St. George's Square

St. George’s Square is one of the most historic places in the city. It was built only after the church, whose patron saint, St. George, gave way to the urban development of the new Habsburg rulers. St. George’s Church was one of the oldest churches in Timisoara. It dated back to the Middle Ages, when the city was the residence of the Hungarian king. During the approximately 150 years of Turkish rule in Timisoara, it was used as a large mosque. With the construction of the cathedral during the Habsburg rule, it increasingly lost its importance and was finally demolished.

The square thus became an important traffic node: From here we could take a horse-drawn streetcar towards Josephstadt (Iosefin) and Fabrikstadt (Fabric) as early as 1869. As of 1899, electric streetcars were used for public transportation.

New and imposing bank buildings modelled on Vienna Ring Road, a lending library and Josef Kossak’s photo studio, well-known far beyond the city limits, replaced St. George’s church. Today, the square, which is sunken, resembles an amphitheatre. This impression is reinforced by an archaeological excavation that revealed the foundations of the old church and fragments of the mosque.

In the middle of the square, reminiscent of the patron saint, stands a bronze statue of St. George on horseback fighting evil. The dragon slayer stands on a pillar with a memorial plaque dedicated to the children who died in the revolution. Thus, the square has become a memorial and reminder of the communist regime that did not shy away from sacrificing even innocent children.

Today, the sunken St. George’s Square is an ideal spot for escaping the hustle and bustle of everyday life and taking a break in the modern amphitheatre amidst the ancient ruins.