Anton Schmidt

Builder of modern Timisoara

de Oana Preda | Sept. 4, 2016

Anton Schmidt was born on May 20, 1786, in the family of a teacher in Mako. At the age of 10, after becoming an orphan, his older sister, who was married in Aradul Nou, started to take care of him. She wished for a better future for her little brother, so she decided to give him as a disciple to a master brass worker. The child, however, wanted to become a builder, so he escaped from his craftsman and, in 1804 he started working and studying the work of the mason builder Franz Pumberger, the craftsman of fortifications of Aradul Nou. On October 12, 1807, Anton Schmidt received a certificate signed by Pumberger, after which he may have taken a study trip to improve his skills in this craft.

In the spring of 1809, he arrived in Timisoara and settled down in the suburb of Iosefin, where he started a family with his first wife. In January 1815 he was admitted to the common guild of bricklayers, carpenters, woodcraftsmen, roofers, stone carvers and chimney sweep from the the royal Timisoara, which gave him the right not only to design the buildings but also to manage their construction works.

Also in 1815, on 16th of August, he received the diploma of citizen of the city. At the age of 36, Anton Schmidt remained widowed, then married Anna Meyer, the daughter of Timisoara magistrate senator, Franz Meyer. Until 1851, when he retired, the constructor had developed a significant activity, building both in the country and abroad. He died in his home in the Iosefin district on April 11, 1863, at the age of 77.

Strohmayer Palace, the Iordache family home in 2014. Photo Source: Architecture Tour

Liberty Square in 1907. Photo source: www.hungaricana.hu

Anton Schmidt was the first builder to influence Timisoara’s architecture throughout his work. His buildings, mostly on three levels (basement, ground floor and first floor), were characterized by balance, simplicity and some classical ornaments (columns with ionic or composite caps, gates marking the central axis of the building). Unfortunately, few of his creations are still preserved today. The vast majority of his buildings, having military functions, were demolished along with the development of the city.

In Timisoara, his only remaining building is the Strohmayer Palace. Patrician Franz Xaver Strohmeyer, spokesman for the City Magistrate and then magistrate and senator, decided to build this three-storey palace near the New Town Hall. For this, he chose Anton Schmidt, who at that time became one of the most appreciated builders in Timisoara, to whom he commissioned the design and construction of the building in the northeast corner of the Parade Square (today Libertăţii[Freedom] Square today). The large and sober building has provided a generous living space for many families.

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