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Mátyás Rozsnyay Palace

- Strada Nicolae Bălcescu 1 -
The three-story building was built in the second half of the 19th century for residential and commercial purposes. It was built for the pharmacist Mátyás Rozsnyay to house his residence, as well as his pharmacy and research laboratories. He was born in , on March 14, 1833, in the family of János Rozsnyay and Ezster Wirtzfeld. After graduating from elementary school in his hometown, Matyas attended the Reformed College in . He was later admitted to the Wiener Neustadt Militärakademie, which he abandoned in 1848, due to the political situation. After things returned to normal, he decided to resume his studies, but this time in the field of medicine.
Mátyás Rozsnyay
Mátyás Rozsnyay began studying pharmacy in , and in 1855 he obtained his master's degree at the University of . For over ten years he worked as an assistant to pharmacist Zsigmond Katona in and Kecskemet. In 1871 he met with the pharmacist Szarka Janos in Arad, who suggested that he come to Arad, where he had a pharmacy established in 1824. After arriving in Arad, he began to get involved in the public life of the city and became a member of various organizations. In 1891, he fell ill, but he remained a public figure in Arad until 1895, when on August 5 he died, succumbing to stomach and liver cancer. The building changed its appearance in 1902 according to the plans of the Hungarian architect József Steiner. The building got its current appearance in 1948 when a lot of the ornaments and part of the structure were removed.
The building before 1902
The current corner building, which was built in the Art Nouveau style, features loads of motifs. A richly decorated is placed on top of the and a decorative vase is placed at the bottom. Loads of beautiful floral ornamentation can be admired above the second floor windows, some of which feature a female figure. A balcony is placed on the western side of the building, which is supported by three and secured with a wrought iron railing adorned with and the initials of the former owner.
An old postcard that show the building on the left