Heritage meets community at Timișoara's Museum of Water

One of the standout projects of the year that Timișoara held the European Capital of Culture title was the opening of the Museum of Water, on the site of the former Urseni water plant. In only six months since its official inauguration in June, it turned into a space where visitors can discover a piece of the city's history, attend numerous cultural events, and reflect on a variety of topics related to water and the natural heritage.

The first stop for those visiting the museum is the recently-built entrance pavilion, which features several clues of the institution's diverse reach: shelves with environmentally-themed children's books and games, an area for exhibitions and other events, and an upright piano. The pavilion adds to the museum complex, which encompasses the three heritage buildings of the city's former drinking water plant, all set in a generous park, dotted with plane trees. The Urseni Plant was in use for nearly 80 years, starting in 1914 and until the 1990s, when a new water treatment station was built in the vicinity.