Steiner Palace

Steiner Palace
Palatul Steiner
Former names	Discount Bank
Alternative names	Gingerbread House
General information
Architectural style	Secession
Location	1 Gheorghe Lazăr Street, Timișoara
Coordinates	45°45′26″N 21°13′39″E
Completed	13 August 1909
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Marcell Komor [hu] Dezső Jakab

Steiner Palace (Romanian: Palatul Steiner) is a historical building in Timișoara, Romania, located in the southwest corner of Union Square. One of the most representative buildings of the local szecesszió movement, it housed the South Hungarian Discount Bank during the pre-war period.

History

The palace is named after its benefactor, the spodium producer Miksa (Max) Steiner. It was designed by Jewish architects Marcell Komor [hu] and Dezső Jakab, disciples of Ödön Lechner.[1] Until 1908, on the current site of the palace, there was a low building with a very massive ground floor elevation, probably an 18th-century construction, where the owners were merchants, lawyers, officers, a pharmacist, and a military pharmacy.[2] Completed in the summer of 1909, the structure was intended as a rental property.[3] Its owner, Miksa (Max) Steiner, also owned another impressive building in the Fabric district, which was also leased out.[4]

The Steiner Palace housed the South Hungarian Discount Bank (Hungarian: Délmagyarországi Leszámítolóbank; German: Südungarische Escomte Bank), a banking institution founded in 1906, during the pre-war period.[5]

Architecture

The motif of the beehive

The roof's dynamic shapes, the Zsolnay glazed ceramic decorations, and the national decorative motifs encase the building within the Hungarian szecesszió style.[3] The building has two floors and faces two streets. The facade on Vasile Alecsandri Street is shorter but more ornate, while the one on Gheorghe Lazăr Street is longer and more sober.[1] While the ground floor is designed with simplicity and straight lines, the upper floors feature projections shaped from curved forms that break out from the building's monolithic structure along the entire facade. The short facade is symmetrical, with a prominent central projection extending across both floors, which also supports the balcony, complemented on the upper floor by a second, richly adorned projection.[2] On the longer side, three similar but less decorative projections are placed asymmetrically. The wide projection at the corner creates the illusion of the building's greater length and, with its vertical design, gives a sense of upward movement, an effect enhanced by the pointed roof.[2]

The building's decoration incorporates various symbols, such as beehives shaped like flowers or hearts, representing diligence and prosperity, which also reference the bank's headquarters on the ground floor.[3] With its dynamic forms and curving elements on the facade, the Steiner Palace appears to be a forerunner to the works of Antoni Gaudí.

The building's architectural design was frequently lauded by contemporary press, which offered reviews like "the most elegant building in the city," "a gem of elegance in Timișoara," and similar praise.[6]

References

1. Iszlai, Erika (25 September 2021). "Descoperă povestea palatului Miksa Steiner, fostul sediu al Băncii de Scont". TION.
2. Mihoc Andrásy, Diana; Ciobotaru, Dan Leopold (2001). "Palatul Max Steiner din Timișoara. Observații istorice și arhitectonice" (PDF). Analele Banatului, S.N., Arheologie–Istorie. 9: 729–740.
3. Moldovan, Mihai-Claudiu (21 September 2020). "Palatul Miksa Steiner". Heritage of Timișoara.
4. "Banca de Scont (palatul Max Steiner) din Piața Unirii". Spotlight Heritage Timișoara.
5. Geml, Josef (2016). Vechea Timișoară în ultima jumătate de secol 1870–1920. Timișoara: Cosmopolitan Art. pp. 308–309.
6. Petrovici, Georgeta (15 July 2017). "Schimbare miraculoasă pentru "casa de turtă dulce" din Timișoara. Ce se întâmplă cu fosta Bancă de Scont". Evenimentul Zilei.