Lloyd Palace (Palatul Lloyd), Timișoara
The opening note of a whole square of Art Nouveau: a statued Secession palace facing Timișoara’s Piața Victoriei.
At a glance
The Lloyd Palace stands at the head of Piața Victoriei, the long Secession square that makes Timișoara one of the richest Art Nouveau cities in Europe. Lipót Baumhorn built it between 1910 and 1912 for the Lloyd Society, a merchants’ club, in the flowing Secession of the 1900s, three storeys of decorated façade crowned with statues. Today it holds the university rectorate and a café.
Key facts
- Location: Piața Victoriei 2, Timișoara
- Architect: Lipót (Leopold) Baumhorn
- Built: 1910–1912
- Style: Secession (Art Nouveau)
- Function: offices, café (formerly a merchants’ club)
History
Timișoara, a wealthy Hungarian city before 1918, rebuilt its centre around 1900 in the Secession, and Piața Victoriei filled with decorated palaces. The Lloyd Society, a club of merchants and financiers, commissioned Baumhorn, better known for his synagogues, to build their seat at the head of the square.
Finished in 1912, it set the tone for the buildings that followed down the square. After Timișoara became Romanian, it passed to other uses and now serves the university, its café a city institution.
What you see
The long façade is worked in Secession ornament, with bands of decoration, ironwork balconies and a roofline punctuated by statues. It closes one end of the square and opens the run of Art Nouveau buildings along it. Restored for Timișoara’s turn as European Capital of Culture, it gleams again.
Practical information
- Open: offices and a café; exterior viewable any time
- Cost: free to view from the square
- Best for: the statued façade on Piața Victoriei
- Time needed: 10–20 minutes
Getting there
The palace is at the head of Piața Victoriei in central Timișoara, in western Romania, a short walk from the Orthodox cathedral and the old town.
Nearby
- Piața Victoriei — the Secession square the palace heads
- Timișoara Orthodox Cathedral — at the far end of the square
Sources
- Wikipedia (Romanian) — Palatul Lloyd
- Heritage of Timișoara / Primăria Timișoara — building information
- Wikimedia Commons — image source and licence
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