Casa cu Iederă

Updated April 15, 2024

## Casa cu Iederă in Arad: the ivy-covered icon on Bulevardul Vasile Milea

On Bulevardul Vasile Milea 15 in Arad, a townhouse wrapped in green leaves has become one of the city’s most recognisable façades. Unofficially known as Casa cu Iederă (“Ivy House”), this building is often cited by locals as one of Arad’s most memorable urban landmarks, precisely because its walls are almost entirely cloaked in ivy. Romania

Although it doesn’t currently hold formal “historic monument” status, Casa cu Iederă sits in a protected central area and appears repeatedly in local heritage discussions, city planning documents and press reports. Arad

If you’re exploring western Romania and want to go beyond the usual big-name sights, this house is a very atmospheric stop to weave into an Arad walking route.

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## Where is Casa cu Iederă?

– Address: Bulevardul Vasile Milea 15, Arad, Arad County, Romania Romania
– Area: Central Arad, in a protected architectural zone close to major civic buildings such as the Palace of Justice and within walking distance of Bulevardul Revoluției, the city’s main axis. Romania

Arad itself sits in the western part of Romania, near the borders with Hungary and Serbia, and is often used as a stopover between Timișoara, Oradea and Hungary. Wanderlust

Most of Arad’s major landmarks are strung along Bulevardul Revoluției – from the St. Anthony of Padua Church to the Administrative Palace (City Hall) – with trams running along the boulevard and side streets radiating out toward quieter residential blocks like Vasile Milea. Wanderlust

From the main boulevard it’s only a short detour to reach Casa cu Iederă, so it fits very naturally into a half-day city walk.

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## The story behind the ivy: owners, politics and expropriation

### Iustin Marșieu and the interwar years

In the interwar period, Casa cu Iederă belonged to Iustin Marșieu, an Arad lawyer and prominent politician. He was recognised as the first prefect of Arad County under Romanian administration after the First World War and held the prefect role in two separate terms (1919–1920 and 1928–1931). Arad

Archival material from Arad County records that Marșieu acquired the property at Bulevardul Vasile Milea 15 – already known locally as “the ivy house” – on 23 March 1928, purchasing it from the “Victoria – institut de credit şi economii din Arad”. He paid 1.8 million lei for the building, which stood opposite the courthouse.

Like many elite homes in Central Europe between the wars, the house’s story is tightly bound to shifting political regimes. In 1950, under Decree 92/1950, the state expropriated Marșieu’s property.

### A building with layers of memory

Local reporting and commentary around Casa cu Iederă highlight several additional historical threads:

– The building is frequently described as a memorable, history-laden house, even though it does not appear as a formal historic monument on official lists. Arad
– Oral history collected in local articles suggests that a General Balosin may also have lived there and died in the early communist period during investigations targeting officers of the former Royal Romanian Army. These claims are presented as “vorbele arădenilor” – stories circulating among residents – rather than fully documented facts. Arad

Because some of this information comes from local recollections rather than primary archival sources, it should be treated as anecdotal rather than fully verified.

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## Casa cu Iederă on screen: the film Străinul (1964)

One reason the house is so well known is its role as a film location.

– In 1963, exterior scenes for the Romanian film “Străinul” (The Foreigner), directed by Mihai Iacob, were shot in Arad.
– The film premiered on 8 October 1964 and includes a series of exterior shots featuring Casa cu Iederă, along with other Arad landmarks such as the Administrative Palace, local colleges, the Mureș riverside and historic bridges. Arad
– In the film’s narrative, Casa cu Iederă is portrayed as the home of a National Peasants’ Party senator, Varga, played by actor George Calboreanu. Arad

For visitors who enjoy tracking down movie locations in Romania, this adds an extra layer of interest: the building isn’t just a picturesque façade but also a preserved backdrop from a 1960s historical drama.

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## Architecture, ivy and today’s appearance

### The ivy-covered façade

Travel guides and local listings describe the building simply but tellingly:

– Lovin’ Romania notes that the house on Vasile Milea no. 15, unofficially called the “Ivy House”, has become one of the most recognisable icons of Arad precisely because its walls are covered in ivy leaves. Romania

The greenery softens the outlines of the townhouse, and in many photos, only windows and some masonry details break through the foliage. The effect changes with the seasons:

– In summer and early autumn the leaves form a dense green curtain.
– In late autumn and winter, especially after leaf-fall, more of the stone and plaster becomes visible, revealing the building’s underlying lines and the restored fence.

Even without a detailed stylistic label in official sources, local press repeatedly refer to Casa cu Iederă as one of the most interesting buildings in the city, pointing to the combination of its dignified urban villa proportions, ivy-draped walls and distinctive stone boundary wall.

### The fence: from ruin to restoration

For years, one of the striking – and controversial – aspects of Casa cu Iederă was its damaged stone fence:

– By early 2021, Special Arad reported that the once-elegant fence along Vasile Milea had already “stă prăbușit de ani de zile” – collapsed for years – with a heap of stones at the entrance that looked almost like war damage. Arad
– Because the property lies in a protected zone, the partial demolition of the fence triggered legal and administrative complications. Local construction authorities asked the owners to rebuild it in its original form, and a criminal complaint was filed in 2018. That complaint was later closed, but the property tax on the neglected building was increased, in line with the city’s policy on derelict structures. Arad

Later in June 2021, another Special Arad report documented that a contractor had begun reconstructing the stone fence and gate, using old photographs as reference. The mason quoted in the article promised that the wall would be “exact ca înainte, poate mai frumos” – exactly as before, perhaps even more beautiful – and noted that the structure had previously posed a safety risk because it was leaning toward the entrance. Arad

Because those updates date from 2021, the current day-to-day appearance may differ slightly from both older images (with a complete historic fence) and mid-2010s photos showing rubble. Visitors today can reasonably expect to see a rebuilt stone boundary rather than a collapsed wall, but specific details (finish, patina, any later repairs) may have changed since the last published reports.

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## Casa cu Iederă today: lived-in, layered and still evolving

Casa cu Iederă is not a museum; it is a privately owned residential and mixed-use building. A 2020s genealogical note on Iustin Marșieu mentions that, out of seven apartments in the house, three were inhabited, illustrating the mixture of current residents and absentee owners.

Local interior-design features and media pieces have also showcased at least one restored apartment inside the building, emphasising that behind the ivy curtain there are still elegant, high-ceilinged spaces being carefully brought back to life.

For you as a visitor, that means:

– Casa cu Iederă is best appreciated from the street, as part of an architectural walk.
– The façade can look surprisingly different depending on season, light and the exact state of the ivy and masonry work at the time of your visit.
– Because restoration and maintenance are ongoing processes, details like the condition of the stonework or the exact coverage of ivy will naturally change over time.

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## How to include Casa cu Iederă in an Arad itinerary

### Pair it with Arad’s landmark buildings

Casa cu Iederă works well as a point on a self-guided architecture route through central Arad. A simple loop could include:

– Bulevardul Revoluției – the main axis lined with eclectic and Art Nouveau townhouses from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, along with cafés and tram stops. Wanderlust
– The Arad Administrative Palace (City Hall) – a Renaissance Revival-style building from the 1870s with a distinctive tower, widely regarded as one of Arad’s most impressive monuments.
– The Cultural Palace / Arad Museum Complex – home to the city’s history and art museum, housed in a 1913 building mixing neoclassical, Gothic and Renaissance elements.
– St. Anthony of Padua Church and the “Red Church” (Lutheran Church) along Bulevardul Revoluției, which showcase Arad’s religious and architectural diversity. Wanderlust
– A short detour along Bulevardul Vasile Milea to see Casa cu Iederă itself.

This route keeps you mostly on foot, with the option to hop on a tram along Bulevardul Revoluției if you want to shorten the walk. Wanderlust

### Practical tips

All of the following points are based on general urban layout and public information about Arad; detailed on-the-ground conditions (for example, exact shop opening hours or tram schedules) can change and should be checked locally:

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