bg Timisoara

Jacob Löffler Palace

- Piața Victoriei 1 -
The huge four-story building is built on three plots, which were bought in 1911 by the company Jacob Löffler and Sons. The company obtained the building permit on May 1, 1912, and commissioned its design to the architects and Lipot Löffler. The construction was completed in 1913, the same year the company received a permit to install six elevators, three for people and three for goods. It was built as the largest civil building of its time by the family and company of the entrepreneur and grain merchant Jacob Löffler, as a company headquarters and home for him and his three sons, including Lipot.
An old postcard that shows the building
The construction was subject to conditions from the city administration, so the construction time had to be less than a year, and the architectural design, especially the facades, had to be approved by the chief architect of the city, . The sculptures that are used to decorate the building were most likely created by the Hungarian sculptor . A cafe was opened on the first floor and, in a short time, numerous commercial or production spaces were rented. In 1948 the building was nationalized, and Löffler's last son died in a ruined attic on the middle staircase, where he had been banished by the new communist power.
Another old postcard that shows the building
Both the western and eastern, as well as the northern and southern sides of the building, which is built in the style of Art Nouveau, are identical and symmetrical in design. The huge mansard roof on both the northern and southern sides of the building is crowned with . The underneath it contains an oval window, which is surrounded by a and other lavish ornamentation. The tympanum is interrupted by two large roofed with a copper roof. The oriel windows are embellished with several statues of female and male figures, as well as certain and a . Between the oriel windows, you can see two and one balcony, of which the railings are adorned with . The that's placed underneath the balcony, which is secured with a stone balustrade with incorporated , contains four supportive columns adorned with garlands wreaths.

The part in front of the large mansard roof on the eastern and western sides of the building, which is also crowned with cresting, is decorated with bands adorned with fruits and vegetables, all sorts of garlands, several mascarons, and a green man. These sides of the building contain six oriel windows each, which are all decorated with even more green men and cartouches. These sides also feature loads of balconets, of which the ones secured with a stone balustrade are supported by a total of two .
The building in a later period