Things to see and do Cluj-Napoca

The Babeș-Bolyai University of Cluj is the country's largest public institution of higher education, with 56,000 students and 111 specialties taught. It is named after two scientists: the Romanian bacteriologist Victor Babeș (1854-1926) and the Hungarian mathematician János Bolyai (1802-1860), as a symbol of the tumultuous history of the place. Following the revolution of 1848, the Minister of Education, József Eötvös, conceived the idea of a university in Romanian, Hungarian and German. Following his death, Emperor Franz Joseph did not pursue the idea. In 1872, the Franz Joseph University of Cluj was founded... with courses in Hungarian only. In 1919, following the incorporation of Transylvania into Romania, a Romanian-language university was founded. As a result, the Hungarian university moved to Szeged, Hungary. It returned to Cluj in 1940, following the annexation of northern Transylvania by Hungary. The Romanian university then moved to Sibiu and Timișoara. In 1945, it returned to Cluj and Franz Joseph University ceased operations. The authorities therefore founded another Hungarian university, János-Bolyai, and renamed the Romanian university Victor Babeș, before the two merged in 1959, hence the name Babeș-Bolyai.

Today, it is home to one of the largest university libraries in Eastern Europe, with 3.6 million books, as well as the world's only Emil Racoviță University Institute of Speleology and its museum, located strada Clinicilor.

The Orthodox Cathedral is located in the centre of Piaţa Avram Iancu. This admirable building, built in ten years, between 1923 and 1933, is a perfect example of the marriage between the Romanian and Byzantine styles, particularly visible in the domes. Forty years after its construction, in 1973, the Diocese of Cluj was established as an archbishopric, with the Orthodox Cathedral remaining its property. In front of the building, the statue of Avram Iancu, one of the leaders of the 1848 revolution, was erected in 1993. Finally, the external façade was renovated between 1996 and 1999.

Looking for a pleasant place to stroll? Head for the public gardens, which stretch along the Someșul Mic river. The central Simion Bărnuțiu Park opened in 1827, and its lake was an early encouragement to canoeing in summer and skating in winter. Part of the site is dedicated to sports. The site, listed as a historic monument, is an emblematic place for strolling. It's not far from Cetățuia Park, on the other side of the river, which overlooks the rooftops of the old town. These are just two of the many parks in Cluj.

This monumental sculpture, located near St. Michael's Cathedral, depicts Matei Corvin, King of Hungary between 1458 and 1490, on horseback, on a bastion of the city wall of Cluj, where he was born. The statue won a prize at the 1900 Paris Universal Exhibition, before being inaugurated in 1902. The end of a veritable marathon: the plans were approved in 1894, for an idea first mooted in 1882. The statue is the work of architect Lajos Pakei and sculptor János Fadrusz.

Surrounding these two long squares, bordered and crossed by major roads, are a number of important administrative buildings, all erected in the ^19th or early ^20th century: prefecture, courthouse, Orthodox theological institute and finance palace. They are also home to the Orthodox cathedral and the opera house, which face each other and between which stands a statue of Avram Iancu, a figure of the Romanian revolution of 1848.

At the heart of Piaţa Unirii is one of the oldest religious buildings in Cluj and one of the most imposing Gothic buildings in the country. A place at the crossroads of styles, built between 1350 and 1480: its carved wooden pulpit is Baroque, its portal of the sacristy (1528) is Renaissance and its 80 m bell tower, erected between 1834 and 1863, is neo-Gothic. Also note its superb stained-glass windows, its wall paintings and its portal with the Archangel Michael, protector of the place.

The National Theater and the Romanian Opera, founded in 1919, are housed in a Baroque and Rococo building constructed between 1904 and 1906. Cluj is one of the few cities in the world to boast a second operatic institution: the Hungarian Opera, founded in 1948, which shares the same building as the Hungarian Theatre, strada Emil Isac. Close to the National Theatre stands the Tailors' Bastion(bastionul Croitorilor), part of the ^15th-century fortifications.

The heart of the city, it's a good place to start your exploration. In addition to the Catholic cathedral and the statue of Matei Corvin, you'll find pleasant terraces to contemplate the local entertainment. You can reach Avram Iancu and Ștefan cel Mare squares via strada Iuliu Maniu, also known as rue Miroir because the two buildings that mark the beginning of the street on either side are perfectly identical. They date back to 1899. Attractive side streets include strada Dávid Ferenc and strada Tipografiei.

It is one of the most pleasant places in the city to rest and contemplate nature. Known as one of the most beautiful botanical gardens in Eastern Europe, this unique place on the heights of the city was designed by Alexandru Borza in 1920. Its 11,000 varieties of plants from all over the world, spread over 14 hectares, are used for research, conservation and public education. Thus, important research on edible plants is carried out here and the scientists in charge of this garden are in contact with colleagues from many countries. Outdoors, you will visit a Gyo-no-niwa-style Japanese garden with bridges and gates, and a beautiful rose garden surrounded by other ornamental plants from all over the world and from all walks of life. A section of ancient cultures allows you to rediscover plants that are nowadays neglected. A section of medicinal plants, coastal flora and real forests will complete your walk. Some of the plants are sheltered under gigantic greenhouses. One is a collection of large palm trees, banana and cocoa trees. Another is devoted to cacti of all sizes and origins. Yet another is home to more than 50 species of orchids. Mediterranean and Australian plants grow side-by-side, while olive, fig and eucalyptus trees grow elsewhere. Finally, the most impressive is in the aquarium greenhouse, with its giant Amazon lotus, almost 1.5 m in diameter, carnivorous plants and papyrus.

The strada Regele Ferdinand, named after Ferdinand, King of Romania between 1914 and 1927, takes you from the city center behind the ^13th-century Franciscan Church of Cluj to the bridge over the Someşul Mic river. The two crossroads facing each other on either bank form a very harmonious whole, with, among other things, the Széki and Babos Palaces, two highlights of this architectural complex, with neo-Gothic and Secession accents, built between the ^19th and ^20th centuries.

Once across the bridge on the north bank, a flight of stairs takes you to the top of the citadel hill, with a superb view of the city and the grand Hotel Belvedere. But the area is also steeped in history: traces of Neolithic and Roman remains have been found here, a Vauban-style fortress was built here as early as 1715 to plans by the Italian architect Visconti, and the Citadel Cross(Crucea de pe Cetățuie) was erected here in 1995, in tribute to the Romanian martyrs of the 1848 revolution.

Still on the north bank, Strada Horea is not a very lively street, with few shops. It features three religious buildings. First, the synagogue and a memorial temple for the Jewish community, which commemorates the 16,700 Cluj Jews deported by the Hungarian government to Nazi Germany. Further on stand the Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas (neo-Romanesque, ^20th century) and the Reformed Church, known as Peste Apă ("across the water"), with its pointed bell tower (^20th century).

Starting from the north-east of Piaţa Unirii, this 2 km long commercial boulevard has two churches, including, from the very first metres, the Evangelical Church (1829). Rather narrow, sometimes pedestrian, the surrounding streets, sometimes very lively, are worth a look. Like Strada Dávid Ferenc, near the Hungarian Reformed Church (1796). It leads to the very commercial Piaţa Mihai Viteazul, where the statue of the first prince to have ruled the two Romanian principalities and Transylvania in 1600 is enthroned.

This place of worship has had an eventful history over the centuries. Originally, it was the first Catholic church in Cluj. It was destroyed during the first Tatar invasion in 1241, replaced by a Romanesque church and rebuilt in Gothic style in the ^15th century. The monastery was then built by the Dominicans. The site was no longer used for religious purposes from 1556 to 1609, when it fell into the hands of the Calvinists. In 1728, the Franciscans recovered the building and launched a campaign to restore the bell tower, in a Baroque architectural style. The church then suffered the consequences of Romania's political climate: it was confiscated in 1949, when the Communist authorities decided to dissolve the Franciscan order in Romania. For many years, the building housed a music school, until 1990, the year that marked the end of the church's special history. It then became the property of the Roman Catholic Church and the Franciscan order, along with part of the monastery.

The building was restored in the 1970s and 1980s, during two periods of renovation. An attractive inner courtyard separates the church from the monastery. The monastery also houses an important Franciscan library, with a collection of over a thousand volumes. Finally, in the square in front of the building stands an obelisk, said to have been erected after the visit of Austrian Emperor Francis ^I and his wife, Caroline.

At the beginning of the boulevard, this obelisk topped by a bell commemorates an important episode in the country's history: the Transylvanian Memorandum. In 1892, representatives of the Romanians of Transylvania, then under the control of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, sent a petition in defense of their rights and culture to Emperor Franz Joseph, who ignored it. In response, the petition was made public in Sibiu. Tensions, violence and, under pressure from Hungarian nationalists, a trial followed in 1894. Fourteen people were imprisoned, then pardoned in 1895.

The Orthodox church of Feleacu has a singular appearance: it is Gothic in style (especially its vaults and portal) and almost entirely white. Inside it has wall paintings and icons from the 18th century. Built in 1516, it was completely restored in 1925 and has been listed as a historic monument since 2010. The adjoining monastery is also worth a visit, with its impressive architecture and beautiful paintings and gilding inside.

A must-see if you want to discover Romanian culture. The Ethnographic Museum of Transylvania, founded in 1922, is the oldest of its kind in Romania. Since 1959, it has been located in the heart of the city, in the Redoubt Palace. A key location in the country's history, it was here that the Transylvanian Diet met in 1790. It was also the site of the Memorandum trial in 1894. Last but not least, it has been the venue for numerous balls, and has seen such great names as Brahms, Liszt and Bartók pass through its doors. The premises house over 41,000 objects, ranging from the ^17th to the ^20th century, including a superb collection of traditional costumes and a documentary collection of over 80,000 references, including 50,000 photographs and 5,000 slides.

The museum also boasts an open-air section: the Romulus Vuia Ethnographic Park, named after the museum's founder. Located on Hoia hill, north-west of the city, this village museum, opened in 1929, was the first of its kind in the country. The park features over 160 exhibits (buildings, tools, etc.), the oldest dating back to 1678, all in a beautiful setting, with several farms and rural technical installations, workshop houses and three wooden churches. One of these (Biserica din Cizer) was built in 1773 by the craftsman Vasile Ursu Nicola, known as Horea, the future leader of the peasant revolution of 1784.

This is a very useful museum for understanding the turbulent local history. Occupying a 19th century neoclassical building, it traces the history of the region from prehistory to the contemporary period. In 1999, a new part was added to the museum, the treasury: two rooms with more than 4,600 gold and silver coins. Near the museum, two statues honour the Austrian Emperor Francis I, his wife Caroline-Augusta and the historian Constantin Daicoviciu.

Originally part of the Museum of Transylvanian History, the "Collection of the History of Pharmacy" was inaugurated in 1954. But the place in which it is housed is much older: it's the oldest pharmacy in Cluj, opened in 1573. On the menu, a basement with a medieval laboratory atmosphere and over 1,800 items illustrating Transylvanian pharmaceutical activity between the ^16th and ^19th centuries: maps, books, furniture, drawings, as well as many exotic products (crayfish eyes, precious stone powder...).

Among the city's monuments is one whose history is closely linked to the country's nobility: the Bánffy Palace. Built between 1774 and 1785 to designs by architect Johann Eberhard Blaumann, this Baroque-style building - the largest of its kind in Cluj - served as the private residence of Count György Bánffy, a Hungarian aristocrat and former governor of Transylvania. Many people have stayed here from time to time, including Franz ^I of Austria, composer Franz Liszt and Franz Joseph, head of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The palace belonged to the Bánffy family until it was expropriated by the Communist regime in the ^{mid-twentieth} century.

Since 1956, the palace has been home to the Cluj Fine Arts Museum, founded in 1951. Its 22 rooms house two distinct galleries. The National Art Gallery features a rich collection of Romanian works from the ^19th and ^20th centuries, including paintings by Romanian painters such as Tattarescu, Tonitza and Aman, as well as numerous sculptures. The universal art gallery houses works by art schools from all over Europe. With over 12,000 items, it is one of the most important art museums in Romania. Frequent temporary exhibitions, notably of photography, make this museum a lively cultural venue. After or before your visit, you can enjoy the coolness of its arcades in summer, as well as the café and terrace in the inner courtyard.

Along the narrow rue Mihail Kogălniceanu you will notice the beautiful stones of the central reformed church, nicknamed the reformed church of the rue des Loups. Built in 1486 by order of Mathias Corvin, then King of Hungary, it houses organs reputed to be among the best in Europe. Its portal is guarded by a replica of one of the oldest Renaissance statues (14th century), Saint George Slaying the Dragon, the work of two local sculptors. The original is now in Prague, opposite the palace Hradčany.

Bounded on one side by the Franciscan church and on the other by the National Museum of Transylvanian History, from which it takes its name, "Museum Square" is the city's oldest square. Particularly pleasant on sunny days, when the cafés spread their terraces around the small Caroline obelisk, it's an ideal starting point for strolling through the narrow streets of the historic center, but also the perfect place to take a break, as the "Petite Place" (its former name) seems protected from the hustle and bustle of the city. A place full of history and life.