Liberty Square (), formerly known as Parade Square () or Prince Eugene Square (), is an

urban square A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Relat ...

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 ...

. It is the second-oldest square of the former

fortress of Timișoara A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...

. It got its current name during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848–1849 when Timișoara withstood a

siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

by Hungarian revolutionaries. Liberty Square houses some of the oldest buildings in Timișoara: the Garrison Command, the former Chancellery of War, the Old City Hall and the Military Casino.

Names

In the early 1700s it was called ''Paradeplatz'' and served as a training ground for imperial recruits, as well as a venue for military music concerts. An alternatively common but unofficial name in the Austrian period was ''Stadthausplatz''. In the early 1800s it was known as Prince Eugene Square, after

Eugene of Savoy Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy-Carignano (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736), better known as Prince Eugene, was a distinguished Generalfeldmarschall, field marshal in the Army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty durin ...

, the field marshal who liberated Timișoara from Ottoman occupation in 1716. It was renamed Liberty Square in 1848, with the outbreak of the Hungarian Revolution, but after the Austrian army recaptured the city, the square returned to the name of Prince Eugene Square. The current name has been in use since 1921.

History

On its current location, in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

there was a free space of triangular shape, a crossroads for three trade routes from the north, northeast and south, around which the first settlement of Timișoara was identified. Until 1716, on the eastern side of the square, there was the Big Bath, the largest public bath in the city. Mentioned by Turkish traveler

Evliya Çelebi Dervish Mehmed Zillî (25 March 1611 – 1682), known as Evliya Çelebi (), was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman explorer who travelled through his home country during its cultural zenith as well as neighboring lands. He travelled for over 40 years, rec ...

, the bath was built immediately after the conquest of the city by the

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

. The current square appeared as a result of the complete reconstruction of the city on a new, rectangular street plot, designed in the second decade of the 18th century. In 1727, the space on which the Garrison building was erected in 1731 was cleared of the ruins of the former Turkish

bazaar A bazaar or souk is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, Central Asia, North Africa and South Asia. They are traditionally located in vaulted or covered streets th ...

. The Old City Hall and the Church of the Bosnian Franciscans were built on the northern side of the square in 1731–1734 and 1733–1736, respectively. The church was demolished in 1913, during some modernization works, and a bank office was erected in its place. In 1740 the square was designed to occupy only the surface of a rectangular quarter. Then it was decided to widen the square to the west, so as to reach the current dimensions of 103 × 99 m. On the western side, in 1746–1747, the former Silahdar Mosque was still standing; it was later demolished. Until after 1850, on the western front of the square, in continuation of the current Military Casino, nothing was built yet. The current building, originally called the Army Corps Command, appeared only on the city plan from 1859. Only then did Liberty Square become a closed urban space on all four sides with buildings. Until 1903, the food market, the animal market, as well as the weekly market of the city functioned here. In 1903, the commercial market was moved to the current Union Square. Also at that time, it was decided to remove the natural stone pavers and arrange some lawn surfaces and plant some trees. In 2015, Liberty Square was completely transformed within a rehabilitation project of the Cetate district, being paved with red brick in concentric circles.

Architecture

The Military Casino still retains features of the original facade; it was built in

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 ...

with

Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

influences. The other buildings surrounding the square belong to the

classicist style Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aesthe ...

, specific to the 1900s.

References

{{PlacesTimișoara Squares in Timișoara