Anton Scudier Central Park

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Anton Scudier Central Park
Parcul Central „Anton Scudier”
Central Park Timisoara - entrance.jpg
TypeUrban park
LocationTimișoara, Timiș County, Romania
Coordinates45°45′5″N 21°13′13″E / 45.75139°N 21.22028°E / 45.75139; 21.22028Coordinates: 45°45′5″N 21°13′13″E / 45.75139°N 21.22028°E / 45.75139; 21.22028
Area91,400 m2
Established1870
FounderAnton von Scudier
Owned byTimișoara City Hall

Anton Scudier Central Park, formerly known as Stalin Park and Scudier Park, is an urban park in Timișoara. It was founded in 1870 by General Anton von Scudier and carried his name until the partition of Banat in 1919.

History[]

Between 1738 and 1771 there was a cemetery on the site of the current Central Park, where about 8,000–9,000 people were buried, most of them dead during the plague epidemic of 1738–1739. After the arrangement of the cemetery in Calea Lipovei, the one on the site of the current park was closed, and in the 60s and 70s of the 19th century, General Anton von Scudier, as military commander of Banat, decided to transform the old civil and military cemetery in a park. The remains of those buried here were exhumed by soldiers and, after a religious service, were reburied in the cemetery in Calea Lipovei.[1]

The swampy and insalubrious land was drained and leveled, and in 1879 the Park Association, founded by the inhabitants of Iosefin and Elisabetin, planted trees and took care of its arrangement, initially in English style, with large lawns and alleys that intersected in the middle of the park.[2] The park, which occupies an area of over nine hectares, was taken over by the town hall in 1905 to be cared for; during this period decorative species such as yews, chestnuts, pines, walnuts or hickories were planted here.[2] Until 1932, the railway line that connected Timișoara with Baziaș passed through the middle of the park.[2]

From the early 1950s until 1955 the park was called Stalin Park, then Central Park.[3] It received its current name in 2015.[4] Between 2017 and 2019, the park was redesigned in Viennese style.[5]

Monuments[]

Statue of Anton von Scudier[]

Statue of Anton von Scudier before 1918

In 1881, a life-size gilded cast iron statue of General Scudier was placed in the park. The statue was destroyed on 26 October 1918, during the unrest caused by the dissolution of Austria-Hungary; later, a clock was installed on its pedestal.[1]

Monument of the Romanian Soldier[]

Monument of the Romanian Soldier

Today, on the site of the former Scudier's statue, the Monument of the Romanian Soldier is placed. Sculpted by Ion Vlad from Rușchița marble,[6] the monument was unveiled on 30 December 1962 and was originally dedicated to the "liberating Soviet soldier". In 2013, a local PNȚCD councilor proposed the removal of the monument from the park to the Heroes' Cemetery in Calea Lipovei, which also houses the graves of Russian soldiers who died in World War II.[7] The proposal was criticized by the Union of Fine Artists of Timișoara, in whose opinion the monument is an important work of artistic value.[7]

Alley of Personalities[]

Established in 2009, the Alley of Personalities (Romanian: Aleea Personalităților) is an open-air museum, where 24 bronze busts of some prominent local personalities are exhibited. The busts are placed clockwise, with Sever Bocu's bust near the entrance from the cathedral:[8]

  • Anghel Dumbrăveanu (1933–2013)
  • Charles I of Hungary (1288–1342)
  • Zsigmond Ormós (1813–1894)
  • Corneliu Miklosi (1887–1963)
  • Dositej Obradović (1739–1811)
  • Ioachim Miloia (1897–1940)
  • Romulus Ladea (1901–1970)
  • Virgil Birou (1903–1968)
  • Béla Bartók (1881–1945)
  • János Török (1843–1892)
  • Karl Küttel (1818–1875)
  • Stan Vidrighin (1876–1956)

References[]

  1. ^ a b Ilieșiu, Nicolae (2003). Timișoara. Monografie istorică (2nd ed.). Editura Planetarium. pp. 319–320. ISBN 978-973-97327-8-9.
  2. ^ a b c Păun, Liana (4 January 2015). "Parcurile orașului (I). Cum au apărut cele mai vechi spații verzi din cetate". pressalert.ro.
  3. ^ Both, Ștefan (28 July 2019). "Parcul Central "Anton Scudier" este gata de redeschidere. Amenajarea în stilul grădinilor vieneze a costat 1,6 milioane de euro". Adevărul.
  4. ^ "Hotărârea Consiliului Local 533/08.12.2015". Timișoara HCL.
  5. ^ "Cum arată Parcul Central, după doi ani de șantier. E aproape gata de redeschidere". TION. 22 June 2019.
  6. ^ Almăjan, Ion Marin; Antoniuc, Doina; Medinski, Andrei (2002). "Timișoara. Monumente de artă plastică" (PDF). Direcția Județeană pentru Cultură Timiș. p. 17.
  7. ^ a b Both, Ștefan (27 November 2013). "Monumentul "Ostașului Sovietic" din Parcul Central al Timișoarei, "trimis" în Cimitirul Eroilor". Adevărul.
  8. ^ "Hotărârea Consiliului Local 132/24.03.2009". Timișoara HCL.
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