Neumann Palace Arad - Palatul Neumann Arad

The Neumann Palace of Arad, Romania

Neumann Palace Arad – Summary

The Neumann Palace (Palatul Neumann) is a two-story, 19th century, eclectic architectural style palace that’s located in the city center of Arad, Romania. The palace was funded by and built to be, the living quarters for the Jewish, Neumann family, which emigrated to Arad from Vienna in the mid-19^th century. The Neumann family went on to become one of the most influential, wealthy, and aristocratic families in all of Romania at the end of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century.

Corner View of the Neumann Palace

The Neumann’s amassed great fortunes by owning many factories, stadiums, schools, and by controlling the majority of industry in Arad at the time. Some of the family’s most profitable businesses were their spirit and yeast factories, their textile factories, and their steam-powered flour mills. The Neumann family played a significant role in the early development of Arad. Their factories employed and provided salaries to thousands of Arad citizens. The family built schools and stadiums for the community. They also helped fund projects that modernized much of the city’s infrastructure.

Francisc and Eduard Neuman Meeting King Carol II

Neumann Palace Arad – Architecture

The palace was designed by architect Milan Tabacovits and took a year to be constructed (1891-1892). The outside of the building is adorned by rows of varying window shapes. Some of the windows are circular, others rectangular, and some are oval. The palace has various sculptures, such as half-lion/half-human faces, which are found along different portions on its outside walls. The palace Façade contains the marvelous Neumann family heraldry embedded into it. Inside the palace, there are a few beautiful murals, which hang on the walls, of passed prominent citizens of Arad.

Neumann Family Heraldry Engraved in the Palace’s Facade

The wooden ceilings inside the building are splendidly crafted and provide a grand view when looked upon. Gorgeous chandeliers hang from different segments of the ceiling throughout the various palace rooms and corridors. The first floor of the palace has a full size, immaculate, 200 seat conference room which was originally a ballroom. Many elements in the conference room contain fine noble wood with intarsia patterns crafted into them. Some of the rooms inside the palace lead to balconies which overlook the central streets of Arad.

Stairwell Inside the Neumann Palace

The building contains stunning stairwells inside which are decorated in beautiful wrought iron ornamentation. Like on the outside, the inside also contains various sculptures of masked men and other noble entities. The palace is shaped as a partial triangle and fits as a wedge into the corner of two streets. The length of the building stretches to run adjacent with a 3^rd principal street. The Neuman Palace is accessible through three separate gated entrances, one entrance for each of the 3 streets the building runs along.

Side View of the Neumann Palace

The palace’s original purpose was to serve as a private residence for the Neumann family. After the Neuman family moved out, it was redesignated to function as a multi-purpose building. The palace’s new tenants became shops and other private businesses. In order to accommodate and fit a larger number of rooms and offices inside the building, the palace was extended and enlarged. The new wider version was spread out to the neighboring Episcopiei cross street.

Neumann Palace Arad – Present Day

The Neumann Palace in present-day Arad serves as a building that houses numerous commercial establishments. Some of the businesses which currently operate out of the building include a McDonalds, a Tattoo Parlor, a Bank, and a Currency Exchange. The conference room, as well as other dwellings inside the palace, are often used by students and faculty of the Vasile Goldiș University (Western University of Arad).

The students and faculty have meetings, coordinate projects, and run workshops out of the building. The Neumann Palace also contains several luxurious apartments which range in value from €60,000 to over €100,00. At one point the Mayor of Arad wanted to move into one of the luxury apartments with the premise of living in the unit so that he could help run restoration projects for the palace. The Mayor’s attempts, however, were futile and he was denied the residency.

Neumann Palace View from Bulevardul Revoluției

The majority of the apartments in the building are now owned by Italian expats. In 2013 there was great controversy over the tenants in the apartments being overcharged more than 5 times the rate for water consumption. The problem was said to have come from faulty water measuring units that were intertwined with the measuring units of the restaurants in the building.

The mix-up of the units had lead to inaccurate readings for the apartment owners. The tenants refused to pay the overpriced water bills, which totaled around € 65,000, so their water was shut off. The controversy lasted months with lawsuits being filed from both sides (tenants and water company) and neither party willing to back down or admit fault.

Neumann Palace Arad – Video

Neumann Palace Arad – Visitor Information

Location

The Neumann Palace is located in the city of Arad’s city center at the address: Bulevardul Revoluției 78. It sits at the intersection of Bulevardul Revoluției (Revolution Boulevard) and Strada Horia (Horia Street).

The palace is found right in the middle of two other palaces, the Szantay Palace to its West, and the Justiției Palace to its right, both of which are located on the same street.

Visitation

The Palace is Open Daily: Hours Vary per Establishment to be visited inside the Palace.

Roaming Romania

Neumann Palace Arad – Palatul Neumann Arad