Eastern and Central Europe (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

ROMANIA 585

THE 1989 REVOLUTION

In December 1989, Romania’s

Communist regime was toppled

by the most violent revolution in

Eastern Europe at the time. The

catalyst was a minor protest

against the eviction of an ethnic

Hungarian anti-Ceauşescu priest,

László Tőkés, on 16 December.

Around 1,000 lives were lost when

police opened fire on demon-

strators and the military was

called to suppress the unrest. It

culminated with the exe cution

of Ceauşescu on 25 December.

Detail, Banat

Museum

The Baroque Roman Catholic Cathedral on Unity Square, Timişoara

The 11-spired Orthodox Cathedral

near Victory Square, Timişoara

Ecstatic crowds after the

overthrow of the regime

Timişoara 7

347 km (216 miles) NW of Bucharest.

• 310,000. £ @ n Str Alba
  Iulia 2, (0256) 437 973.

Located close to the border of
Serbia and Hungary, Timişoara
claims to have been the first
city in Europe to introduce
electric street lighting, the first
in Romania to have a public
water supply and one of the
first in the world to have had
horse-drawn trams.
In the 14th century,
Timişoara was a part of
Hungary and the heavily for-
tified town became a focal
point of resist ance against
invading Ottoman forces. The
Ottomans conquered it in 1551
and it remained a mili tary
strong hold until the Habsburg
Empire forced them out in

1716. The town was then
      com ple tely rebuilt and the
      historic centre owes much
      of its present-day appear ance
      to its Austrian con querors.
      When Timişoara
      finally became
      part of Romania
      in 1920, it was still
      dominated by ethnic
      Hungarians and
      Germans, but most of
      them left following the
      end of World War II.
      Today, Timişoara has a
      majority pop ulation of ethnic
      Romanians and is venerated
      as the city that sparked events
      leading to the over throw of
      Nicolae Ceauşescu in
      December 1989 (see p568).
      Victory Square (Piața
      Victoriei), scene of the tragic
      events that saw police open
      fire on peaceful protesters in

1989, is now the city’s thriving

hub. Nearby is its best

museum, the Banat Museum,

which has excellent regional,

historical, archaeo logical and

natural history exhibitions.

Founded in 1872, it has been

located in Hunyadi Castle

(Castelul Huniade) since 1948.

This Venetian-style castle was

con structed in the 15th cen-

tury and is thought to be

Timişoara’s oldest build ing.

To the south of Victory

Square is the

extra vagant 20th-

century Orthodox

Cathedral, with 11

towers of differing

sizes, each covered

with pat terned mosaic

tiles. The striped brick-

work is reminis cent of

both Byzantine and Moldavian

church architec ture. A memo-

rial to the vic tims of 1989

stands in front to mark the

protests that took place in

and around the church.

To the north of the square

is Unity Square (Piața Unirii),

an expansive space lined with

elaborate Austro-Hungarian

mansions. In the 18th century,

it was used as a major

com mer cial and cere monial

site. Two impres sive Baroque

cathe drals, both constructed

in the late 18th century,

stand here; to the west is

the grand Serbian Orthodox

Cathedral; to the east the

Roman Catholic Cathedral.

Located in another 18th-cen-

tury build ing, just off Unity

Square, is the Memorial

Museum of the 1989

Revolution which docu ments

events around the uprising

with original video footage,

photographs, mili tary uni-

forms and news papers. The

adjoining chapel has been

dedicated to the revolution.

E Banat Museum

Piața Huniade 1, Castelul Huniazilor.

Tel (0256) 491 339. # 10am–4pm

Mon–Sat. & = http://www.muzeul

banatului.ro

R Orthodox Cathedral

Piața Victoriei. # 8am–8:30pm

daily.

E Memorial Museum of

the 1989 Revolution

Str Emanuil Ungureanu 8.

Tel (0256) 294 936. # 8am–4pm

Mon–Fri, 10am–2pm Sat & Sun.