First electric illuminated city in Europe celebrates 130 years

Timisoara was the first city in entire Europe which had benefited of electric illumination on the streets. The event happened 130 years ago, on November 12, when 731 lamps have been turned on for the citizens.

“In 1882, the 25 years of contract with the Viennese company that provided gas for lighting the streets of Timisoara ended. The provider however decided to increase gas prices at a level deemed unacceptable by the municipality. The situation was especially complicated since the pipes through which the gas flowed were all owned by the provider (under the contract signed 25 years prior), and the Viennese were determined to dismantle them quickly if the contract could not be extended. Thus, there was the possibility that the city’s streets remain in the dark. The solution came with the offer made by “Anglo Austrian Brush Electrical Company Limited”, a British-Austrian firm based also in Vienna; the building of a power plant to supply a total of 516 street lights was proposed (soon they would become 730 street lights). The English already had the know-how required for this undertaking. In England the first use of electricity for street lighting had already been done in 1879. But in all these first cases, they were rather actions of some futuristic experiments, and not long-term systems. An American city reported that the main square had become “lighted as the day” … with four street lights”, explains info portal www.timisoara-info.ro

To celebrate this anniversary, Enel commissioned contemporary artist Alex Baciu to make a work of art dedicated to this European premiere.