Top tourist attractions in Târgu Mureş

The first documentation of the city dates from 1332, when it was mentioned in the papal registry. For a very long time it was the cultural, industrial, economic and education center of the Seckler Land.

Today it is the 16th largest city in Romania, with a population of 134,000.

One of the first things to see when you visit Târgu Mureş is the Medieval Citadel. It was built in the 17th century on the spot of a former citadel that belonged to Prince of Transylvania, Báthori István. The previous citadel had been built in the 15th century. The bastions of the new citadel have 3 or 4 levels and are connected to each other by 10 m high walls. They were built by the guilds of those times: the Butchers’, the Tanners’, the Tailors’ and so on.

The citadel was transformed into a garrison in the 18th century and it sustained some modifications to help it fulfill its new defensive role.

Another noteworthy tourist attraction is the Orthodox Cathedral, which is the largest religious edifice in the city. Built in 1925, the cathedral is a symbol of the Romanian troops entering Târgu Mureş in 1918, for the great union. It was built after the plans of architect Victor Vlad of the Technical school in Timisoara.     

Another special church in Târgu Mureş is the Roman-Catholic Church. It was built by Jesuits in the 18th century in the Austrian Baroque style. The interior is also splendid, with many paintings and adornments that were created by some of the most renowned artists of the period.

But a truly unique building is the Palace of Culture. It was built between 1911 and 1913 in the Secessionist style and it remains, till this day, one of the most impressive buildings in Târgu Mureş. It has some of the most beautiful pieces of stained glass, that were created in order to represent Europe at a world exposition, a beautiful picture gallery with over 1,000 paintings and a library with over 1,000,000 books.