On the Road to Fabric


      Timisoara, also called the town from the Bega river, is
   divided in districts by the navigable part of the Bega channel;
   the districts are linked by bridges built across it. Long ago,
   the fortress town Timisoara was surrounded by lots of channels
   fed by the rivers Bega and Timis; as a result of the marsh
   configuration, under these circumstances the climate was
   unhealthy. After the Turks defeat and retreat from these lands,
   the count Mercy started the first drainage works of the marshy
   lands around the town reducing the chaotic spread of the Bega
   river to a main channel. A couple of channels were left in the
   district Fabric to feed some mills and factories, enabling the
   transport of the wood and salt. The Bega river served this
   purpose for 200 years. In 1902, the engineer Emil Szilard,
   named chief engineer, started the construction of the power
   station on the Bega river. The power station was finished in
   1910 and is still operating today.

      If we leave the City district, passing over one of the most
   imposing bridges over the Bega river: the Bridge Decebal, we
   enter the Fabric district, guarded on the right hand by the gate
   of the People s Park and on the left by Baile Neptun, or the
   Neptun Baths (the Neptun Palace-the former Laszlo Szegely House-
   Hungaria Baths). The baths were built in 1913-1914 by the
   architect Laszlo Szegely. This district was more populated than
   the City at the end of the last century. It got its name from
   the numerous factories existing here ("fabrica" in the Romanian
   language means factory). Churches were also built here: the
   Roman Catholic Church, in 1765, and the Greek Catholic Church,
   in 1774. The buildings between the Neptun Baths and Traian
   Square are considered to be among the most beautiful in town.
   At one end of the park, is the former movie theater "Apollo",
   today "Parc". The building was raised in 1909 by the architect
   Josef Ecker Jr., and was modernized between 1954-1955 by the
   architect Paul von Schuster (1923-1987).

      We should also mention the new synagogue from Fabric,
   designed in Moorish style by the architect Leopold Baumhorn,
   built by Josef Kremer from Timisoara, and financed by the City,
   private donations, and public auction.
       Dr. Karl Telbisz, the mayor from those days, witnessed the
   blessing of the new temple on September 3, 1899.
   Before arriving into the Traian Square, on the left hand, the
   Romans  Square (the former Coronini Square) dominated by the
   edifice of the Roman Catholic Church (the Church of the
   Millennium) opens. The Roman Catholic Church was built between
   1896-1901, in Neo-Roman style, by the Josef Kremer from
   Timisoara after the plans of the architect Ritter von Ybl; the
   painting of the main altar is the masterpiece of the painter
   Georg Vastagh. The bishop Alexander Dessewffy laid the
   foundation brick on October 4, 1896; the work was finished after
   five years; the blessing was done on October 13, 1901.
      The church has two towers, 65 meters tall; the central dome
   is 45 meters tall; the organ is the gift of the bishop Alexander
   Dessewffy and was manufactured by Leopold Wegenstein from
   Timisoara. The big bell, coming from the foundry of Anton
   Novotny, is 2420 kilograms heavy; the stained glass works were
   completely done through donations. The whole edifice, one of the
   most beautiful buildings in Timisoara, is built from raw
   materials.
        In 1902, the parish house was built.  The priest moved here
    from his old house called "the island of the priests"; the old
    Roman Catholic Church and parish were given to the Greek
    Catholic parish. The Greek Catholic bishop, Vasile Hossu, from
    Lugoj, blessed the restored church on November 26, 1906.
        The old Greek Catholic Church and parish (built in 1774)
    were taken over by the administration of the town to be
    demolished. The Greek Catholic parish was in town since 1737.