean Cristian Sertea

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Timisoara 3D map designs Nicu Darastean Graphic illustrations & Timisoara 18th century map Radu Oltean

Editorials Liana Paun Virgil Maxim Dan Jakabhazi Translation Alina Muntean