To be able to better understand the history, civilization, and atmosphere of the place we are in, but also to enrich our general knowledge, we have chosen to present a tour of some of the main museums in 3 cities of Transylvania. We hope that these places will arouse your interest, and every time you have the opportunity not to miss visiting a museum.
This tour will take you through museums in Cluj-Napoca, Târgu Mureș, and Sibiu.
Cluj Napoca
The National Museum of History of Transylvania
The National Museum of History of Transylvania has a valuable historical and archaeological heritage, with over 400,000 cultural assets that reflect the history and civilization of Transylvania, from prehistory to the present day. This is illustrated by objects from archaeological finds, medieval and modern collections of ceramics, mowers, glassware, armament, documents and photographs, books and newspapers.
In 1999, the Treasury was opened to the public, presenting, in two rooms, over 4,600 gold and silver pieces: Eneolithic idols, ancient and medieval monetary treasures, jewelry with precious and semi-precious stones, medals, as well as household items from precious metal.
The museum is housed in a 19th-century architectural monument building, the Petrichevich-Horvath Daniel House, built in neoclassical style. For its visit, adults will pay 10 lei, pensioners 5 lei and students will have to pay 2.5 lei.
National Museum of Art
The building where Cluj-Napoca Art Museum is situated is known as the “Bánffy Palace in Cluj”, which is itself a prestigious architectural work, representing the most important Baroque building in Cluj-Napoca.
The Museum of Art contains the permanent exhibition given by the National Gallery, exhibited in 21 rooms from the floor of the building, here being selected and presented to the public over 200 pieces of painting and sculpture from the total patrimony of the museum.
They highlight the art collections held by the Cluj Museum and capture the evolution of art in Transylvania, as well as the multiculturality specific to the intra-carpathian area. In addition to this exhibition, the museum hosts other temporary exhibitions that can be visited at different times of the year. The price of permanent exhibitions is 8 lei for one person, and for temporary ones, it is 6 lei for one person. These apply reductions of 75% for students, 50% for pensioners and 25% for groups of more than 10 persons.
The Pharmacy Museum
The Pharmacy Museum is based on a collection of heritage objects of Transylvanian origin, collected by the University professor from Cluj Iulius Orient and exhibited for the first time in 1904, in a hall of the Ardelean Museum. In 1954, the collection received the most suitable house that it could have, namely the building in which the oldest pharmacy in Cluj, the Hintz House, was housed. Over time, the archive has been improved with many other heritage objects received through donations.
At the end of the day, we invite you to relax at one of the local accommodation units available on the CazareClujNapoca.ro platform. Tomorrow a new history and art lessons await you.
Târgu Mureș
Museum of Ethnography and Folk Art
One of the most beautiful baroque buildings in Transylvania, Toldalgi Palace, houses the Museum of Ethnography and Folk Art
The museum contains valuable objects: popular collection ports, furniture knitwear, wooden handicrafts, wood and glass icons, ceramic, metal, bone, pieces of contemporary creation: papyrus, naive paintings and many more.
The first objects in the collections were purchased at the beginning of the 20th century by Aurel Filimon. The acquisition campaign was then continued by the ethnographic collectors of the city. They sought to enrich the collections with rare and authentic pieces. Almost all the ethnographic areas of Mures have been covered, and the objects in the museum now show a great typological diversity. For visiting it adults will pay 8 lei, pensioners 3 lei and students 2 lei per person.
Art Museum
The Art Museum is hosted by the Palace of Culture, a landmark building of the city. Inaugurated in 1913 with the completion of the works at the Palace of Culture, Pinacoteca preserves the original location, to which were added with time and other spaces for expansion.
Thus resulted in two galleries with permanent status: the Gallery of Hungarian Classical Art and the Gallery of Modern Romanian Art. Later, three other galleries were added: Ion Vlasiu Gallery, Dósa Géza Gallery, Elisabeta Donation Gallery, and Gheorghe David. The tickets cost 12 lei, the standard ones, 6 lei for the pensioners and 2 lei for the dependents.
The Archeology-History Museum
The Museum of Archeology and History is located within the Palace of Culture and holds important collections of ancient history: archeological ceramics from the Neolithic era, tools made of stone, bone, horn, copper, bronze, and iron.
Among the most famous archaeological objects we mention: The bronze pendant with a pendant, discovered in Suseni, considered for its beauty as unique in south-east Europe and other documents and objects from the medieval period: art ceramics, decorative art, furniture, jewelry, objects techniques, engravings, documents regarding the modern and contemporary history of the county. For visiting it adults will pay 8 lei, the pensioners 3 lei and the students will have to pay 2 lei.
Because the time has come to rest again, we invite you to use the CazareTârguMureș.ro platform to find the perfect accommodation to spend your night.
Sibiu
ASTRA Museum
Just 4 km from the city of Sibiu in the natural reserve “Dumbrava Sibiului” there is a fascinating museum. This is the ideal place to discover the traditional Romanian rural life through a relaxing walk in the middle of nature, on the alleys that are about 10 km long. Peasant households, workshops, wooden churches, wine cellars, windmills, and water await you to cross their threshold, discover their original interior and understand in detail the simple life of the peasants from all over Romania.
Besides, the museum also offers various recreational possibilities: boat rides, horse-drawn carriage and sleigh rides, a restaurant, a tourist information center, and playgrounds.
The rates are 25 lei for adults, 12 lei for pensioners, 7 lei for students, and 20 lei for groups of minimum 20 people.
Brukenthal Museum
Brukenthal Palace has become one of the most important art museums in Eastern Europe. Thus, on February 25, 1817, the Brukenthal Museum is open to the public.
The museum exhibits an extremely rich and diverse heritage of painting, sculpture, prints, and cartography. Among the notable authors whose works are exhibited here, we mention Jan van Eyck, Antonello da Messina, Hans Memling, Pieter Bruegel, Theodor Aman, Nicolae Grigorescu, Ștefan Luchian, Nicolae Tonitza, along with many others.
The museum comprises two galleries, the European Art Gallery and the Romanian Art Gallery. The prices for these are paid separately, so for the European Art prices are 20 lei for adults, 13 lei for groups and 5 lei for students, students and retirees, and for the Romanian Art Gallery the prices start from 12 lei for adults, 8 lei for groups and 3 lei for students, and pensioners.
Museum of Transylvanian Civilization Astra
The Museum of the Transylvanian Civilization was established in 1993, is the continuator of the Association Museum – the first “national” museum of Romanians in Transylvania (inaugurated on August 19, 1905, and abolished, for ideological reasons, in 1950).
Today, this museum has two main sections, which highlight the traditional culture of the Transylvania area through four thematic collections: objects of worship, accompanied by set eggs and masks; popular port and textiles; the collection of wood, iron, and bone; ceramic collection.
Besides, for those interested in traditional souvenirs, in the galleries of folk art within the museum, exhibitions are selling authentic traditional products. The rates are 2 for adults and 1 leu for pensioners, students.
At the end of this tour enjoy the atmosphere that emanates from this city and chooses one of the accommodation units available on the CazareSibiu.com platform to take a well-deserved stop.
These are, we can say, the main museums of these cities, but they are certainly not the only sights worth visiting here. Which museum are you going to cross the threshold for the first time?
