The Piarists’ Complex – former school and monastery, church

Current name
The Piarist High School

Address
1 Regina Maria Square

Dating

Built between 1908 and 1909

Architectural style

1900s style, the szeceszió movement.

Architect Alexander Baumgarten, builder Arnold Merbl, site inspector and project co-author architect László Székely.

It is one of the most representative monuments of the 1900s style architecture in Timisoara. The majestic ensemble is flanked by three major streets of the nowadays Timisoara center.

On the church one can notice eclectic and historicism elements – e.g. the false counterforts of the tower, or the tower’s conical helmet. However, it is the only church in Timisoara that falls clearly in the “1900s architecture” – because, even in that time, the neo-Gothic or neo-Roman were preferred in churches, making them more sober and more imposing (forms already “verified”). The Secession aspect is maintained largely in the church’s interior.

Entering the complex courtyard (from Republicii Bd.) one can observed the interesting layout of the church in the Piarist complex: the church ship and choir are arranged obliquely to the surrounding buildings, making with them a 45 degrees angle and advancing towards the center of the courtyard.

Other information

During the communist dictatorship, the building housed educational facilities of the Polytechnic Institute.

The building was returned to the Catholic Diocese in 2006, which uses it as a seminary, the "Gerhardinum" Roman Catholic Theological High School.