The row of five apartment buildings located on the left side of Bega Canal, near Dragalina Bridge (formerly Horgony Hid), is surely one of the most striking and homogenous architectural ensembles of the city. Based on the analysis of the buildings’ style and morphology, they can all be attributed to the same architect, Martin Gemeinhardt.
The subject of this article, however, is the first apartment building of the ensemble, located at the junction of Tudor Vladimirescu Embankment with Ion Ghica Street. Built in the style of the 1900s, the Secession current, the construction stands out for its corner tower, which acts as a counterweight to the tower of „The Anchor” Apartment Building at the other end of the ensemble. Simultaneously, the three apartment buildings in the middle create a rhythm through the alternating pediments, bow windows and balconies facing the Bega Canal.
In September 1911, Adolf Hanecker, Baloneszku, Schnürer and Weiss obtained construction permits for four three-storey buildings. Of these permits, only Adolf Hanecker’s was different in terms of volume, as it was for a building comprising 12 apartments and 36 rooms (unlike the others, whose buildings consisted of 16 apartments each).
The facade of Hanecker Apartment Building is decorated with elements typical of the 1900s architecture, such as ribbons, vegetation garlands and floral motifs designed in the Secession aesthetic. The wrought iron work of the balconies and window boxes are also of great artistic value.
Adolf Henecker was a known spice merchant, who ran several shops in the historical neighbourhood of Iosefin, in Timișoara. Alongside his wife, Kornélia, he also owned several properties which led him to become, in 1911, a member of the local council, with the right to elect representatives to the Parliament. The last available information on Adolf Hanecker is from a newspaper dating from the 1940s, where we learn that he was elected as a member of the parish council of the Roman Catholic Church in Iosefin.