The Municipal House of Culture of Cluj-Napoca is a dynamic and modern
institution, with the purpose of promoting a rich cultural and
educational offer for all groups of age and socio-professional.
Authorized nationally as a provider of professional formation, The
Municipal House of Culture gives certificates of qualification and
specialization, recognized on the labor market.( PC operating,
Restaurant-Attendants, Cooks, Communication, psycho social Counseling
Techniques, Trainer)
Lupa Capitolina (Eroilor Boulevard, pedestrian area)
It is a staunch copy of Lupa Capitolina from Rome and it was given in
1921 by the municipality of Rome to the town of Cluj as a symbol of
the Romania's Latinity. A bas-relief (by sculptor Ettore Ferrari
1849-1930) was added to the monument, representing the Emperor Traian,
and the inscription ALLA CITTÀ DI CLVJ, ROMA MADRE, MCMXXI.
The statue was unveiled on September 28th, 1921 by the Mayor Iulian
Pop, after the Romanian administration was established.
In 2006, after the beginning of the rearrangements of Eroilor
Boulevard, the statue was transferred to The National History Museum
of Transylvania.
The statue was relocated on the pedestrian area from Eroilor
Boulevard on November 28th, 2008.
Unitarian Church. Early history of the Unitarian community in Cluj is
related to the parish church of St. Michael. Its first vicar in the
late 1560, Dávid Ferenc (Franz Hertel ) - became the adept of
anti-Trinitarian precepts – and convinced most of the city's
inhabitants to move to the Reformed confession of faith. Since 1568 -
for nearly 150 years – the religious edifice in downtown Cluj
was used by the Unitarian church, a denomination that became the
majority in the city. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries,
the Unitarian church in Cluj was composed of two distinct communities,
of the Saxons and the Hungarians. After 1661, a large community of
Unitarians Polish refugees in Cluj because of the drastic measures
taken by the Catholic Counter-Reformation in Poland joined these two
communities. From the moment when the new confession was set up, Cluj
became the centre of Unitarianism in Transylvania , a position held by
the city so far.
A few decades after the integration of Transylvania into the Habsburg
Empire, a number of measures were adopted in favour of the Roman
Catholic Church. Among the major initiatives we would like to mention
the restitution of churches lost during the Reformation. As a result
of imperial decrees, the church in the Downtown Square of Cluj was
transferred to the Roman Catholic denomination in 1716. In this
context, the Unitarian church was forced to hold prayer services in
various private houses in the city and in early eighteenth century
four prayer halls were operated simultaneously.
At the end of the century, there were only two prayer halls in the
city. In this context - and taking advantage of the effects of the
"Edict of Tolerance" of Emperor Joseph the 2nd - in 1791, the idea of
building a Unitarian church community in Cluj emerged. In the same
year, they decided the site of the future church, on the site of three
houses on the north side of the street of the Hungarian street "of the
Interior" (nowadays Blvd. December 21, 1989). The next year, they
started the demolition of the three buildings and sett cornerstone of
the church. New Unitarian church of the city was built under the
contract signed with the architect Anton Türk, between 1792 and
1796. Carpentry work was made by Anton Überlacher,
furniture by István Vas, alabaster pulpit is the work of an
unknown stonemason. The latter was achieved according to the plan of
A. Türk, at the order of the Bishop István
Lázár. Construction works of the building have exhausted
all church funds, so that the organ was ordered to be made by the
organ master Samuel Metz of Biertan only in 1804. This - a piece with
ten books and a prospectus decorated by painter György Posoni -
was completed the following year. In 1928 it was replaced by an organ
manufactured by Ferenc Szeidl of Oradea.
Despite the solid foundation, the building suffered soon after
completion of works.At the end of the third decade of the nineteenth
century, cracked walls and vaults of the church already needed
restoration. On this occasion exterior buttresses of the church were
built by architect Antal Alföldi. In 1908, the simple helmet
– in four waters – of the tower was replaced by a Baroque
bulbous helmet designed by the chief architect of the city, Lajos
Pakei. The church was restored in 1910, 1948 and between 1967-1968.
The building is a hall-church with an atrium and a polygonal altar.
The main façade is dominated by central risalit of the entry,
crowned by two-story tower bearing a bulbous roof. On the upper level,
the tower walls are articulated with pilasters in Ionic style, church
facades are marked with pilasters in Doric style. The main
façade is decorated with various rococo reliefs, in a
composition of garlands, roses, grape vines and intertwined ribbons.
Above the entrance is the inscription: IN HONOREM SOLIUS / DEI.
MDCCXCVI (In honour of the only God 1796). The niche of main entrance
is adorned at the top with the relief of a shell decorated with leafy
branches.
The atrium is covered with a semi-cylindrical vault, respectively
with two semi-cylindrical vaults with penetrations and the nave space
with a vault with bohemian dome and two elliptical domes. The interior
of the church is articulated by double pilasters in Corinthian style.
Interior plastics is enriched by the balconies upstairs protruding in
curved relief and through the stucco decoration of the vaults. The
pulpit is decorated with roses, acanthus leaves and curtains.
The passageway in the southwest corner of the church is the famous
stone on which, according to tradition, the Diet of Turda returned in
1568, Ferenc Dávid held an impressive discourse, leading to the
conversion of all the inhabitants of Cluj to the Unitarian
denomination. Near the entrance, there are preserved a number of
tombstones from the Central Cemetery, of which the most notably
belongs to the Polish preacher Andreas Lachovius (1691).
Cluj County Prefect's Headquarter (58, December 21st 1989 Boulevard) The building was the first to house the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. It is a corner building, with three facades, three levels and an attic. The architectural style combines folk inspiration elements with Gothic ones and an influence of Art Nouveau. Since 1990 the building is the headquarters of the Cluj County Council and of the County Prefect. The respects for the law, the transparency, professionalism, the orientation towards the citizen’s needs are the principles that guide the functioning of these institutions.
The third mall in the national network of Iulius was inaugurated in
November 2007, after a total investment of 80 million euro. Because
the Transylvanian people appreciate the originality, Iulius Mall Cluj
was designed as a commercial center with a unique synergy, where fun
and dining is combined with quality shopping on a generous surface of
147.000sqm. The mall in Cluj includes 210 stores, restaurants, the
Auchan Hypermarket, Starbucks Café, a multiplex cinema Cinema City
with 10 halls, a food court with 15 fast-food's, a seasonal outdoor
skating rink, an underground and on ground parking with a total of
2.500 places. The architectural grandeur, unique design, quality
brands and annual traffic of over 13 million visitors recommend Iulius
Mall Cluj as a top destination. To this add the business component,
represented by class A office building “Iulius Business Center”.
Located on the terrace of the mall, the office building was
inaugurated in January 2008, and is fully rented by prestigious
companies. With nearly two decades of experience in retail, IULIUS
GROUP is the largest developer and operator of mall-type shopping
centers in Romania. The company has four malls under the IULIUS brand
in Iasi, Timisoara, Cluj-Napoca and Suceava, which attract over 40
million visitors annually. Currently, IULIUS GROUP is developing in
Iasi the Palas urban ensemble, an investment of over 260 million euro.
As an active member of the International Council of Shopping Centers
New York, IULIUS GROUP has the active support of this international
organization, in the construction and operation of shopping centers.
The Vivarium was built between 1998 and 2001 out of the Babes-Bolyai
University and the Biology and Geology Faculty funds. It contains
approximately 57 animal species. When it opened in 2001, it only
sheltered a collection of reptiles and amphibians. Currently,
alongside the reptile collection, the Vivarium also hosts 10 fish
species, 9 micro mammal species and 6 bird species, out of which we
can mention the Puff Adder, the Rainbow Boa, the leopard gecko, the
Nile monitor, the chinchilla, the Dobrogea turtle, the salamander etc.
Entry fee: Adults: 5 RON Children, students: 2.5 RON Biology
students, military personnel, disabled: free
