Rumors have said that this part of Cluj was recently renovated. So… I had to have a look!

I started with the Church of the Piarists (Biserica Piariștilor) or the Jesuit Church, a Catholic church dedicated to the Holy Trinity.

Built in 1724, this church is the first baroque church of Transylvania, a detail less known by the general public. Being next to the Cluj University, it is easy to overlook it and believe it’s just a simple church; in reality, the University itself is built on the land of the ancient Jesuit College (formed in 1581 and stretching a lot in the central district).

Yes, perhaps the orange color is excessive. But have a look at the details of the façade!

This is a view from inside the church. This is typically baroque, with its rich and heavy details. The Baroque, both the music and the architecture, is my favorite style. Although the gothic, in its many forms, is not far behind…

Next to the church is an entrance in the inner garden of the Babeș-Bolyai University, the main university of Cluj. In this image you can see the body of the church from the outside and one of its towers (the blueish building to the right).

We’re in January but the garden is well-kept and green. It is also very clean.

And this is the typical view that you get when entering the garden. The Babeș-Bolyai University (called the UBB for short) was established in 1581 and is the largest university in Romania and ranks also the first in the entire country.

This is the typical entrance of the University, recognizable by everyone. Note the typical design of the walls, covered in small bricks, very Austro-Hungarian.

A ultra-wide view of the University area, with a view of the Saint Michael Gothic Church (to the left and in the background, the well-known church in Union Square and symbol of Cluj), the aforementioned Jesuit Church and the University building, among other well-known buildings I won’t mention now. In the center is the Statue of the Virgin Mary.

There is a problem with this statue of the Virgin Mary: it didn’t exist here when I last lived in Cluj. It is also called the Statue of the Plague, because it was built in 1744 as a sign of gratitude following the last plague epidemy in the region. Behind the statue is the German Cultural Center (former Convictus Nobilium, the boarding school of the Jesuit College, built in 1735) and to the right and in (again) orange is the István Báthory Lyceum. During my last years in Cluj there used to be a parking lot where the statue is today; now the entire area is a pedestrian zone and, sadly, the old trees adorning the area were cut completely and replaced by young ones.

Not far away along the Kogălniceanu Street (known in the old times as Wolfsgasse, Farkas utca or Ulița Lupilor, translated as “the alley of the wolves”) is the Reformed Church. It was built starting from 1486 in the gothic style, at the request of King Matthias Corvinus (the one born here in Cluj), and it was, consecutively, Franciscan, Jesuit and finally, Calvinist church. It is the largest Gothic hall-type construction (with a single nave) from Transylvania and also from the entire south-eastern Europe. It belongs to the Reformed Diocese of Transylvania, which has its headquarters nearby.

The statue of Saint George killing the dragon, which lies in front of the Reformed Church, was made in 1904. It is one of the 2 copies of the original Statue of Saint George from Prague (made in 1373). The other copy is in Budapest, at the Fishermen’s Bastion next to the Buda Castle. The Hungarian language banners at the entrance highlight one important idea: Cluj and Transylvania cannot, and should not, be understood without acknowledging the multilingual and multi-faith background.

One less known detail is the wall next to the Reformed Church, which is the ancient wall of the Jesuit College (the one I mentioned above, founded in 1581 on the site of a former Franciscan monastery). On the other side of the wall some ruins are still visible in a garden that was, surprisingly, still green.

Thanks for joining me in this journey!