A Shopping Mall On Steroids – Black Eagle Palace in Oradea (Lost Lands #175)

For all the otherworldly beauty of the architecture in Oradea, the buildings have something in common with other architectural treasures found in cities across Eastern Europe. While the exteriors are a feast for the eyes, the interiors are off limits. The idea is that you can look, but do not even think about coming inside. I cannot count the number of times I was so attracted to a building that I wanted to step inside, only to then be disabused of this notion by locked doors, electronic keypads, and menacing security men shouting at me. Rather than a warm welcome, I received the coldest shoulder. Access to some of the most splendid buildings I have ever seen was not permitted. A few such as the National Archives in Hungary do make allowances by providing public tours. That was a notable exception to the usual rule of a locked door and do not enter sign in the local language.

Restricted Entry – Gates of the Palace

I have been left standing on the outside looking into tinted windows more times than I care to count at beautiful buildings in the lost lands beyond Hungary’s border. I am sure that will happen again. There is no use putting it on the itinerary I am developing for the lost lands because it will be a common occurrence. Gaining access to the interiors of beautiful buildings is much rarer. Even when I do, the situation might not go so well. For example, during my first visit to Oradea I happened upon a newly refurbished palace with the doors wide open. I snapped a photo of the decor and was immediately confronted by a woman setting up the facility for an event. She told me that I had to delete any photos because I did not have the right to take them there. I did not see any signs, just the look on her face and the irritation in her voice. The woman added that I could get in trouble for copyright infringement. Her attitude was so ridiculous that I said “sure”, walked out the door, and ignored her directive. She had no need to worry. The photos were not worth keeping, the memories were. That woman’s rudeness recalls the one thing I miss while traveling in Eastern Europe, the openness and friendliness of Americans.

People in Eastern Europe are more reserved than Americans in public. (Note: Once people get to know you, there are no better friends than Eastern Europeans. Friendships have more depth.) Customer service still has a long way to go. I believe that same attitude is one of the main reasons why the interiors of so many architectural treasures are off limits for visitors to the region. Luckily, I did find one palace in Oradea that allowed free access to the most beautiful parts of the building. The Black Eagle Palace has the kind of name that would have been fitting for Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Rather than being conceived for gothic horror fiction, the palace is a portal to an early 20th century iteration of a shopping mall. I always assumed the concept of shopping malls came about in the latter half of the 20th century. The Black Eagle Palace challenges that assumption.

Consumer Culture – Come One, Come All

Shopping malls were all the rage in America when I was a teenager. I can still recall our family's first trip to Valley Hills Mall in Hickory, North Carolina. The mall was like something out of a dream with well-lit stores filled with any item consumers could possibly want. On that first visit, I spent time in a bookstore. Predictably I left with a purchase. This was a happy portent of weekly shopping trips to the mall to come. The shopping mall has been viewed as quintessentially American. For good reason. The first enclosed shopping mall opened in Edina, Minnesota in 1956. Hundreds more would follow. ?Now the shopping mall is seen as a thing of the past.?A part of American cultural history that is antiquated when compared to the stand along big box stores of today. The last time I set foot in my homeland, the stores paled in comparison to the ones I remembered from visits as a child. There was an air of resignation about the place. I detected that the mall had joined the has-beens of consumer history.

It has been my experience that shopping malls in Eastern Europe are still worthwhile places filled with commercial enterprises. I recall the first one in the region that I visited in Sofia, Bulgaria. The glitz and glamour on display put the shopping malls of my youth to shame. The mall was packed with people. I witnessed this same scene repeated across the region numerous times. What I did not realize was that the concept of shopping malls runs much deeper in the Balkans. I discovered this by chance in Oradea, home to one of the first great enclosed shopping areas. The Black Eagle Palace in Nagyvarad (Oradea’s official name prior to the post-World War I Treaty of Trianon) redefined shopping, just as it did palaces. The antecedent to the Black Eagle Palace was the 18th century Eagle Inn, also known as the Town Beer House. It was located at the intersection of Strada Independentei (Independence Street) with Piata Unirii (Union Plaza). Civic and entertainment functions for the city were held there.

Ambition & Style – Palace Intrigue

The Eagle Inn was the center of public life in Nagyvarad for well over a century. As the city grew, so did the Inn. It acted as the town hall with a larger hotel eventually developed on the site. After the Austro-Hungarian Empire was formed in 1867, Nagyvarad boomed. The population increased, as did the wealth of local luminaries. Businessmen and entrepreneurs constructed secessionist style buildings with lavish ornamentation. Many of these structures were multi-purpose in nature with shops and living quarters. In 1903, Nagyvarad held a competition for a design to upgrade the Eagle Hotel. Construction of the winning design was too expensive for the city to afford.

The project was shelved until 1906 when two ambitious Jewish lawyers and entrepreneurs, Adorjan Emil and Kurlander Ede, bought the Eagle Hotel and funded the project. The result was the Black Eagle Palace. The building included three entrances, a glazed passageway, large and small meeting rooms and 35 shops. There were two cinemas, a pastry shop, photography studio, and a cabaret. The palace was an early 20th century shopping mall on steroids. Best of all, it still stands today. A credit to the visionary genius of architects Dezso Jakab and Marcell Komor. Komor, in particular. was one of the greatest architects of his age. His life and work?in the lost lands beyond Hungary’s borders is worth a second look.