Wednesday, June 28, 2023

Ailanthus altissima, cenuserul, otetarul, arborele raiului sau arborele iadului?

Recent am scris o plangere primariei, gardei de mediu, administratia nationala de protectie a mediului si ministerului mediului despre aceasta buruiana toxica, atasand aceasta prezentare despre caracteristicile negative ale arborelui. Am decis sa o postez pentru a constientiza si pe altii ca nu trebuie sa suportam un mediu toxic doar pentru ca autoritatile sunt incompetente. Eu cu ai mei ne ocupam de taierea puietilor acestor buruieni de ani de zile in cartierul nostru, dar se raspandesc cu sutele si nu mai facem fata.

Daca vedeti asa puieti, e bine daca puteti sa ii taiati de la radacina, dar aveti grija sa purtati echipament de protectie pentru ca pana si seva lor este toxica. Desigur, nu plantati buruiana asta in gradini si daca aveti posibilitatea, puteti chiar si sa taiati arborii adulti. Se gasesc pe terenuri parasite, langa sine de tren, printre alte buruieni:

Invazie de puieti



Un puiet


Arbore adult pe un teren parasit


Desen botanic


Raspandire in lume: Link

Ailanthus altissima sau cenuserul este cea mai invaziva specie de arbore din lume, adus aici din China in secolul XVIII, desi europenii si-au dat seama rapid de puterea lui de invazie si mirosul lui urat.


Este atat de invaziv datorita abilitatii lui de a face puieti in apropiere de trunchi pana la nesfarsit, in special accelerata dupa taiere.


E considerat international o buruiana invaziva si otravitoare pentru: oameni, animale, insecte inclusiv albine, alte plante si solul din jurul lor.

In majoritatea tarilor UE sunt activitati nationale de exterminare. Acesti arbori invadeaza spatii unde cresc plante native, iar datorita toxicitatii lor le omoara pe cele din jur producand chimicale alelopatice in sol pentru a depasi speciile native, facand loc extinderii puietilor lor numerosi.


In Ungaria de exemplu s-a decis exterminarea lor la nivel national dupa ce au gasit ca este o amenintare pentru biodiversitatea nativa, punand in pericol plante pe cale de disparitie din parcurile lor nationale protejate. Un lucru la care ar trebui sa ne gandim si noi pana nu e prea tarziu.


Toxicitatea sevei sau a picaturilor de clei care cade de pe coroana acestui arbore reprezinta risc de urticarie pentru bebelusi si oameni cu pielea sensibila. Seva e cunoscuta ca si cauza a miocarditei, trebuie taiati cu atentie astfel incat sa nu lasati seva sa va atinga pielea.


Pe langa toxicitatea lui se adauga si poluarea oraselor cu mirosul lui puternic si neplacut, de stricat, ranced, a alune sau sperma putrezite. De ce trebuie ca noi cetatenii sa suportam lucrurile astea de la o buruiana, atat de raspandita in toate orasele din tara? Timisoara arata frumos, dar miroase a putregai de primavara pana toamna pentru ca e atat de invadata de planta asta puturoasa!


Arborele reface puieti si mai viguros dupa ce e taiat la radacina, fiind notoriu pentru cat de greu este sa fie exterminat, si cat de mult timp consuma. Din aceasta cauza, desi in China a fost numit "arborele raiului", gradinarii si conservationistii din occident l-au poreclit "arborele iadului".


Radacinile lui care se extind agresiv pot deteriora canale subterane.

Este un arbore foarte rapid in crestere, posibil cel mai rapid din occident cu 1-2 metri pe an in primii 4 ani si considerabil mai rapid si in batranete in comparatie cu alti arbori.


Este adaptabil la toate solurile, indiferent de pH, umiditate, e rezistent la seceta. Ii place sa creasca mai mult in caldura oraselor decat in campuri.

De asemenea, concentratii mari de mercur au fost gasite in tesuturi ale plantei. Chimicalele alelopatice, toxice, produse de ailanthus altissima au fost dovedite sa omoare 100% din puietii altor arbori nativi, cu exceptia propilor puieti.


Cum se poate extermina?

In procesul de exterminare nationala din Elvetia s-a descoperit ca cea mai eficienta metoda este un amestec de control fizic si chimic, adica folosind taiere urmata de ierbicide pentru a opri cresterea noilor puieti abundenti.

Monday, March 20, 2023

Timisoara's center square historical map


    Victoria square, Opera square, King Ferdinand Boulevard, the place where Timisoara proclaimed itself as free from communism on the 20th of December 1989. Corso on the right, Surogat on the left, designed in 1870 when the walls of the old fortress were being demolished, and approved by Franz Joseph I's decision to cancel Timisoara's status as a fortress.

    I've never found an infographic that explains what each building is called, when it was built, by who and in what style, so I made one for myself. Wether you're a tourist or local that wants to know more about their city, enjoy this list, and wherever you see missing or disproven data, you are welcome to reach out to me.

Saturday, May 2, 2020

Bridges in Timisoara, Nomenclature insanity

  Since we're on lockdown and I have nothing to do, I decided to make a map that would help me understand why people from Timisoara don't usually refer to their bridges on Bega by name, but usually substitute their title for the street they connect to, like for  the bridge to the old Resitei street; the general neighborhood, like for the bridge in Traian or Iosefin; describing them like they do for the metal or viaduct bridges; their position relative to the orthodox cathedral, like for Maria and Mihai Viteazu; or by a wring name like for the Metallic bridge called colloquially Eiffel bridge.


Legend:
Blue - road bridge
Purple - pedestrian bridge
Teal - railway bridge
Yellow - main adjacent street

  The conclusion I gathered is that there were so many changes made by the city hall between their names, up and down stream, that it became far too confusing to call them by name, expecially when they are named after streets from another place in the city like Eroilor or Traian.

  Here is a drawing that shows name change directions and homologous street names:
The city hall meetings on these must have been a headache!


Saturday, June 1, 2019

Laszlo Szekely buildings Masterpost



    Yesterday I was walking through the cemetery in my neighbourhood and I accidentally saw the tomb of Laslo Szekely, a lucrative architect that worked on Timișoara.
    I was curious to see just how many buildings he planned and I could find bits here and there, but not an exhaustive list, especially not with good images. So I decided to make a Masterpost myself with everything I could find. If you know of any others, or the stories behind them, please participate by writing in!
    These first two I find the most interesting:

Eerie!

Communal Slaughterhouse - Abatorul comunal
Built in 1905, limited activity in 1989, abolished in 1992. Damaged by disrepair and demolitions.


Hydroelectric Waterworks Plant - Uzina de apă

Motor room
Built in 1910, the motor room contains Ganz turbines with 600 H.P. It was made for powering the tram service, public lighting and industry, and it is still functional today.

Buildings in the central square Corso (Piața Victoriei):

(more or less in chronological order because I couldn't find the dates for two of them)
Corso means "avenue" or "a social promenade" in Italian. Present in some Mediterranean countries. This is a clue to the Italian influence on the city.

Neuhausz Palace Palatul Neuhausz
Built in 1911-1912 on Corso Boulevard.




Weiss Palace - Palatul Weiss
Built in 1912, the palace was designed by the Arnold Merbl Co., and only the gable was designed by Laszlo Szekely. The Weiss family had several famous doctors and industrialists in Timişoara, and renting apartments in this building was a profitable enterprise for them.



Dauerbach Palace - Palatul Dauerbach
Built in 1912-1913.



Hilt & Vogel Palace - Palatul Hilt & Vogel
Built in 1912-1913 in Art Nouveau style.


Szechenyi Palace - Palatul Szechenyi
Built in 1900-1914 by the Szechenyi Society.


Chamber of Commerce Industry and Agriculture Timis - Camera de Comerț și Industrie


Hotel Timișoara - Pension Central


Other buildings:

Roman Catholic High School Gerhardinum (Piarist High School) - Liceul Piarist

Brück House - Casa Brück
Built 1910, Art-Nouveau and Secession style, eclectic character. Restored in 2012.



City Asylum Fund Palace - Palatul Fondului Azilului Orășenesc (Palatul Ştefania)
Built in 1908 in Fabric neighbourhood.

Fabric Turkish Bathhouse Baia Publică Neptun
Built 1913-1914


Virgin Mary Monument - Statuia Sfânta Maria din Piața Maria
Built in 1906 on the place where Gheorghe Doja was publicly executed for leading a peasants' revolt against the kingdom's landed nobility, and is now considered a martyr. The execution was performed by sitting the condemned on a smouldering hot iron throne, wearing a heated crown and sceptre, mocking his ambition to be king.




Hungarian Credit Bank - Banca Generală Maghiară de Credit

Emmer House - Casa Emmer
Built in 1908 in Art Nouveau style.


Forestry High School - Liceul Silvic
Built in 1908.




Firefighters barracks in Iosefvaros - Cazarma Pompierilor din Iosefin (sediul Detașamentul 2 de Pompieri Timișoara)
Built in 1906, costing 84.000 crowns, the equivalent of 25kg of gold. The watchtower could oversee the entire western part of the city: Josephstadt/Iosefin, Elisabethstadt/Elisabetin, Franzstadt/Mehala.



Israelite boarding school in Timisoara Liceul Israelit din Timișoara

The Stocking Factory - Fabrica de Ciorapi pre-2015

This tower is what is left of the stocking factory after it was demolished in 2015 to build a Kaufland supermarket in it's place

Fabric Orthodox Romanian Church - Biserica ortodoxă română din Fabric


Houses for his family:



The Palace of the widow Szekely - Palatul văduvei Szekely
Built in 1911 in Viennese Secession style with minimalistic modern character for his mother, Jujana Szekely (born. Mados). She was the president of the Reunion of Reformed Evangelical Women in Timisoara.



Karoly Kiss Palace - Palatul Karoly Kiss

Karoly Kiss House - Casa Karoly Kiss
Both were built in 1911 for Karoly Kiss, the urbanistic engineer which was also Laszlo's brother-in-law. On Splaiul Nistrului.


Serbian Orthodox episcopal palace in Timisoara - Palatul episcopal sârb din Timişoara

He also planned the second floor of this building above in 1905-1906, on top of the old one-story byzantine base (from 1745-1747). The ornaments on this building facade were covered with cement during the communist period and were renovated in 2014, discovering that 35 different pattern moulds needed to be used to remake the old ornaments underneath.

In other cities and towns:

Salonta Town Hall - Primăria Salonta



Salonta State High School - Liceul superior de stat Salonta
Slaughterhouse of Becicherecul Mare - Abatorul din Becicherecul Mare

Knitting factory in Gyula - Fabrică de tricotaje din Gyula
Vršac Orthodox Serbian bishopric - Palatul episcopiei ortodoxe sârbe din Vârșeț

Sources: WikipediaHeritageoftimisoaraWelcometoromania, Szekely Laszlo (album trilingv - maghiară, română, engleză). Editura Erdelyi Hírado, Cluj, 2002, Delesega Gyula - Temesvari Kalauz, Editura Marineasa, Timișoara, 2003, ISBN 973-631-047-7.