Discover 20 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Timișoara (Romania). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Victory Square, Timișoara Orthodox Cathedral, and Anton Scudier Central Park. Also, be sure to include Cathedral Park in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Timișoara (Timiș).
Table of Contents
Victory Square
The Victory Square, known until 1990 as the Opera Square, is the central square of Timișoara. It is the place where Timișoara was proclaimed on 20 December 1989 the first city free of communism in Romania. It was a main boulevard, transformed into a square after the closure of the southern side by the construction of the Metropolitan Cathedral. The opposite poles of the square consist of the Opera to the north and the Metropolitan Cathedral to the south. From the Opera to the Cathedral the promenade on the right is called Corso, and the one on the left is called Surogat. Both have protected architectural ensembles of local historical importance.
The square hosts the buildings of some important institutions such as the National Theater and Opera, the Orthodox Cathedral, Timiș, Capitol and Studio cinemas, the Museum of Banat, several art galleries as well as many shops and sidewalk cafés. Some of the most important cultural events take place in Victory Square: JazzTM, Timfloralis, FEST-FDR, Opera and Operetta Festival, Easter and Christmas fairs, New Year's concerts, etc.[1]
Timișoara Orthodox Cathedral
Also known as: Catedrala Mitropolitană din Timișoara
Grand Romanian Orthodox cathedral. The Orthodox Cathedral, also known as the Metropolitan Cathedral, is a Romanian Orthodox church in Timișoara. The cathedral is the seat of the Archbishopric of Timișoara and the Metropolis of Banat. It is dedicated to the Three Holy Hierarchs, Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom.
Built on an area of 1,542 m2, it has 11 towers, of which the central one has a height of 90.5 m, making it the second tallest church in Romania, after the People's Salvation Cathedral in Bucharest. The cathedral is listed in the National Register of Historic Monuments.[2]
Address: Bulevardul Regele Ferdinand I, 300006 Timisoara
Anton Scudier Central Park
Anton Scudier Central Park, formerly known as Stalin Park and Scudier Park, is an urban park in Timișoara. It was founded in 1870 by General Anton von Scudier and carried his name until the partition of Banat in 1919.[3]
Cathedral Park
The Cathedral Park is an urban park in Timișoara. It is located behind the Metropolitan Cathedral, across the Anton Scudier Central Park and covers an area of 45,400 m2.[4]
Address: Bd. Regele Ferdinand, Timișoara
Alpinet Park
Park in Timișoara, Romania. Alpinet Park is an urban park along the Bega River in Timișoara. Alpinet Park is one of the young parks of the city, being arranged in the 20th century.[5]
Botanical Park
The Botanical Park, since 2007 the Botanical Garden, is an arboretum in Timișoara. In 1995 it was declared a scientific reserve, in order to protect the local and exotic flora.[6]
Virgin Mary Monument
Virgin Mary Monument is located in Timișoara's St. Mary Square and it has been there since 1906, when it was built on an older statue of Virgin Mary. The legend goes that György Dózsa has been executed there. The monument is a romanesque style canopy set on six pillars, under which lies the statue of Mary, carved in Carrara marble. The monument is part of the old Iosefin district, inscribed in the list of historical monuments with the code TM-II-s-B-06098.[7]
St. George's Cathedral
Also known as: Catedrala Sfântul Gheorghe din Timișoara
Baroque cathedral with organ music. The St. George's Cathedral, Timișoara or The Dome is located in Timișoara, Romania, at Piața Unirii, in the centre of town.
It is one of the most valuable buildings of Baroque architecture in Timișoara and the Banat. The interior is luxurious and expressive, with Rococo elements created by painters and sculptors of Vienna. The acoustic is great, many organs concerts being organized here.[8]
Address: Piața Unirii 12, Timișoara
Justice Park
The Justice Park, previously known as the People's Council Park, is an urban park in central Timișoara.[9]
Union Square
Union Square, also known as Dome Square, is the oldest square in Timișoara. It was named in honor of the Romanian troops that entered Timișoara on 3 August 1919 and established the Romanian administration, thus finalizing the union of Banat with Romania. Initially, it was called Losonczy Square, after Count István Losonczy who was killed by the Turks in 1552, when the fortress was conquered.
Union Square is the most important reserve of Baroque architecture in the city. It houses some of the most valuable monuments of Timișoara: the two cathedrals, one Roman Catholic and one Serbian Orthodox, the Baroque Palace, the Plague Column, etc.[10]
Address: Timișoara, Piata Unirii, Timișoara
Trajan Square
Trajan Square is a square in the center of the historic district Fabric in Timișoara. It was designed by military engineers in the 1740s and is a smaller replica of the Union Square.[11]
Cetate Synagogue
Also known as: Sinagoga din Cetate
Synagogue in Timișoara, Romania. Cetate Synagogue is a Jewish place of worship in Timișoara, located on Mărășești Street in the Cetate district. It was built between 1863 and 1865 in an eclectic style with Moorish elements. Inscribed in the list of historical monuments in Timiș County, the synagogue is no longer operational today.[12]
Address: 6 Strada Mărășești, Timișoara
Romanian National Opera
Also known as: Opera Națională Română din Timișoara
Building in Timișoara, Romania. The Romanian National Opera, Timișoara is a public opera and ballet institution in Timișoara, Romania. It is one of the national opera companies of Romania. The Opera shares the same building with the Mihai Eminescu National Theatre in Timișoara.[13]
Address: Strada Marasesti 2, 300080 Timisoara
Nicolae Bălcescu Square
The Nicolae Bălcescu Square is a square and junction in Timișoara. It is named after Romanian historian, writer and revolutionary Nicolae Bălcescu. The square is located in the Elisabetin district. Well-known buildings of the square are the Sacred Heart Church, a Roman Catholic church completed in 1919 and the ensemble of the Grigore Moisil Theoretical High School.
During the Austrian Empire, the square was called Grundhausplatz. As a result of the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, this name was translated into Hungarian: Telekház tér. After the partition of Banat and starting with 1919, the square was renamed Alexandru Lahovary Square, after the name of Foreign Minister Alexandru Lahovary. In 1947, its name was once again changed to Marshal Tito Square, a name it bore for a short time. The square finally got its current name in the early 1950s.[14]
Piata Plevnei
Pleven Square is a square located in the Elisabetin district of Timișoara. It is part of the urban site Old Iosefin, classified as a historic monument.
The area has been landscaped and the surrounding buildings have been built since 1903. Initially it was called Dózsa tér, and from 1919 Pleven Square. The square, rectangular in shape, borders on the north with General Henri Berthelot Street (former Caraiman Street), and on the south with Mitropolit Ioan Mețianu Street (former Brașov Street). In the middle of the square lies the Gheorghe Doja Park. Around the park the buildings are exclusively residential, in Art Nouveau style, forming a homogeneous architectural ensemble.[15]
Fabric Synagogue
Also known as: Sinagoga din Fabric
Synagogue in Timișoara, Romania. The Fabric Synagogue is a Neolog synagogue in the Fabric district of Timișoara. The synagogue was called the New Synagogue because it replaced the old synagogue on Timocului Street. It was built between 1897 and 1899 in an eclectic style, with neo-Moorish, Gothic and Italian neo-Renaissance elements.[16]
Queen Marie Park
Queen Marie Park, previously known as Coronini Park or People's Park, is the oldest park in Timișoara, located on the right side of the Bega Canal.[17]
Bega canal
Also known as: Canalul Bega
The Bega Canal or Begej Canal is a navigation canal of Romania and Serbia. It is the first navigation canal built on the present-day territory of Romania, and serves the city of Timișoara. Its name comes from the Bega river. It crosses the territory of Timiș County in western Romania and proceeds into the territory of Serbia, merging with Begej river near the village of Klek.[18]
Huniade Castle
Also known as: Castelul Huniade din Timișoara
Historical place in Timișoara, Romania. The Huniade Castle is the oldest monument of Timișoara, built between 1443 and 1447 by John Hunyadi and Paolo Santini de Duccio over the old royal castle dating from the 14th century.
The castle was rebuilt by the Turkish pashas in the 17th century and by Prince Eugene of Savoy in the 18th century. The structure owes its present appearance to the 1850s reconstruction campaign. It houses the History Section and the Natural Sciences Section of the Banat Museum.
In front of the museum there are two lamps reminding that Timișoara was the first European town to have introduced electric public lighting on 12 November 1884.[19]
Millennium Church
Also known as: Biserica Millennium din Timișoara
Catholic church in Timișoara, Romania. The Millennium Church, officially known as the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Heaven, is the largest Roman Catholic church in Timișoara, located in the Romans' Square in the Fabric district. It was built to commemorate 1,000 years since the formation of the Hungarian state, hence its name Millennium. At present, Holy Masses are celebrated in Hungarian, German, Romanian and every Saturday evening in Italian.[20]
Address: Piața Romanilor 6, 307200 Timișoara