Teleki-Bolyai Library


Opened in 1802, this is one of the oldest libraries in Transylvania, named for its founder Count Sámuel Teleki de Szék. Technically still used as a public library, it’s now a 240,000-strong collection with treasures including 15th- to 19th-century encyclopedias and an engraved copy of the USA’s Declaration of Independence (1819). Visitors may need to knock to gain entry. No, you can’t touch the books.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Roman Catholic Church

0.23 MILES

Built by Jesuit monks between 1728 and 1764, this baroque-style church was given a neo-Renaissance makeover in the 1930s. It's across the street from the…

2. Orthodox Cathedral

0.27 MILES

The dominating Orthodox Cathedral (1925–34) was designed to impress, with Byzantine-style paintings and gold-haloed icons of saints – plus a politically…

3. Fortress Church

0.27 MILES

Enclosed by the walls of the citadel, this oft-closed late-Gothic church is the oldest one in Târgu Mureş. Construction began in the mid-14th century,…

4. Teleki House

0.27 MILES

Off Piaţa Trandafirilor, towards Piaţa Bernády György, stands the yellow-painted, baroque Teleki House (completed in 1809). In 1848 it housed the army of…

5. Ethnographic Museum

0.27 MILES

Ethnographic exhibitions can be humdrum, so Târgu Mureş’ hay-strewn and vividly soundtracked museum is a welcome surprise. A voiceover (in Romanian),…

6. Citadel

0.31 MILES

Visitors can wander freely within the walls of Târgu Mureş' citadel, whose foundations date to 1492. It houses the Fortress Church and City Museum, and…

7. City Museum

0.33 MILES

This small museum within the citadel has art and ornate period furniture downstairs, and contemporary ceramics and other cultural artefacts upstairs.

8. Culture Palace

0.38 MILES

This ornate secessionist-style building, ostentatiously tiled on the outside and colourfully furnished within, is unlike anything else in Transylvania…