About

The building of the Iuliu Maniu Greek-Catholic Theological High School is situated downtown, next to the “Sfântul Nicolae” (“Saint Nicholas”) Greek-Catholic Cathedral, on Iuliu Maniu Street no. 5. It was built between 1920 and 1925 in a neo-Romanian style (a late variant of the neo-Brâncovenesc style) following the repeated demands of Bishop Traian Valeriu Frențiu (1922-1948).

The architect

The person handling the project was Anton Szallerbeck, one of the top architects of the city during the inter-war period. Hailing from a family of constructors, after finishing his education, he was initiated in the art of architecture by two great Secession architects: Marcell Komor and Dezső Jakab. After completing his military service in 1914, Szallerbeck opened an architectural office in Timișoara. He would afterwards work in Dobrogea, specifically in Bazargic (Dobrich), Balchik and Kavarna, adopting a personal style through the usage of elements that pertained to the neo-Romanian style (the neo-Brâncovenesc variant).

After an invitation to Oradea made by Bishop Traian Valeriu Frențiu, he started working in the service of the Greek-Catholic Bishopric. During this time, he designed 47 churches, public buildings and private residences in the national Romanian style.

The foundations

The beginning of the normal school of Oradea, with courses held in Romanian, dates back to 1784. Functioning within the Greek-Catholic Church was Schola Praeparandorum Valachorum Ludimagistrorum, otherwise known as the United Normal School. Later on, at the intervention of the United Greek-Catholic bishop Ignatie Darabant (1788-1805), the United Theological Seminary was also founded. Initially, the two educational establishments functioned jointly. During the time where Mihai Pavel was bishop, around the year 1885, a building with one upper floor was built where the Romanian Greek-Catholic Primary School functioned. After 1918, Bishop Traian Valeriu Frențiu raised the issue of the necessity to build a modern school that comprised a primary school for boys, a primary school for girls, and a normal school for boys. This project went on to be realized in 1925.

The architecture

The building, featuring a ground floor, two upper floors and an interior courtyard, stretches across Iuliu Maniu Street and Mihai Pavel Street, with the third façade oriented towards Piaţa Unirii (Union Square). The façades were conceived in a neo-Romanian style, being symmetrical, with alternating smooth and juttied surfaces, and featuring balconies. The windows are rectangular, while those in the jutties bear the shape of an arched circle. The first floor is separated from the ground floor through a belt, while the second is separated from the first through an eave. The windows on the second floor are decorated on the upper side with ornamented lunettes.

Between 1948 and 1992, the Normal School became the Pedagogical School for Boys and Girls, and the Seminary became a school for tractor drivers.

In 1992, while Vasile Hossu was bishop, the Theological Seminary and High School of the Romanian Church United with Rome was founded, which, in 1997, became the Greek-Catholic Theological High School. Starting from 2011, the official name of the school has been the Iuliu Maniu Greek-Catholic Theological High School.