THE KOLOZSVÁRY HOUSE
The third palace built by Sztarill Ferenc in Ferdinand Square.
Jewelry store, fashion salon, luxury living quarters
The Kolozsváry Palace on Iosif Vulcan Street no. 2 was built between 1910 and 1912 for jeweler Sándor Kolozsváry, who had ordered its construction. He was the owner of the built-up land at the intersection between Iosif Vulcan Street and Piața Ferdinand (Ferdinand Square), and the construction was finalized by his widow.
The old house which had been located on this land was demolished in 1910, and the land itself was highly priced on the real estate market of the time.
The Kolozsváry (Kolozsvári) family had owned the oldest jewelry store in Oradea ever since 1792 (Strada Principală (Main Street) no. 293). They sold jewelry-related items, precious gems, diamonds, brilliants and other Baroque silver objects (silverware, lampstands). In the list of industrialists and salesmen of 1892, two jewelers were registered at the old address: Sándor Kolozsári and Sándor Kolozsváry, Jr.
The three-floor corner building was erected based on the plans of local constructor Sztarill Ferenc, being the third palace he built in this small square (the Poynár House, the Sztarill Palace).
As was the case with the Miksa Moskovits Palace built by Kálmán Rimanóczy, Jr., ribbed plates made from reinforced concrete were used for the supporting structure, which was also designed by Professor Szilárd Zielinszky of Budapest. Due to the metallic structure, the mezzanine and the upper-floor balconies protrude through the surface of the façade and appear as if suspended in thin air.
The building is a modern tenement house with few decorations, but it has had electricity, along with all of the utilities requested at the time, from the very beginning.
The owner ran his jewelry store in the new building, being neighbored by the Markovits and Weinberger fashion store, while the mezzanine was home to a fashion salon. The upper floors comprised spacious, luxury living quarters, some with seven rooms. On the façade on the side of Republicii Street is a coat of arms enclosed in an oval frame (probably the coat of arms of the Kolozsváry / Kolosváry family, who had gained their title of nobility in the 18th century).
After 1920, the ground floor of the building housed a fabric store, Vadas Üzlet, opened by Vadas Stefan and Vadas Eugen, and the second floor was the headquarters of Doctor Kovacs Jenő. In 1944, Doctor Kovacs Jenő fell victim to deportation, and, after 1949, the store was nationalized by the communist regime. (the information in this paragraph is complete due to the help of Mrs. Vadas Juliana, the daughter of Mr. Vadas Stefan).
Poynar House
Pannonia Hotel
Sztarill Palace
The State Theater of Oradea