About

Initially, this building was the residence of renowned architect Rimánoczy Kálmán, Jr. Following his passing in 1912, the building was sold. After nearly a decade, in 1921, it was bought by the Ministry of Cults, which did so in order to turn it into what it is today, the Romanian Orthodox Bishopric.

By all estimates, the construction of this palace was carried out in 1903 – although there is no certain data to back this claim. The first owner of the building was, at the same time, both its architect and builder.

The architecture

The construction, done in the eclectic style, with neo-Gothic elements predominating on the façade, has two levels and is divided into 7 sections on the façade; two of them are delineated at the upper level, with columns featuring Ionic chapiters, and end at the level of the attic. The ground floor windows close off at the upper side with a circular arch, while the windows on the upper floor close off with an ogive.

The architect

Rimanóczy Kálmán Junior (1870-1912) was the most important architect of Oradea in between 1900 and 1912, also becoming renowned as an entrepreneur.

Born in 1870, in Oradea, and studying in Berlin and Budapest, Rimanóczy, Jr. made a name for himself in the landscape of the city’s architecture during the prosperous period of Art Nouveau.

His family owned multiple buildings in Oradea, among which the steam bath between Libertăţii (Liberty) Street and Iosif Vulcan Street, along with several sawmills, brick factories and furniture factories on Calea Clujului (Cluj Road).

He received numerous orders for public buildings, constructions that he fleshed out in various stylistic forms.

Some of his architectural creations in Oradea are:

• The Palace of Public Finance, 1899-1900, Republicii Street no. 35;
• City Hall, 1902-1903, Piața Unirii (Union Square) no. 1;
• The Neuro-Psychiatry Hospital, 1902-1903, Louis Pasteur Street no. 26;
• The Pentecost Roman-Catholic Church, 1903-1905, Dunărea (Danube) Street no. 1;
• The Rimanóczy K. Junior Palace, cca. 1903, Roman Ciorogariu Street no. 3 (the Residence of the Orthodox Bishopric starting from 1921);
• The Palace of the Greek-Catholic Bishopric, 1903-1905, Union Square no. 3;
• Moskovits Miksa Palace, 1904-1905, Republicii Street next to Traian (Trajan) Park no. 2;
• The Rimanóczy Kalman. Sr. Palace, 1905, Republicii Street next to Trajan Park no. 1;
• The former Central Savings Bank of Oradea, 1906-1907, expanded in 1912, Piața Regele Ferdinand (King Ferdinand Square) no. 4;
• The Building of the Bar Association, 1908-1909, George Enescu Street no. 1;
• The Apollo Palace, 1912-1914, Republicii Street no. 12.

Among the residential buildings designed by the architect, the most well-known are the great tenement buildings: the Rimanóczy Kalman. Sr. Palace, the Apollo Palace, the Moskovits Miksa Palace, and the Rimanóczy Kalman. Jr. Palace.