PATRIMONIUL HERALDIC AL MUNICIPIULUI TIMIȘOARA
THE HERALDIC HERITAGE OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF TIMIȘOARA

Summary/Abstract: This paper aims to paint an image of the monumental heraldry found in Timișoara, one of the most important urban settlements in Romania. As the study of monumental heraldry in Romania has mainly been conducted in Transylvania, Wallachia and Moldavia, we are now focused on Banat, representing the first such research in this Romanian province. Thus, we catalogued and studied more than 80 coats of arms found on buildings or monuments of Timișoara and then chose 12 of the ones that best represent its heraldic spirit for a thorough analysis.The results perfectly describe the historical course of Timișoara, as its heraldic history starts with the Habsburg conquest of 1716 and the Baroque heraldry brought by the victors. It is in this period – when the city served as the capital of the Banate of Timișoara – that we find the first coats of arms in the city: those of the aforementioned banate, and those of the Serbian Orthodox Bishopric of Timișoara. As the city was also the seat of the Roman-Catholic Bishopric of Cenad (later of Timișoara), the heraldic insignia of their respective bishops are also found within the city. During the 19th century, after Timișoara was incorporated into the Kingdom of Hungary, a new nobility arose in Banat, whose arms we can also find in the city. This being said, almost half of all monumental coats of arms that ever existed in Timișoara are stately, administrative or territorial – in stark contrast to Bucharest or Cluj, which were cities of the aristocracy, whose presence heavily influenced their monumental heraldry.

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