Mehala-Franzsstadt


      Mehala was the only marginal quarter that kept its autonomy
   during the Turk Occupation (1552- 1716), as well as, later,
   until Timisoara was raised at the rank of free town of the
   Hungarian kingdom (1781). Mehala comes from the Turkish word
   "Mahale". Later, it became a commune; on January 1, 1910,
   the town Timisoara included the territory of this commune into
   its administrations calling it the district V, under the name
   Franzstadt. After 1910, other subdivisions were built in Mehala,
   like Ronat, and Blaskovics for the railway workers.
   The first church was built in Ronat around 1928. During the
   second World War, when the North Railway Station was bombed, the
   church from Ronat suffered a lot; its restoration started only
   in 1946, under the Roman Catholic bishop from Josefin, Georg
   Wentzel. The Catholic community from this district was passed
   later to the Catholic parish from Mehala; the new bishop, Pater
   Johannes Blum, from the Salvatorian order, succeeded to obtain
   an approval to rebuild the church with the help from Caritas;
   the church was blessed only in 1964 by the bishop from that
   time, Monsignor Konrad Keruweiss.  A couple of years ago, the
   church was repainted by the renown artist from Banat and Ronat:
   Paul Veres.

      The main square from Mehala is called even today Avram Iancu.
   Here, on September 12, 1887, the Roman Catholic church,
   dedicated to the Mother of the Lord, was blessed. The
   constructor was Eduard Reiter from Josefin; in 1983, an exterior
   restoration was done, then, Jacob Hahniun performed an
   interior one. The three altars, sculptured in Gothic style, were
   done by the company Ferdinand Stuflesser from South Tyrol. The
   painting of the main altar, representing the Virgin Saint Mary
   with the Child, was restored, in 1975, by the painter Gheorghe
   Boicean from Elisabetin, the student of the regretted painter
   Julius Podpliny (deceased in 1991). The painting was completely
   redone from an older photograph. Above the main altar, in the
   sanctuary, there is a mural painting with Jesus on the cross.
   In the naos, the portraits of the 12 apostles, the works of Geza
   Ulrich from Arad, were blessed on September 13, 1936.  The
   stained glass works of the sanctuary, on the right the crowning
   of Saint Mary, on the left, the Annunciation, were done by the
   well known art institution from Munich, Meyer, in 1928 and 1937.
      The organ was built in 1902 by Leopold Wegenstein from
   Timisoara. As mentioned earlier, the Catholic parish from
   Mehala, as well as its subdivisions, were led by the Salvatorian
   order. The first Patres of this order came to this district in
   1896. The first mother-house was in Mehala until the beginning
   of the XX century, when the monastery building, in Gothic Style,
   from Elisabetin, was finished. In 1949, the building had to
   be given to the state, in 48 hours. Today, the beautiful,
   carefully restored monastery belongs again to the Salvatorian
   order. The centenary of the order was celebrated in 1981.
   The Greek Orthodox parish from Mehala was founded in 1744; the
   church was built in 1786; during the siege from 1848-1849 was a
   barn. The Orthodox believers of both Romanian and Serbian
   nationality used this church. The separation of the Serbian
   Orthodox rite from the Romanian one, in 1887, officially
   recognized by the royal Hungarian court only in 1897, made this
   church to remain to the Serbian believers; it was restored in
   1928; today, it belongs and is administered by the Serbian
   Orthodox Church.
      The Romanians built a provisory church, blessed in 1887. On
   August 28, 1924, because the old church was in a deplorable
   state, it was decided to build a new and bigger one. The
   administration of the town gave to the church a surface of 3000
   square meters in the Avram Iancu Square. Their Majesties, King
   Ferdinand of Romania, Queen Maria, and the Principe Carol
   and Maria, participated at the foundation laying brick
   festivity. The parchment, signed by the monarch, was locked into
   an urn and laid in the foundation of the church [54].  The
   architects Victor Vlad and Adrian Suciu designed the plans of
   the building. The blessing of this imposing church was done on
   October 10, 1937. Seen from faraway, this edifice is closing
   the Gheroghe Lazar Boulevard; this boulevard is linking the old
   town and the marginal district Mehala. Between them it was a
   vacant lot, on which a new residential district,
   Circumvalatiunii, was built after the war.