QSLs for 2023

The wait is over - the eQSLs for 2023 are finally here!

România Internațional, 11.11.2023, 16:10

Dear friends,

After a long wait, we are happy to break the good news: the QSLs for 2023 are ready, and we will start sending them shortly (in high-quality format, for those of you who are eager to have a hard-print collectible) to all listeners who’ve sent accurate reception reports, as per our logs.

Meanwhile, enjoy this preview. This year, Radio Romania International has devoted its QSLs to Timișoara, European Capital of Culture in 2023. As such, they include some of the major landmarks of this beautiful city.

***

January – The Synagogue of the Citadel

The Neolog Mosaic Cult Synagogue, also
known as the Synagogue of the Citadel, is one of the most important historical
landmarks of Timișoara. The synagogue is a place of worship in the Judaic
tradition, built over 1863-1865 based on blueprints by Austrian architect Karl
Schumann. An eclectic-style building of Mudéjar influence, the synagogue can
seat a total of 744 people. After the mass exodus of Jews, the synagogue was
shut down, and the Jewish community of Timișoara conceded the building in 2001
to the Philharmonic Society for a period of 50 years.

The synagogue was reopened in September
2005, playing host to a concert organized by the Philharmonic Society of
Timișoara. At present, the Federation of Jewish Communities in Romania is the
official administrator of the synagogue. In May 2022, the synagogue was opened
to public access following comprehensive rehabilitation works.

***

February – The Maria
Theresia Bastion

The Maria Theresia Bastion was built
over 1730-1735 and is the largest segment of the old Citadel of Timișoara
preserved to date. The ruins of the citadel fortifications spread 20 hectares,
yet of all the nine bastions of the medieval citadel, this is the only one left
standing. The bastion was originally used to store food and supplies.

The Maria Theresia Bastion is the
largest segment of the defense fortifications of the old Citadel of Timișoara.
Its current name was attributed around 1744-1745, in honor of Empress Maria
Theresa. At the end of the latest rehabilitation works, completed in 2010, the
bastion temporarily housed the Banat Museum of Timișoara and other cultural
institutions of regional importance.

***

March – The Lloyd Restaurant
and Palace

The Lloyd Palace is located in Victory Square.
It was built over 1910-1912, based on the designs of architect Leopold
Baumhorn. The three-story building intertwines elements of the eclectic and
Secession styles. The ground floor hosts the Lloyd Coffee House and a
restaurant where representatives of Timișoara’s upper class came to socialize.
The restaurant continues to service clients across Timișoara. There are also
retail spaces available for rent on the ground and underground floors. The
first floor housed the Agricultural Stock Exchange and the Lloyd Society, while
the second and third floors housed residential units.

The
Lloyd Palace was at first owned by the Timișoara Chamber of Commerce in the
interwar period. On May 15, 1845, the building changed ownership to the West
University of Timișoara. After 1948, the palace was overhauled to host the
Rector’s Office of the Polytechnics University of Timișoara.

Starting
June 25, 2013, the Lloyd Palace is lit every evening to highlight its
architectural elements.

***

April – The
National Opera House -The National Theatre

The
Culture Palace, also known as the Opera House or the National Theatre, is a
building where a number of cultural institutions are venued – the Romanian
Opera, the Mihai Eminescu National Theatre, the Csiky Gergely Hungarian
State Theatre and the German State Theatre.

Constructions
on the Culture Palace in Timișoara started in 1871 and were completed in 1874.
Over the years, the building was ravaged by two fires: the first in 1880, after
which the building was restored in Renaissance style in 1882, and a second one
in 1920, which left intact only the side wings. The façade and hall were
refurbished in neo-Byzantine style. Over 1934-1936, the main façade underwent
key modifications through the introduction a modern-style triumphal arch.

Listed as a historical landmark of Timișoara alongside
the Roman-Catholic Dome and the Metropolitan Cathedral, the Culture Palace is
one of the symbols of Timișoara.

***

May – The
Roman-Catholic Cathedral

Known
to the old inhabitants of Timișoara as the Dome, the Roman-Catholic Cathedral
was built in the Dome Square, the present-day Union Square, commissioned by
Emperor Charles the 6th after the Ottoman rulers were driven out of
Banat. Construction works started in 1736. Two years later they were suspended
due to the plague that raged across the city, and were resumed only years later,
in 1740, before being finally completed in 1754.

The
cathedral was built in Baroque style. The original designs dating back to the
18th century include two towers on the western façade. Due to the
war, their designed height was lower, so as not to make them targets for enemy cannon
fire.

The
main altar was painted in 1754 by Michael Angelo Unterberger, the director of
the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts, and depicts Saint George. The side altars were
painted by the Vienna-based painter Johann Nepomuk Schöpf, dating back to 1772.
The present-day organ was built in 1907 to replace the older one, dating back
to the 18th century. The two towers house a total of seven bells,
the oldest of which was cast in 1762. The other six were refurbished after
1990. The basement houses the cathedral crypt, where bishops, canons as well as
a few commanders of the citadel and noblemen are entombed.

***

June – The Palace
of the Serbian Orthodox Bishopric

The Palace of the Serbian Orthodox Bishopric
was built in 1745 in Baroque style. In 1950, architect Laszlo Szekely changed
the style of the façades to the Neoclassical style, which was typical of late
19th-century architecture, as well as few neo-Byzantine elements.

The
monument is part of the Union Square urban ensemble, making it an iconic
building for the history of the city, with capital importance for the history
of minorities in the region. The Bishopric Palace is part of the Serbian
quarter in Union Square, also known as the Serbian Square.

Rehabilitation
works targeting the Bishopric Palace focused on two components: to renovate and
preserve the façades, and to build the Bishopric Museum, both aimed at
strengthening the heritage value of one of the most interesting neo-Byzantine
buildings in the region.

The
museum collection of religious objects comprises wooden and canvas icons from
Serbian Orthodox monasteries and churches, portraits of Serbian Orthodox
bishops, old books and silverware, displayed chronologically across six
exhibition halls.

***

July – The Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedral

The Metropolitan Cathedral of Timișoara is the biggest religious building in Timișoara. It was built over 1936-1940 and is a symbol of the city. The cathedral’s history is closely tied to the year 1919, when on July 28 Banat unified with Romania.The architectural style is both unique and unusual for an Orthodox place of worship. It intertwines the Romanian religious tradition with Byzantine and Moldovan elements, transparent in a few churches dating back to the 14th century. The cathedral has nine high spires and four lower spires. The cornerstone was built on a huge slab of reinforced concrete, supported by over a thousand reinforced concrete pillars going 20 meters deep. The cathedral is 63 meters high and 32 meters wide. Its seven bells weigh 8,000 kg in total and were made of an alloy shipped from Sumatra and Borneo. Composer Sabin Drăgoi fine-tuned the bells to play in harmony. The basement of the Metropolitan Cathedral houses a vast collection of old church art from Banat and a valuable collection of icons. Over 2003-2006, the paintings were cleared of dust to restore them to their original shine.

***

August – The Brück
House

The Brück House was built in 1910 in Timișoara
by architects Székely László and Arnold Merbl. The building, consisting of a
basement, ground floors and three floors, was built in the Art Nouveau and Secession
styles with Hungarian folk-inspired motifs.

The façade was decorated with ceramic tiles
inspired by the Hungarian Secession style. The pediment of the house, which reminds
of constructions in Budapest, has the letters BS inscribed, the initials of
the first owner, Salamon Brück. The foundation of the building is made of
brick, as are the walls, which are 70cm thick. The ceiling is fitted with
vaults. After the house was completed in 1910, Salamon Brück opened a pharmacy
on the ground floor, which is still operational to this day and has preserved
some of the original furniture fittings. The upper half of the storefront has
the word Pharmacy inscribed in Romanian, Hungarian and German.

Italian Gianluca Testa, who came to Timișoara in
1997 to set up a business, became aware of the historical importance and value
of this building. He decided to purchase an apartment here in 1999. Gianluca
Testa took it upon himself to rehabilitate the entire building, securing the
necessary permits from the relevant authorities. The renovation works targeted
not just the façade, but also the interior. The interior staircase and the
residential units were also refurbished, total costs standing at 300 thousand
EUR.

***

September – Union Square

Union Square is located at the heart of Timișoara,
within the walls of the former citadel. It is the oldest square in the city,
designed in Baroque style. The original design dates back to 1733, although it
was built much later, its size exceeding the initial specifications. The
unusual size of the square, in contrast with the citadel, was meant to
capitalize on the Baroque elements of this landmark. The iconic buildings on
each of the four sides of the square provide an overarching image of the
architecture of Timișoara in the 18th century, even though these monuments
underwent certain changes over the years.

The square comprises major objectives of tourist
and heritage importance. The Baroque influence in Timișoara can be identified
in the Roman-Catholic Dome, the Serbian Orthodox Bishopric, which was the
administrative see of Banat in the 18th century, as well as other
buildings dating back to the 18th century.

***

October – Victory Square

Located in downtown Timișoara, Victory Square
is one of the emblems of the city. It is here that the anti-communist
revolution unfolded in December 1989. On December 20, 1989, hundreds of
thousands of people gathered in Victory Square in Timișoara, which was proclaimed
the first city in Romania free of communism from the Opera Balcony. Overlooking the square are the National Opera
and the Metropolitan Cathedral on opposite sides. The Corso and Surrogate
promenades span between the two buildings. Corso used to be a favorite
gathering place of the elites of Timișoara. The promenades are lined with
restaurants and luxury shops on both sides. In turn, Surrogate was used by
pupils, students, servicemen and the working class.

Buildings inside the square are built in
Secession style with eclectic elements. Their construction coincided with the
emergence of the Art Nouveau style in Europe, late 19th century and
early 20th century. Trained in Vienna or Budapest, the architects were
familiar with the latest trends, having designed buildings in Secession style,
which includes decorations inspired by plant and animal life, mythology or anthropomorphic
characters.

At the heart of Victory Square lies an exact
replica of the Capitoline Wolf, donated in 1862 by the Rome City Hall and
seated on a five-meter column.

***

November – The National Museum of Banat

The National Museum of Banat in Timișoara
opened its doors to the public in 1877. This cultural institution is venued in
a building that was declared a historical landmark, the Hunyadi Castle. Built by
John Hunyadi, the castle was erected in Early Renaissance style, resembling the
early designs of Italian bastions. It was rehabilitated in the 18th
century. Destroyed by the Hungarian revolutionary army, the northern façade was
restored in 1856.

The History and Archaeology Society of Timișoara
was founded in 1872, and soon started collecting historical materials. Over the
next decades, the Society’s history and archeology collections expanded. The
main collection displays archeological materials dating back to the Neolithic,
Roman Dacia and the Early Middle Ages.

At present, due to rehabilitation works, the
museum administration and the temporary exhibitions are housed by the Theresia
Bastion.

***

December – The Art Museum – The Baroque Palace

Starting 2006, the Baroque Palace houses the National
Art Museum of Timișoara as an independent institution, curating collections of European
fine arts, decorative art, modern and contemporary art from Banat and elsewhere
in Romania, as well as works by the famous Romanian painter Corneliu Baba. In
2020, the institution was upgraded to the rank of national museum in
recognition of the valuable collections it houses.

The Museum plays a major role in the Timișoara
2023 – European Capital of Culture cultural program by hosting exhibitions by Victor
Brauner and Constantin Brâncuși, which it organizes in partnership with
prestigious European museums such as Centre Georges Pompidou or Tate Gallery,
as well as important organizations from Romania, such as the Art Encounters
Foundation or the French Institute in Romania.

The Baroque Palace is a historical landmark
built in the 18th century, at first as a private residence for the
local governor. An architectural gem built in Baroque style, the building has
been refurbished to reflect the original design and is one of the major tourist
objectives for art and history aficionados.