A stunning combination of Viennese Secessionism and local folk art, this well-loved building houses several of the city’s main museums.
The Târgu Mures Cultural Palace is one of the city’s top attractions, encompassing a public library, a concert hall, a history museum and an art museum. Towering over the southwestern corner of Piaţa Trandafirilor, the building has an ornate Secessionist-style architecture that is unparalleled anywhere else in Transylvania. Admire gorgeous frescoes and mosaics and venture inside to discover the city’s premier cultural institutions.
Constructed in the early 20th century, the palace was designed to highlight Hungarian culture. Inspect the large mosaic on the building’s façade, which references Hungary’s various social classes. It depicts a woman wearing traditional peasant clothing, along with merchants, soldiers and dignitaries. Look for the intricate floral and folk motifs decorating the exterior balcony.
Head inside and examine stunning frescoes in the building’s foyer. These are inspired by Hungarian and Romanian folk stories and ballads. Venetian mirrors framed in shimmering marble and bronze bas-reliefs of nude women also adorn the foyer walls.
Step into the Great Concert Hall to see the stunning 4,463-pipe organ, which was made in 1914. Follow the grand flights of Carrara marble stairs to reach the upper floor of the interior. Walk through the Hall of Mirrors, where 12 beautiful stained-glass windows line a 148-foot-long (45-meter) hallway. Listen to the recording describing the scenes depicted on the panels, which were inspired by Székely fairy tales.
The Art Museum is on the second floor and features a number of fine 19th- and 20th-century paintings, as well as sculptures, ceramics and textiles. Head to the first floor to explore the Archaeological Museum, which contains artifacts dating back as far as the Neolithic Age. Elsewhere in the complex is the Mures County Library, containing more than 1 million important documents in Romanian and various other languages.
The Târgu Mures Cultural Palace is open Tuesday to Sunday. The admission fee covers entrance to all the museums inside. Find the palace in Piaţa Trandafirilor. Reach it on foot from most other areas in the compact city center.