Art Nouveau in Romania was an important link between the Byzantine styles such as those promoted mainly in the south and east by Constantin Brâncoveanu, from which it gained ideas, and the later modernist architecture. In many respects it is the abundance of Art Nouveauist architecture that has provided Timisoara with its rather appropriate tag,"Little Vienna".
Art Nouveau developed into two distinct architectural phases in Timisoara.
First Phase: Sinuous lines and floral decorations which lasted until 1908.
Second Phase: Simpler, larger buildings with geometrical designs which lasted until world war one.
Typical of the first phase of Art Nouveau in Timisoara are the residential apartments lining Bulevardul 3 August 1919 between the city centre and the Fabric District to the east. Take a stroll past the Continental Hotel passing the impressive Romanian National Bank (BNR) building (Hubert, 1903-4), and Post Office (Palatul Postei - Ignac Alapar, 1910-14) to reach Szekely's unusual Decebal Bridge, and his imposing Baile Neptun (1913) beyond. This building, formerly the Hungaria Public Baths, originally comprised private apartments, a pool and steam bath, and retains an impressive interior.
The delightful apartment blocks along the boulevard, facing the park, exhibit a wide range of art nouveau decoration ranging from faces ("mascarons") and sinuous botanical and animal motifs such as owls and olive branches, to the elegant waifs, or winged, muses between the upper floor windows of No.5. Here you can find beautiful wrought iron grids, carved doors and graceful, twisting staircases. No.7 (Miksa Steiner, 1907) is similar to the later Hungarian Naval Administration building in Budapest. It is characterised by very pronounced sculptural decorations including a boat that dominates the upper facade.
There are also several of Szekely's villas and Lipot Baumhorn's "Maura' Synagogue (1899) in this area. You shortly enter the bizarre timewarp of Piata Traian, the heart of Fabric, passing the meticulously restored yellow and grey City Alms House and Kinghts' Tower, with details picked out in gold-leaf, and statuettes of monkeys and bears (Szekely, 1908-9). This blended a new-romanesque style to blend in with the nearby Millenium Church. Across the square is the Palatul Mercur, former department store with a statue of Mercury on a tower, crying out for restoration, while beyond you will find a Art Nouveauist "apotheke" and further north one of Szekely's later works, the Elementary School (Scoala General 21) with a richly-decorated, yellow facade.
