The Széchényi Palace () is a historical building in the center of

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 ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

in Victory Square. It is the last building on the ''

Corso Corso may refer to: Places * Corso, Boumerdès, Algeria * Via del Corso, Rome, Italy Other uses * Corso (surname) * CORSO, a New Zealand aid agency * "CORSO," a song by rapper Tyler, the Creator See also * Cane Corso The Cane Corso is an ...

'', at the end towards the

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

History

''Széchényi Rt'' had the palace built between 1911 and 1913 according to the plans of the architect . The building was intended for renting apartments on the upper floors, while the ground floor was reserved for shops. Székely's architectural office was located in this building. The architect Michael Wolf completed his professional practice in this office, who then took over the office from Székely. In the interwar period, Wolf was one of the most prominent architects of Timișoara. From the beginning, the building had the central space on the ground floor intended as an eating place. If before the wars, until nationalization, an elegant bistro functioned there, after nationalization it turned into the self-service restaurant ''Expres''. During the Revolution of December 1989, the scenes in front of the cathedral were filmed from a window of the building. Today, the ground floor houses numerous shops, as well as the ''Helios'' art gallery.

Architecture

The four-story building is made in the 1900s style, presenting elements specific to the Secession movement. On the upper floors, there are portions that stick out, but being connected to each other by balconies, the corners are smoothed. These areas on the upper side end in triangular

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

s with

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

. The corner of the building is provided with a tower. Notable are the female figures on the ground floor, probably inspired by the so-called

caryatid A caryatid ( ; ; ) is a sculpted female figure serving as an architectural support taking the place of a column or a pillar supporting an entablature on her head. The Greek term ''karyatides'' literally means "maidens of Karyai", an ancient t ...

s, which often framed the entrance portals in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

(18th century),

classicist Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

(first half of the 19th century) and then

historicist architecture Historicism or historism comprises artistic styles that draw their inspiration from recreating historic styles or imitating the work of historic artists and artisans.Edward Lucie-Smith, Lucie-Smith, Edward. ''The Thames and Hudson Dictionary o ...

(second half of the 19th century). These representations stand in contradiction with the evolved Secession of the period in which the Széchényi Palace appeared.

References

{{PlacesTimișoara Buildings and structures in Timișoara Residential buildings completed in 1913 1913 establishments in Romania