Slaughterhouse in Timișoara, Former communal abattoir in Fabric, Timișoara, Romania

The Communal Abattoir of Timișoara was designed by László Székely in 1904–1905 on a vacant lot between the Fabric and Elisabetin districts. Its main body, at the entrance, has the silhouette of a medieval palace, with facades of exposed brick and plastered surfaces, window frames of exposed brick, and a crenellated pediment with a circle inside a pointed arch. A campanile tower of exposed brick housed the water reservoir; the gate is flanked by statues of slaughterers and by two staff houses, one for the director and one for offices and laboratories.

The abattoir was built in 1904–1905 to plans by Hungarian architect László Székely, on a vacant lot between the Fabric and Elisabetin districts. Its design was considered a success from the start, and Székely was then commissioned to build similar facilities in Zrenjanin, Pančevo, Sombor, Kiskunhalas and Arad. A city milk factory operated on the premises, and in 1937 a meat canning factory was set up there. Activity shrank after 1990 and the abattoir closed permanently in 1992.

The entrance gate displays sculptural groups showing bulls alongside human figures, expressing the relationship between industrial work and community life in the early 1900s. Such artistic details were common on buildings of public importance at that time.

The site is fenced off and not open to visitors while redevelopment works are under way. The surviving central tower, side halls, gate and the two bull statues can be seen from the public street outside the perimeter. The location lies between the Fabric and Elisabetin districts, near the Bega canal.

The original site contained eleven separate buildings each designed for specific functions, showing the advanced industrial planning of early 1900s municipal infrastructure. This level of specialized division was unusually thoughtful for slaughterhouses of that era in Europe.