After the conquest in October 1716 of the
Timișoara Fortress by the Habsburg army under the command of
Eugene of Savoy, it was found that the Turkish fortifications could not cope with the new fighting techniques. As a result, the decision was made to restore the entire fortress. The fortification was done in the
Pagan system. The Pagan system inspired the first of the fortification systems envisaged by
Vauban; the similarity between these systems spread the claim that Timișoara would have been fortified in the Vauban style. The Timișoara Fortress (; ; ) consisted of nine
bastions: Charles, Francis, Theresia, Joseph, Hamilton, Castle, Mercy, Eugene and Elisabeth. The Theresia Bastion was the first to be built. Construction began in 1732 It appears for the first time on the plans of 1732–1733. It was originally designed as a ravelin, surrounded by water, located in front of the
curtain wall that was to unite the future Francis and Joseph bastions and was called the
Ravelin of the Food Warehouse. At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the city of Timișoara was defortified. Within it, almost all the fortifications were demolished. The Theresia Bastion was the only bastion that was not demolished, the reason being that it had usable rooms along its entire length. Currently, the bastion belongs to the
Timiș County (bodies A, B, C and E), administered by Timiș County Council, and to the municipality of Timișoara (body D), administered by Timișoara City Hall.
Restorations The first restoration of the bastion was between 1968 and 1969, according to a project by the architect Ștefan Iojică. On this occasion, a passage through the bastion was made for car and pedestrian traffic, and reinforcements were made by pouring concrete. But a number of specific details were removed, and the ditch in front of the bastion was reduced. A second restoration took place in 2008–2010 and was carried out in five construction phases. The restoration project was developed by Archaeus in 2004–2009 under the coordination of the architect Marius Miclăuș, and the contractor was the consortium Bennert GmbH/Prowa Contracting and Consulting GmbH. As part of this restoration, the cement-based mortars poured during the previous restoration were removed. The brick arches in the bastion's flanks and retreat were converted into
porticos by inserting timber frames. The mounds of earth above the flanks and retreat, which formed
breastworks and where firing
barbettes were set up, were also removed. The inner courtyard of the fortification was completely redesigned, by arranging the body E, a stepped pedestrian area. The attic, which was not used in the last decades, was transformed into a cultural space with exhibition or conference halls. The 300-year-old beams have been preserved and enhanced, as have the ventilation shafts. == Description ==