Museum history

1872 – At the initiative of the great man of culture Ormós Zsigmond, the prefect of Timiş County and a group of intellectuals, on July 25, 1872, the first scientific society in Banat was established, called the Society of History and Archeology, which aimed to establish a historical museum. -archaeological in Timisoara. The first heritage items recorded in his inventory were originally stored in a room in the Palace of the Episcopate of Cenad, which came from donations, accidental archeological discoveries and acquisitions.
1876 - With the support of the prefect of Timiş County, the Society of History and Archeology of Banat received two rooms in the Wellauer House, on Lonovics Street (now Augustin Pacha), the museum’s headquarters until the interwar period.
1877 – The official opening of the Banat Museum for the public took place.
1879 – A separate museum company is established, which will deal exclusively with the activity of the Banat Museum. It was united in 1884 with the Society of History and Archeology, thus creating the Museum Society of History and Archeology.
1887 – The Wellauer House underwent general repairs, which lasted for several years, the patrimony of the Banat Museum being housed during all this time in the building of the old prefecture. In
1888, the construction of the Museum Palace was completed (today the Library of the Romanian Academy, Timişoara branch), a building that proved too small from the beginning to house the collections of the Banat Museum.
1889 – The Banat Museum is reopened to the public. At the beginning of the last decade of the 19th century, the museum had the following collections: archeology and ancient history, art gallery, natural sciences, library and archive.
1892 – It is decided to set up a decorative art department. The year 1893 marked for the History Department the beginning of specialized archeological excavations, which continued over the following decades. In 1896, the Banat Museum participated in the Universal Exhibition in Budapest with several objects, winning a bronze medal and a diploma of thanks.
1919 – With the integration of Banat into the Romanian unitary national state, the Banat Museum entered a new period. An important activity in order to reorganize the museum was held by Emanuil Ungureanu, who in the interwar years held the position of cultural inspector of the city of Timişoara. Throughout the interwar period, the museum faced a lack of space, and in 1937 it was assigned a part of the city’s Cultural Palace. Despite all these difficulties, his collections have increased, with Ioachim Miloia, Dionisie Linţia, Aurel Ciupe, Marius Moga playing an important role in the institution. The wooden churches in Banat were researched, scientifically organized archeological excavations took place (coordinated by the famous historian Constantin Daicoviciu), the collections of natural sciences and art were enriched by the entry into their patrimony of some very rare pieces. The Second World War hampered the smooth running of the Banat Museum. Evacuated due to the bombings, many parts of the institution were looted by Soviet troops in Timisoara (after the World Heritage in the First World War suffered from the Serbian military occupation and the Hungarian authorities).
1948 – The Banat Museum is moved to a building suitable for its purpose, Huniade Castle. After 1950, the collections of the Banat Museum were enriched with valuable museum pieces. Until 2000, it included the following sections: History, Natural Sciences, Art, Ethnography, Banat Village Museum, Zonal Restoration Laboratory, constituting a cultural institution of reference in Banat.
2000 – On January 1, the Banat Village Museum was transformed into a museum institution with its own status, in July 2006 the Ethnography Section of the Banat Museum was integrated.
2006 – The Art Section of the Banat Museum became an independent institution with the name of the Timişoara Art Museum. It is also the year in which Huniade Castle underwent major repairs, works that continue today, since March 2011 the exhibitions being organized in the Maria Theresia Bastion.