bg Zrenjanin

Bence Department Store

- Kralja Aleksandra I Karađorđevića 21 -
In 1908, the residential building, which until then was owned by Janoš and Jožef Stagelschmidt, was bought by Mikša Bence, the son of , who in 1861 is the founder of the furniture factory in Veliki Bečkerek, nowadays Zrenjanin. In 1909, according to a design of the architect Ištvan Detky, the Bence family erected a modern one-story building that served as a permanent furniture showroom and sales area.

Soon after the construction of the building, one of the first floor shops was rented out to the Austrian bookbinder Lipot Mangold to house his bookstore and paper shop.
The technical drawing from 1909
Mikša used the knowledge and entrepreneurship he gained abroad to improve the family business and to create a modern industrial enterprise. He expanded the company, then acquired the most modern equipment and hired foreign-trained workers who transferred their knowledge to the locals. In 1908, on the bank of the Bega River, he started a furniture factory. The location was suitable due to the easier transport of timber that arrived by the river. While better furniture was imported from and until that time, the skilled workers of this factory produced furniture that went to the largest cities in Europe.
An old postcard from 1918 showing the building on the right
Mikša also included his three sons Anton, Zoltan, and Atila in the business. His eldest son Anton worked as a controller and did administration work, and his son Zoltan was a talented architect and designed furniture, while his other son Atila took care of the commercial part of the business. The two brothers successfully ran the factory until the end of the . After the war, the company was nationalized and merged with several smaller ones companies, which stopped the production of artistic furniture in Zrenjanin.
Zoltan Bence
The attic floor of the Art Nouveau building features two small dormers, four piers, and a hip-roofed dome. The beautiful gable in the center is crowned with a segmental , which is supported by multiple . The above the circle-top window is embellished with a . Between the gable and two of the piers, you'll be able to see a that contains . Underneath the roof , you can see a strip of , which at some places got interrupted by semi-hexagonal . The ornamentation above the second floor windows consists of floral ornamentation and geometric forms, as well as some .
A newspaper advertisement for the Antal Bence and Son company