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The Padlock House Arad

The Padlock House in Arad, Romania was built in 1815 and served as the center for the city's guilds. It has a niche on the corner that once held an "Iron Block" where apprentices would drive nails as a memento of entering the city. The building underwent alterations over time and saw significant events during the 1848 revolution. It now houses a local history museum and legends say secret tunnels once connected it to the nearby fortress.

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101 views

The Padlock House Arad

The Padlock House in Arad, Romania was built in 1815 and served as the center for the city's guilds. It has a niche on the corner that once held an "Iron Block" where apprentices would drive nails as a memento of entering the city. The building underwent alterations over time and saw significant events during the 1848 revolution. It now houses a local history museum and legends say secret tunnels once connected it to the nearby fortress.

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AdrianNicolaeSereș
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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The Padlock House, no.

7, Tribunu Dobra Street, 1815


The building has been declared historical monument code AR-II-m-B-00572
Description
The building was erected in 1815 and the upper floors were added later, in 1851. The faade
underwent several alterations. On the corner of the edifice there was an iron log, a memento of
the medieval guilds: the apprentices who would come into the city to get acquainted to the
secrets of the handcrafts would drive a nail into the log, each of these having a special head. The
restored log can be seen in the History Museum of the county
History
The building was built around 1815 by Joseph Winkler, a viennese merchant. This building, at
first, was the Centre of Arad's guilds. These civil associations (guilds) had an old tradition in the
region of Arad. The first Guild of Arad was recorded around the year 1706.
In the corner Of Plevna's square, the building has niche that until 1994 had the famous "Block of
Iron". Therefore, few years ago there could be found a prior block of wood, wrapped in iron
sheet, made after a viennese model by a sculptor named Moritz Heim, from Timisoara.
The hub of the guilds was made in 1827, at the order of a macedo-romanian merchant, named
Andrei Trandafir. Hubs like this could be found in cities such as: Vienna, Budapest, Bratislava,
Oradea, Timioara and others. Local history attests the fact that this piece of tree trunk had a
special symbolism in the life and activity of local merchants. Therefore, their workers, to prove
that they have passed through Arad, passed over to this building to beat one nail in the renowned
Hub of Guilds. Each nail has a distinct head, representing the workers stamp. This tradition was
kept until 1872, when a new law abolished the activity of Arad Guilds.
On Tribunu Dobra Street, on which the building can be seen today, has gone through the
fulminating events of the 1848 Revolution. Therefore, on this street have been bloody battles on
8 February, 1849, between the National-City Guards and Austrian troops who took under siege
the Fortress of Arad. After the completion of the Wallachian Revolution, in this building was the
Imperial Austrian Secret Police, and in the basement of the building were imprisoned many
revolutionaries.
Architecture
The building was erected in 1815, and the upper floors were added later, in 1851. The faade has
suffered several changes over time. The building has two upper floors and an inner-yard.
Curiosities
The building has various legend which say that the army maintained in the past a number of
secret tunnels, connecting the Fortress with the city, but all these rumors haven't been truly
confirmed until today.

The sheltering niche of the "Hub of Guilds" was protected by a metal bar, closed with a padlock.
This detail gave the name of the building: "The padlock house". Therefore, another legend says
that the owner of the building said at the inauguration that he who will be able to open the
padlock, will receive the whole building as a reward. The restored Hub of Guilds is currently
exposed in one of the halls of the History Museum of the county.
Links
http://drumliber.ro/casa-cu-lacat-din-arad-legenda/
http://adevarul.ro/locale/arad/foto-casa-lacat-legenda-aradului-gasea-cheia-primeaintreaga-cladire-1_511a85f9344a78211831e204/index.html
http://www.welcometoromania.ro/Arad/Arad_Casa_cu_Lacat_r.htm
http://www.primariaarad.ro/arad.php?page=/pledoarie/lacat.html

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