The Brück House (; ) is a historic house in

Timișoara Timișoara (, , ; , also or ; ; ; see #Etymology, other names) is the capital city of Timiș County, Banat, and the main economic, social and cultural center in Western Romania. Located on the Bega (Tisza), Bega River, Timișoara is consider ...

's Union Square. It was designed by and Arnold Merbl in the Secession style and resembles a thin slice of cake.

History

Initially, there was a

pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medication, medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it ...

on the site of the building since 1898 and it was called ''Golden Cross'', belonging to the Geml family (or the Zifkovich family according to other sources). It was refurbished and used in the following years by pharmacist Salamon Brück. The pharmacy still works today and much of the original furniture and display cases are still in use. The building, which was originally built in the Viennese

Baroque style The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from the early 17th century until the 1750s. It followed Renaissance art and Mannerism and preceded the Rococo (i ...

, was later rebuilt in the Secession style at Brück's request. The reconstruction began in 1910 according to the plans of the chief architect of Timișoara at the time, , and was completed a year later. He collaborated with the architect Arnold Merbl, who, in order to supervise the works, built a wooden shack in the area where he lived until their completion. Falling into disrepair after 1989, the house was renovated in 2012 by an Italian businessman who bought an apartment in the building in 1999.

Architecture

The building, consisting of a basement, ground floor and three floors, was built in the

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

and Secession styles and has Hungarian folklore motifs. Although the house was built in the Secession style, the corners of the building were not cut, this not being rounded, like all other monuments representative of this current. The height of the building symbolizes the separation from the

, which was quite expensive. For the facade, ceramic tiles with Hungarian folklore motifs, generalized to Secession architecture in Hungary, were used as an ornament, and on the pediment of the house, which reminds of constructions in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, the letters "BS" are inscribed, representing the initials of the first owner, Salamon Brück. The foundation of the building is made of brick, as are the walls, which are 70 cm thick, while the ceiling is provided with vaults. The first floor is provided with closed balconies with glazed curtain walls, typical for the Art Nouveau current. The bow window on two levels and the delicate and structured forms of the roof characterize the ''szecesszió'' current.

References

{{PlacesTimișoara Buildings and structures in Timișoara Buildings and structures completed in 1911 Art Nouveau architecture in Romania Houses in Romania