Brukenthal Palace is one of the finest Late Baroque buildings in Central Europe, standing proudly on the Grand Square of Sibiu, Romania. Built between 1778 and 1788 by Baron Samuel von Brukenthal, Governor of the Grand Principality of Transylvania, it is a place where history, architecture and art come together in a truly memorable way. If you are visiting Sibiu, this is an absolute must-see.
The palace impresses with its austere yet elegant Baroque facade, featuring a richly decorated stone portal supported by columns and crowned with the baron's gilded coat of arms — urns, rosettes and festoons completing the ornamental picture. Step through the gate and you enter a rectangular inner courtyard; a second portal, this one supported by atlantes, leads you further into a second yard where the old stables once stood. The atmosphere shifts with the seasons — golden sunlight in summer, misty autumn evenings, and a quietly magical feel in winter when the cobblestones of the Grand Square glisten.
How to get thereHere is a fun fact to impress your travel companions: Baron Brukenthal opened his art collections to the public in 1790 — three whole years before the Louvre in Paris! The museum officially opened in 1817, making it the oldest museum in Romania.