Museum Square

Another place in Cluj to concentrate much of this city's history is the Small Square, as it had been named for many centuries, Carolina Square or Museum Square at present. If you want to set foot in 700-years old streets and find there the traces of the whole history of the city, then you should linger as there are many interesting things to admire.

As a testimony of the Roman heritage on this land, which attests the glorious two millennium age of Cluj, stand the unearthing in front of the Franciscan Monastery next to the Franciscan Church.

The western side of the square is dominated by a construction raised by Daniel Petrechevich-Horvath, which has come to fulfill its original destiny of a cultural institution just recently, since 1937, when it was taken over by the History Museum of Transylvania.

The building opposite the Museum was inhabited by the historian Kovari Laszlo and the adjacent one, by the Romanian ophthalmologist Ioan Molnar-Piariu between 1791 and 1815.

The centre of the square is dominated by the Carolina Obelisk, the imposing 10 meters statue which was dedicated to the 1817 visit of emperor Francisc I and his wife. The bas-reliefs which were sculpted on the sides of the statue depict scenes from their historic visit to Cluj and also displays the former emblem of the city.


And if exploration of so many wonderful sights filled your soul, but exhausted the body, you may also stay for a drink at the nearby fancy terraces or bars: Euphoria, CE, Bruno Wine Bar, Galeriile Fortuna.

Franciscan Church

The Franciscan Church and monastery were built in the first medieval centre of the town, in today's Museum Square. The Church was the first place of worship of medieval Cluj-Napoca. It was erected around 1260 until 1290 in the place of a pagan temple and the old church of the settlement destroyed during an invasion of the Tartars who plundered the city. The locals have always known this place of worship as the "church of the brethren", which derives from the Hungarian "barat", meaning brother monk.

The church is the burial place of many prominent Hungarian aristocrats. Theatrical plays were performed here and the Gothic monastery next to the church hosted a printing house for the first half of the 20th century under the name of Saint Bonaventura.

The latest restorations performed on the building brought to light the Romanesque style of the original construction, yet the facade displays Gothic elements which were screened by the Baroque alterations introduced in the time of the Franciscan monks. A 52-meter high tower with a bulbed roof, the most recent and important element of the Baroque, covered the central window in the 18th century.

Johannes Nachtigall sculptured the statues of patron saint Virgin Mary, St Jeremiah and St Anthony. The main altar, divided by three columns with Doric and Ionic capitals, displays a copy of a painting of Virgin Mary from Santa Maggiore Church in Rome. The painting is flanked by the statues of St Stephen and St Joseph.

Photos courtesy of Sanziana Craciun.

The Four Seasons in town

Artist-Center.ro and Hungarian Cultural Days in Cluj-Napoca invite you to join us this Sunday for an unforgettable getaway including a live concert in Unirii Square.

The Chamber Orchestra of Transylvania Philharmonic with Concertmaster Melinda Beres will prove that a work as popular as Vivaldi's The Four Seasons can still sound fresh and vibrant.

Time: 8 pm; August 22, 2010
Place: Unirii Square; Cluj-Napoca city centre

Free entrance!