Abstract
Timişoara became a rightful provincial capital of an Austrian domain during the 18th Century. In this period an important number of citizens chose to build and run inns or taverns as landlords or just as leaseholders. The archive documents from Timişoara put together the puzzle pieces that recreate the stories of old public houses; they also contain information regarding all sorts of activities connected to the microcosm of taverns. Therefore the aim of this paper is to discover who the owners of inns were, why did they choose this trade and what was their place in Timişoara’s society. The clientele, less highlighted in documents, also plays a role through the choices of spending their leisure time in such places, through activities they fancied: music, gambling, billiards, bowling and the products they ordered for consumption. All these aspects enable us to shed light one of the most vivid parts of 18th century urban life.
Highlights
In 1718 the Austro-Turkish War, following which the House of Habsburg considerably expanded its territories, ended; included in the areas annexed from the Turks is the Banat40
What the House of Austria intended for this region could not be translated into reality without the help of colonists coming from the Holy Roman Empire and
40 An historical province bordered by the rivers Tisa, Mureü, the Danube and the Carpathian Mountains, today most of it belongs to Romania
Summary
In 1718 the Austro-Turkish War, following which the House of Habsburg considerably expanded its territories, ended; included in the areas annexed from the Turks is the Banat. We start the virtual tour of Timiüoara’s public establishments with Zum weißen Ochsen [The White Ox], mentioned in a document from March 18th 1718 by which the butcher Hans Georg Premmer/Prenner received approval for building a house, with the dimensions indicated, that was to serve as pub (PMT, 8/1718). The building in which this pub existed was built by Marx Donauer, a shoemaker and one of the oldest citizens of Timiüoara - as he calls himself after obtaining approval from the Administration He stated that he wanted a building to house the above mentioned company and to offer his customers good, quality wine at a fair price. The pub appears as an approved company on the list of locations authorized to organize dances under the name Zum goldenen Weintrauben in 1741 and as Zur Trauben in 1756, with Anton Schweiger, whose name appears on the Memorandum, as innkeeper at the time (Hoffman 1923, p. 12)
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