| Palace of the National Bank | |
| Native Name: | Palatul Băncii Naționale |
| Native Name Lang: | ro |
| Coordinates: | 45.755°N 21.2336°W |
| Former Names: | Austro-Hungarian Bank State Bank |
| Architectural Style: | Secession |
| Location: | Timișoara, Romania |
| Start Date: | 1903 |
| Completion Date: | 1904 |
| Architect: | Josef Hubert |
| Main Contractor: | Alois Schlosser |
The Palace of the National Bank (ro|Palatul Băncii Naționale) is a historical building in Timișoara, Romania, housing the local branch of the National Bank of Romania.
Construction began in 1903, on land purchased from the city hall, and was completed in just one year.[1] The building was designed by the Budapest architect Josef Hubert, and the contractor Alois Schlosser participated in the works. It was the first Timișoara bank whose headquarters were not located inside the fortress, but in its immediate vicinity on the land freed by the fortification walls and the Transylvania Gate. The foundation works were quite difficult, because concrete was used and the bank's armored warehouses were set up. Between 1904 and 1918, the building served as the seat of the Austro-Hungarian Bank, and then of the State Bank.[2] It was the only "Austro-Hungarian" and not royal Hungarian civil institution that existed in Timișoara.[3]
The facade stands out for its decorations specific to the late Viennese Baroque combined with the Secession style. The heads of lions, with which the facade is decorated, symbolize power and wealth. The building, surrounded by a garden and a masonry fence with iron railing, has two entrances that open into an elegant hall with imposing columns and counters.