It is a category A listed monument, and its great hall housed the first public library of the Principality of Transylvania.
About the place
The L-shaped baroque building went up in 1799–1803 at the initiative of Count Sámuel Teleki, then Chancellor of Transylvania in Vienna. The core collection has about 40,000 volumes, including 66 incunabula and the 33 volumes of Diderot and d'Alembert's Encyclopédie; the Bolyai collection adds about 80,000 more.
The same building houses the Bolyai Museum, opened in 1937, with belongings of the mathematicians Farkas and János Bolyai. In October 2025, after eight years of restoration, the library reopened a hall with frescoes painted in the early 19th century by Franz Neuhauser of Sibiu. It holds 4.7 on Google from 111 reviews.
Good to know
- Exhibitions are open Tuesday to Friday 10 am–6 pm and Saturday 10 am–4 pm; last entry is half an hour before closing.
- The opening-hours page is old; call +40 265 261 857 to confirm before you go.
- Combine it with the Citadel, about 500 m away, or the Palace of Culture, about 600 m away.
Opening hours
| Monday | Closed |
|---|---|
| Tuesday | 10–18 |
| Wednesday | 10–18 |
| Thursday | 10–18 |
| Friday | 10–18 |
| Saturday | 10–16 |
| Sunday | Closed |
Hours may change on public holidays. Check before you go.