Casa Tineretului
Construction of the Communist Youth House of Timișoara—affectionately called Casa Tineretului—began in 1972 and was completed in 1979. It was designed by modernist architects Haralambie Cicheci and Ivan Stern, with sculptor Peter Jecz contributing the large bas-reliefs that still define the building’s façade.
During the communist era, Casa Tineretului served as the headquarters of the Timiș Communist Youth Union. Beyond politics, it also functioned as a cultural hub, hosting films, concerts, plays, and other public gatherings.
In the 1980s, the building became the epicenter of rock and roll in Timișoara. From 1981 to 1987, it was home to the PM6 Club, a weekly event where young people from the city and surrounding areas came together to dance and listen to rock music. For a deeper look into the PM6 Club, check out the documentary, "The Vinyl Revolution," on this site.
Mimo Obrodov played a central role in those gatherings, both as DJ and as an interpreter of Western rock for the youth who filled Casa Tineretului. The clip below features Mimo reflecting on his involvement in the building’s construction in the late 1970s.
What fascinates me about PM6 and Casa Tineretului is the strange coexistence of rock and roll with the communist establishment. While kids were rocking out to Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, and the Rolling Stones, party officials kept offices on the second floor. If, like me, you wonder why the authorities tolerated this, don’t miss Mimo’s video where he explains the curious relationship between rock and roll and Romania’s communist party.
Casa Tineretului is also one of my favorite public buildings in Timișoara. I admire it not only for the history that unfolded there but also for its brutalist architecture. The lobby is striking, with a central staircase that dominates the space—a hallmark of authoritarian design that forces everything to converge toward a single focal point. Despite this, I find the effect fascinating. On the first floor, an original mosaic still shines: a vivid depiction of socialist workers in heroic poses, engaged in collective labor. Its bold colors and sharp geometric lines are characteristic of the artwork found in communist youth houses across Eastern Europe after the Second World War.
One of my favorite archival photos of Casa Tineretului shows the Timișoara band Impact playing at a PM6 Club meeting in 1983. The band performs on a makeshift stage in front of the worker mosaics—a striking contrast. Thanks to Christian Podratzky for sharing the photo.
In the early 1980s, Ionel Marchiș, who organized much of the rock programming at Casa Tineretului, arranged a screening of Pink Floyd’s The Wall in the main lobby. Over 2,000 kids packed inside, pressing so tightly against the plate-glass windows that the glass cracked under the pressure. You can see a photo from that legendary event here, and learn more about it in the "Vinyl Revolution" documetary.
Finally, here’s another great archival shot: kids rocking out at a PM6 show inside Casa Tineretului—an unforgettable image of youthful energy colliding with the rigid space of communist architecture.
