The Water Palace ( ro, Palatul Apelor) is a historical monument in Timișoara,

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. It is located at the entrance from the city center to the

Iosefin Iosefin ( hu, Józsefváros; german: Josephstadt) is a historic district of Timișoara. Its name comes from that of Emperor Joseph II, during whose reign it was founded. Unlike most of the other Timișoara districts, the historic Iosefin is not div ...

district. Built in 1901 for the Timiș–Bega Hydro-improvement Company, between 1948 and 2007 it also housed the Timișoara CFR Regional. It currently belongs again to the Banat Water Basin Administration.

History

Alongside the Marschall Palace, the Water Palace marks the access to the

district, crossing the Trajan Bridge from the Cetate. The palace was built for the Timiș–Bega Hydro-improvement Company, established in 1871 especially for the management of the

Bega Canal The Bega Canal or Begej Canal (; hu, Béga-csatorna) is a navigation canal of Romania and Serbia. It is the first navigation canal built on the present-day territory of Romania, and serves the city of Timișoara. Its name comes from the Bega riv ...

, an important transport route at the time. Designed by the architect

Lipót Baumhorn Lipót Baumhorn ( hu, Baumhorn Lipót, german: Leopold Baumhorn, 28 December 1860, Kisbér – 8 July 1932, Kisbér) was a Hungarian architect of Jewish heritage, the most influential Hungarian synagogue architect in the first half of the 20th ...

, work began in 1900, under the direction of , and was completed a year later, in 1901. The palace was originally a one-storey building, but in 1910 builder Arthur Tunner extended it by adding a second storey, retaining the overall appearance. All sectors of the company functioned in the building, and on the second floor were the studios for employees coming from outside Timișoara. In 1923, the Police Prefecture and State Security functioned in the palace. In 1941, the Dean's Office of the Faculty of Agronomy and the Faculty of Geography of the

University of Cluj A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

, which had taken refuge here in Timișoara following the occupation of Northwest Transylvania by the Hungarian state, also functioned here. Here was the Owners' Union that dealt with all issues related to watercourses (established in 1924, following the water law), which in 1950 would change its title, remaining with the same attributions. In 1948 the palace was nationalized and assigned to the Timișoara CFR Regional. After 1989, the Romanian Waters National Administration requested the retrocession. This lasted until 2007, because the CFR Regional accused Romanian Waters of registering the property with false documents. Between 2011–2018 it was rehabilitated.

Architecture

The palace, a two-storey building, has a central

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

facing east and two wings of about 30 m, the southern wing being located on 16 December 1989 Boulevard, and the northern one on Tudor Vladimirescu Embankment. The central bay, where the entrance to the building is located, is elevated and dominated by a

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, from ...

tower, which is a wooden construction, currently covered with galvanized sheet that imitates the original tile. The eastern facade of the bay, with a length of about 17 m, is decorated with double columns of the

Ionic order The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite or ...

, which highlight the

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedimen ...

s. The whole building is very richly ornamented, with neo-baroque elements in the

eclectic Eclectic may refer to: Music * ''Eclectic'' (Eric Johnson and Mike Stern album), 2014 * ''Eclectic'' (Big Country album), 1996 * Eclectic Method, name of an audio-visual remix act * Eclecticism in music, the conscious use of styles alien to th ...

Secession style. The decoration was mainly done with aquatic elements and marine figures: fish, seahorses, seashells, aquatic plants and female anthropomorphic figures.

References

{{PlacesTimișoara Buildings and structures in Timișoara Buildings and structures completed in 1901 Historic monuments in Timiș County