Located south of the Bega canal, the student complex was built to house the students of the West University and the Polytechnic University in the early 1960s.
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Located south of the Bega canal, the student complex was built to house the students of the West University and the Polytechnic University in the early 1960s.
In a guide to Timișoara published in 1964, this area was called "the young city of light", each faculty representing "a golden gate through which young people enter the great life, in the midst of the creative work of the people, the builder of socialism, of happiness".
In recent years the student complex has become a gallery of murals, covering hundreds of metres of dorm walls. A tour of this open-air gallery begins with the Aleea Studenților and continues along Aurelianus and Alexandru Vaida-Voidevod streets, challenging the public to examine the messages about Timisoara's history and multicultural spirit. The works were executed by Sweet Damage Crew (walls C21-20 fireplace)Novus Ordo Muralis (dormitory C22), Kaput and Pulsar Sinaps (Kaps Crew) (dorm 19), Ovidiu Batista, Zgondy and Irlo , The work was carried out within the project Memories of the Fortress, organized by the Association Timișoara - European Capital of Culture, with the support of Timișoara City Hall and the City Council.
Bibliography:
- Timișoara. Small tourist guide, Meridiane Publishing House, Bucharest, 1964
- Mihai Opris, Timișoara. Small urban monograph, Technical Publishing House, Bucharest, 1987
- https://bestoftimisoara.ro/redescopera-complexul-studentesc-din-timisoara-pe-traseul-picturilor-murale/
Student Complex
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Robert Șerban
not all the bullet holes from '89
have disappeared
no money was found
to fill them all
and poverty has left so long
those eyes open
for us to sometimes cross eyes
and not pretend
that we don’t know
June 2022
“Timișoara has a grand train station. Straight ahead, on the best asphalt pavement, smooth and clean, you walk past the gleam of the six-row windows of a huge mill, then through the alleys lined up with secular trees, perfect for a walk that shelters, in the cool of the evening, pairs enjoying the autumn moon, for they have lost the spring moon. Coarse breaths of air come from the waters of the Bega river, where one can discern piles of planks, abandoned boats. A large iron bridge leads to a neighborhood of tall houses, whitewashed by electricity. Then again follows the road through the trees, where peasant carts with white covers trickle along. Finally, at the entrance on a narrow street with large buildings, there is a bright palace with a theater-like facade, which displays a first-rate café, then the gangway to the great Kronprinz Hotel, worthy of any large capital. The owner is Swabian, everyone speaks German; right across, a smaller hotel with a German-only sign. From the very beginning, Timișoara shows itself for what it is: the town built on the ruins of the former Ottoman Paschalik, according to straight-line plans, for the Banat Swabians and other outcasts brought by German rule from all over the world, from the Lorraine in France, from Spain.” (Nicolae Iorga, Selected Travel Notes about Transylvania and Banat, Lucian Cursaru (Ed.), vol. II, Bucharest, Minerva Publishing House, 1977, p. 118-119)
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An evening of music - Freedom Square
I was walking quietly through the centre of Timișoara one evening, and once I arrived in Libertății Square I couldn't help hearing some sounds that seemed to be made by an instrument unknown to me at that moment. As I approached, those invigorating sounds gave me an inner relaxation. Being at a sufficient distance I realized with amazement that the gentleman making the sounds was using an instrument that looked as if it had been brought by aliens, a sort of mini spaceship. I later learn that the instrument is called a Handpan and it is not a cheap instrument, but at that moment I could only sit on a bench, listen to the music and watch with interest how the instrument was used.
Emilian P, Student UPT, 2023