Banca de Scont FTB 1

The building itself (hard to photograph because it sits right on a narrow street).

Enamel decoration on the pediment; motifs drawn from Transylvanian folk art.

Details of enamels around a window.

Decorative supports for gutters. (I love these!)

An outdoor light.

Grillwork around a window.

Tiles on the roof.

This is the first [!] in a series about my Favorite Timisoara Buildings (FTB).

This is the Banca de Scont (Discount Bank), the first building in Timisoara I really fell in love with. I actually remembered this building from earlier visits to Timisoara (2002 and 2004), but it wasn't til this trip that I tried to figure out why I liked it so much.

First, it reminds me (weird though this sounds) of Santa Fe pueblo architecture (soft, curvy and brown like adobe architecture, plus lots of turquoise). Of course, this only begs the question of why I like Santa Fe pueblo architecture so much, but that is a story for another blog. Second, it is just so unexpected. Who would have ever imagined finding a building like this just off a baroque plaza in a Romanian city? Third, I have actually discovered something about it and its architects.

It was designed by Marcell Komor and Dezso Jakab and built between 1906 and 1908. Komor and Jakab were students of Odon Lechner. They also designed the City Hall and Palace of Culture in Targu Mures (which we are going to see next week; its my birthday present from my husband!) and the Black Eagle complex in Oradea ((which I also hope to see).

This is from the online Jewish Virtual Library:

JAKAB, DEZSÖ (1864–1932) and KOMOR, MARCELL (1868–1944), Hungarian architects, designers of synagogues, nursing homes, public buildings, and private villas. Their major projects, situated outside Hungary's present borders, include the synagogue of Subotica (Szabadka), Yugoslavia, the municipality building of Tirgu Mures (Marosvásárhely), Romania, and a concert hall in Bratislava, Czechoslavakia. In partnership they built the Erkel theater in Budapest according to the plans of G. Markus (1872–1912), another Jewish architect of the Secessionist era. Komor was a victim of the Holocaust.

According to Art Nouveau in Romania by Ada Stefanut (the one useful book I could actually get my hands on), "It was thanks to [Komor and Jakab] that the Hungarian version of Art Nouveau spread through the Carpathian basin." The Hungarian Secessionist features include "decorative details that reveal a focus on specificity of the place," including "ornamental motifs drawn from the local crafts." It's also noteworthy for the organic, curved walls and the amazing grillwork, including the lovely iron gutters.

Flowers for a friend

Debra in a Krakow garden.

Lilacs, bought in the market.

Tulips in the Piata Victoriei.

(Flowers for a friend on the death of her computer.)

Wyspianski 4

Wyspianski also designed the interior of the building for the Society of Physicians.

Including stained glass windows,

the colors of the walls,

and the balustrade decorations.

And here his signature, as well as the sad subsequent history of the building.

Wyspianski 3

Wyspianski also did the stained glass windows in the Franciscan Church. We timed one of our visits for when the sun caught the west window. This is God creating the world, also called "Let It Be."

Our guidebook says that this window was particularly controversial when it was first erected.

On the south wall, there are also stained glass windows with flowers.

Wyspianski 2

A few more details from Wyspianski's paintings in the Franciscan church.

Wyspianski 1

One of the great things about travelling is discovering something you didn't know existed but now love intensely. This happened to us in Krakow. We had heard that the Franciscan church was very lovely, with art nouveau paintings. We walked in, and it was indeed very beautiful.

But it wasn't until we had been in there for a few minutes and our eyes adjusted to the lights, that we realized how extraordinary the paintings are.

The walls in the nave, for example, are covered with pictures of flowers.

Flowers of all types and variety.

The interior of the church (paintings and stained glass windows) was executed by Stanislaw Wyspianski (1869-1907), a Polish painter, playwright, poet, furniture and interior designer, etc. We fell in love with Wyspanski and tried to track down as much as his work as it was possible to see in Krakow.

Krakow

This is another gorgeous city.

With beautiful squares and streets,

Lots of juicy architectural details

of all sorts.

And what is called "the best bookstore in Eastern Europe" (Massolit, truly a book-lover's idea of heaven).

Back home in Timisoara

Back home, and back to the blog! (Tony on his Krakow Birthday; more Krakow pictures coming soon.)

More Sibiu colors

I took these in the eveninng.

Sibiu is in the mountains, and the air is remarkably clear.

It really is an extraordinary place.

Sibiu Sparkles

We went back to Sibiu this week. We first went there in 2002, when Debra had a Fulbright. But this was our first visit since the city was refurbished. It was the European Cultural Capital in 2007, and all the attention has really made the city shine. This is the Piata Mare, the big square.

Many old houses in Sibiu have these very distinctive attic windows. They call them the "eyes of Sibiu."

A tiled roof that's part of the Evangelical Church.

And here's Strada Balcescu, leading up to Piata Mare. We had such a great time, and I have so many wonderful pictures of Sibiu. I'll try to do another Sibiu post before we leave this Sunday for Krakow.

(By the way, none of these pictures have been photoshopped. These gorgeous colors are "real"--or at least as real as my digital camera recorded.)

Spring comes (for real) to Romania

The fountain has begun to spray water.

Things are beginning to bloom.

A sort of Easter Market has spring up in the Piata Victoriei.

And terasas (outdoor cafes and restaurants) are everywhere.

Student Symposium at the University of the West

This week, the students at the University (mostly the M.A. students in English) gave a symposium in which they presented their work and generously invited us to give plenary papers.

(Tony, getting ready to deliver a paper on American poetry.)

(Debra making a point about something or other; picture by Andre.)

And to top it all off, the students prepared this gorgeous and delicious lunch for all of us. Romanian conferences showcase hospitality like no other place I've ever been.