Cluj-Napoca Things to Do

Part of the former defence walls this is the longest and best preserved part, including the Tailors' Tower - named after the Tailors' Guild.

From 2007 the tower is restaurated, you can climb all the way up and inside there are exibits and also an information point with free maps of Cluj and useful info.

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Matthias Corvinus (1443-1490) was one of the greatest kings of Hungary (the neighboring country in NW of Romania). He was born in 1443 here in Cluj and he lived in the same troubled times as Vlad Tepes (1432-1476), having their paths crossed many times, as Vlad was the ruler of Tara Romaneasca (eng. Wallachia), one the the three historical provinces of Romania, betwen 1455 and 1462 and Matthias Corvinus was bound to conquer also Tara Romaneasca (eng. Wallachia) and Moldova (eng. Moldavia) beside Transylvania, which had been under Hungarian Empire since the 9th century.

This statue was built in Budapest, Hungary and placed in its current location in Cluj in 1902. The statue is made in bronze and represents Matthias on his horse and his four generals. The status was renovated in 2010 and unveiled again in 2011.

Controversy around the statue exists as it represents a king of a former empire that occupied our nations territories. Nevertheless many hungarians now live in Romania and the statues represents friendship bewtween our neighboring countries.

From St. Michael's Church take the King Ferdinand street, cross the river and climb the stairs (more than a hundred stairs to the top) to reach the Belvedere.

This is a high spot from you can see the city. Here is the Belvedere hotel.

From the city you can see Belvedere by looking after a big cross.

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Is a massive gothic style romano-catholic church, second largest church in Transylvania (after the Black Church in Brasov), built between 1442-1447.

The old tower was built between 1511-1545, and the one standing today (highest one in Transylvania) in 1862.

Built at the turn of the twentieth century, Cluj-Napoca's Lucian Blaga National Theatre shares a beautiful building with the Romanian Opera. It was designed by famous architects Fellner and Helmer. Today, it seats 1200 audience members and continues to put on dramatic productions. You can check their website (in English) to find out what is showing while you're in town.

I have been unable to find much information about Cluj's "Administrative Palace", located at B-dul 21 Decembrie 1989 #58. We know it was built in 1910. Today it is the city's judicial building, and in the past it served as the Chamber of Commerce. It's unlikely that you'll be able to enter, but what a cool building!

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The largest church is Romania is the Romanian Orthodox Church, and their church building in Cluj-Napoca will certainly catch your eye. Located on Piata Avram Iancu, this Brâncovenesc-style church was built recently (in the 1920s) and was inspired by both Byzantine and Renaissance architecture. Some traditions of Orthodox churches are unusual to new visitors, such as standing for prayer, the worship of icons, and separate prayer areas for men and women.

In the fifteenth century, Mattias Corvinus was a Hungarian king. In fact, he was known as "the Just", for his fairness and righteousness. This Hungarian king was born in Cluj-Napoca, in what is today Romania. This is a point of tension for the local community, as can be noted by the two signs outside Corvinus' birthplace (the sign written in Romania states that Corvinus was Romanian, and implies that his birth in the white house is merely a rumour). This cute little house is not open to the public, so you'll have to do with a glimpse of the exterior.