Timisoara, the city of magnolias

Spring is always at its finest in the city of Timisoara, when streets are literally flooded by blooming magnolias.

Daniel Onea, 07.04.2016, 13:26

Today you’re invited to take a stroll along the streets of Timisoara, a multicultural and romantic city. Old buildings, museums, open-air concerts, beautiful public squares and a historical center, which is unique in Romania, made up of three urban squares, each of them built in an architectural style of its own.

All that provides the ingredients for a Europe in miniature. It is a settlement where Romanians, Germans, Serbians, Croatians, Slovaks and Bulgarians live together. Diversity and culture. These are the buzzwords that make the city of Timisoara the perfect destination for all those who are into cultural tourism, or at least that’s what an employee with the city’s Tourism Information Center Lucia Solomon told us.

Lucia Solomon: ”Timisoara is a city with a rich history and culture. A great many tourists visiting us are impressed with that. The buildings we can still see today in Timisoara, for their most part were built after the year 1700. That is why the oldest such buildings were built in the Baroque style. Also, tourists can be delighted with a lot of Art Nouveau buildings, which bring Timisoara closer to other great European cities, such as Budapest and Vienna. The Bega canal crosses the city, playing an important role in the progress the city has seen throughout the years. A string of parks and promenade alleys lay along the canal, so that tourists can take a walk from one end of the city to another, from one park to another, by foot or by bike. “

Magnolias provide a fine spring landscape for the city of Timisoara. For quite a few years now, white or pink-flowered trees can also be seen in public parks lying along the banks on the Bega River.

The magnolia tree was brought to Europe in late 19th century. It can be easily recognized thanks to its big-size flowers, with their full-bloom petals. So whether you opt for taking a walk or a bike ride from one end of the city to another, you’ll have the chance to admire the beautiful flowers. However, you will also have the opportunity to see for yourselves how young the city is. Here is Lucia Solomon once again.

Lucia Solomon: “Timisoara is a young city, if we take into account the fact that it has seven universities, with roughly 50,000 students. You can sense that right after the academic year begins. There is a lot of to-and-fro in the street. The old city center has been refurbished this year. Pedestrian streets and squares have been set up, there are lots of beer gardens there and at night, the city center is literally sizzling. During the warm season, there are quite a few youngsters who have a seat at a table in a beer garden, enjoying the flavor of the city. Others go to concerts. The Philharmonics always has exquisite concerts on offer, and we have always enjoyed its fine musical choice, but apart from the Philharmonics, we should also make mention of the Opera House in Timisoara, or of the three state-run theatres: The Romanian Theater, the German Theater, and the Hungarian Theater. There are a great many festivals, staged throughout the year. Some of them have already become traditional, such as the Plai Festival, the Jazz festival, the Musical Timisoara festival, the Bega Boulevard festival, to mention but a few of them. People really get their kicks out of attending all those events; locals and tourists alike. “

Timisoara is competing for the European Capital of Culture title in 2021. This is of little surprise, considering the city boasts the largest number of historical buildings and monuments in Romania. Of the city’s 15,000 buildings, 13 thousands have been declared monuments. Timisoara was also the first European city to introduce public street lighting. The oldest brewery in southeastern Europe can be found here, operating since 1718. It is also the only European city with three state theatres staging shows in three different languages.

Known as Little Vienna in the old days, Timisoara also gained international recognition due to its concerts. Famous musicians performed here, such as Johannes Brahms, Bela Bartok, Karrer, Enescu, Johann Strauss or Liszt. In 2016, the Banat Philharmonic Orchestra of Timisoara is preparing a series of unusual concerts, aimed at appealing to the younger generations, as the Philharmonic Orchestra director, Coriolan Garboni, told us:

Coriolan Garboni: “We have lowered our standards a bit. There is little to gain from an indoor concert addressing a 100-200-strong audience. I prefer an outdoor concert with ten thousand viewers. The impact on the audience and the youth is very big. In Timisoara there is also a habit to host concerts in caves. Renowned soloists and orchestras performed here, including the Royal Danish Orchestra. It has become a tradition. We have faithful visitors from Israel, USA, Canada, Hungary or Austria, who come every year in large numbers particularly for these concerts”.

And if you have some time to spare, you can get to visit the surroundings, as Lucia Solomon from the Tourist Information Centre told us.

Lucia Solomon: “The Recas Vineyards, very famous for their quality wines, are close to Timisoara. Petrovaselo is another location with good vineyards. You can also visit Buzias, famous for its mineral springs. Going a bit farther, tourists can reach the Banat Mountains, going all the way to the Danube. Others chose to visit the Corvin Castle in Hunedoara, which is also very famous abroad”.

Timisoara boasts over 100 hotels and guesthouses, offering accommodation for some 5 thousand people. Also worth mentioning is Timisoara’s privileged geographical position. The city is within easy reach by car, as there is now a motorway linking the city to the rest of Europe. You can also fly in here, as Timisoara has the second-largest airport in Romania.