Mihai Opriș

Mihai Opriș (* 1948 in Timișoara , Timiș County ) is a Romanian architect and architectural researcher. The results of his research led to the correction of the historiography of the urban development of Timișoara. Today he lives in Soest , Germany .

life and work

After graduating from Nikolaus Lenau Lyceum in Timișoara, Mihai Opriș attended the Ion Mincu University of Architecture and Urban Planning in Bucharest . From 1974 to 1975 he worked at the Timișoara design institute IPROTIM as a close associate of the architects Hans Fackelmann and his wife Aurelia.

Research into the dating of the urban planimetry of Timișoara was difficult because the city maps were stored in military archives. The historic city center with fortress and esplanade served as a military fortification until 1892, so Opriș was denied access.

In Timișoara, reproductive technology did not allow more comprehensive investigations until 1970. Opriș's publications on his research from 1974 cast doubt on the previous dating. His first publication in book form was an urban planning monograph in Timișoara in 1987 , but the young architect was not taken seriously by the experts and not noticed by the city fathers of the time.

From 1990 Opriș had access to the archives in Vienna, Budapest, Bucharest, Timișoara, Karlsruhe, Bologna and Stockholm. In collaboration with the chief architect of Timișoara, Radu Radoslav, Opriș came across. B. in Stockholm on the oldest city map of Timișoara from the 16th century. Opriș saw his early findings about the complex system of the Timișoara fortress, the Cetate , from the 18th century confirmed by his research in the archives.

Contrary to the claims of previous historiography, Opriș proved that the small and large Palanka belonging to the suburb belonged to today's inner city. Until 1975 the Great Palanka was mistakenly considered the current factory town . The study of 370 old military plans and building drafts showed that the two districts never overlapped.

At the same time he corrected several statements by historians. In his work Monograph of the Royal Free City of Timisoara , Johann Preyer gave April 25, 1723 as the date for the start of construction on the Timișoara fortress. However, Opriș sets this date to the year 1732. The 30-year work, in which around 2000 workers, including numerous bricklayers from Croatia, took part, was completed in 1765.

The historiography of the 18th century was also corrected. The Transylvanian barracks was built between 1727 and 1729 and not, as previously believed, in 1719. It was not created on the contours of the old Turkish fortifications, but on natural ground . According to Opriș, the entire description of the development of today's districts must be corrected, the first factories were built in 1720 in the area of ​​today's Medical Institute and the children's park ( Parcul Copiilor ).

The current districts of Josefstadt and Mehala were considered uninhabited until 1744. The current residential district of Elisabethstadt was not built until 1750, before there were only three properties there, which were known as old Meierhöfe .

In 2007 the City of Timișoara awarded Mihai Opriș the City of Timișoara Diploma of Excellence for his services .

literature

• Mihai Opriș: Timișoara. Urbanisticã monograph, vol. I, Editura BrumaR, ISBN 978-973-602-245-6

Web links

• Allgemeine Deutsche Zeitung - Late corrections to the history of Timisoara