Temesvár first in continental Europe with electric streetlights
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In the late 1880s, Temesvár (now Timișoara, Romania) became the first city in continental Europe to fully implement electric street lighting.
The city’s layout, open-mindedness, and the initiative of its mayor, János Török, along with a dispute with a gas lighting company, contributed to this achievement. In the autumn of 1884, Temesvár illuminated its streets with 731 lamps extending 59 kilometers, each providing the equivalent of 16 candles.
The decision to switch to electric lighting followed the expiration of Temesvár’s 25-year contract with the Austrian Gasbeleuchtungs Gesellschaft. City leaders considered the company’s renewal terms too high and chose to partner with the Anglo-Austrian Brush Electrical Company Limited. The city also benefited from the work of the Délmagyarországi Természettudományi Társulat (South Hungarian Natural Science Society), which promoted electricity through publications and lectures, including a visit to the 1878 Paris Electrotechnical Exhibition by Kuhn Lajos.
While other cities like Budapest were experimenting with electric lighting in select locations, Temesvár fully embraced the technology. By 1893, the city owned the power plant and, by 1899, extended electricity to its tram system. The city’s electrical capacity grew from 376 kilowatts in 1893 to 3155 kilowatts in the early 20th century, powering 2286 incandescent and arc lamps for public lighting, alongside 70,862 lamps used by private consumers.
