Palace of Culture (Palatul Culturii), Târgu Mureș
A provincial city that wanted a palace of the arts, and got one of the richest Secession interiors in Europe.
At a glance
The Palace of Culture in Târgu Mureș, in Transylvania, was built between 1911 and 1913 by Marcell Komor and Dezső Jakab, the architects of Secession Subotica. Behind a Hungarian Art Nouveau front lies a concert hall, a library and the famous Hall of Mirrors, lined with stained-glass windows telling Transylvanian folk tales. It remains the city’s cultural heart.
Key facts
- Location: Piața Victoriei, Târgu Mureș
- Architects: Marcell Komor and Dezső Jakab
- Built: 1911–1913
- Style: Hungarian Secession (Art Nouveau)
- Highlight: the Hall of Mirrors and its stained glass
History
The town’s ambitious mayor pushed to make Târgu Mureș a regional capital of culture, and commissioned a palace to house a concert hall, library and conservatory. Komor and Jakab brought the Hungarian Secession they had perfected at Subotica.
Finished in 1913, the building survived the changes of borders and regimes that followed, and is still used for concerts and exhibitions, one of the great Art Nouveau interiors of Central Europe.
What you see
The façade carries mosaics and bronze reliefs; inside, the Hall of Mirrors runs in a glitter of glass, its windows filled with stained-glass scenes from Székely folklore by the leading Hungarian glass artists of the day. The concert hall keeps its original organ. It is decoration as storytelling, room after room.
Practical information
- Open: concerts, museums and guided tours
- Cost: tickets for halls and exhibitions
- Best for: the Hall of Mirrors and stained glass
- Time needed: 45–60 minutes
Getting there
The palace stands on the main square of Târgu Mureș, in the centre of Transylvania, reached by train and road from Cluj-Napoca and Brașov.
Nearby
- Cetatea Medievală — the medieval citadel of Târgu Mureș
- Piața Victoriei — the central square the palace faces
Sources
- Wikipedia — Palace of Culture (Târgu Mureș)
- Primăria Târgu Mureș / Romanian heritage register — building information
- Wikimedia Commons — image source and licence
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