Brukenthal National Museum

Brukenthal Palace is the grandest building on Sibiu's Large Square and the home of the Brukenthal National Museum, one of the oldest museums in Central and Eastern Europe. The palace was built in the late eighteenth century for Samuel von Brukenthal, the Habsburg governor of Transylvania, who gathered a collection of paintings, books, coins and minerals and opened it to scholars. After his death it became a public museum in the early nineteenth century, and the collection still anchors the building today. The European art gallery holds works from the Flemish, Dutch, Italian and German schools, while the Romanian and Transylvanian galleries show how the region's own painters developed. The state rooms, with their carved doors, stoves and period furniture, give a sense of how a governor lived. The museum is a strong rainy-day choice, and it fits neatly between a morning walk in the squares and a long lunch.

The museum is made up of several buildings, but Brukenthal Palace on the Large Square is the one most visitors come for. Entering through the courtyard you climb to the upper floors, where the European gallery fills the rooms the governor once used for receiving guests. Expect devotional panels, portraits, landscapes and still lifes, arranged in an old-fashioned manner that suits the setting.

There are also galleries devoted to Romanian and Transylvanian art, and decorative arts such as clocks, glass and furniture. The palace library is one of the great book collections of the region, though you will see only parts of it on a standard visit.

The paid link for this page goes to a guided highlights visit of the palace, which suits travellers who would rather have the story of the governor, the collection and the building told by a guide than wander room by room. Check the tour details for the language, the start times and exactly what is included before you buy.

If you prefer to go alone, entry is also sold at the museum, and a plain ticket is inexpensive by Western European standards. The museum usually closes on Mondays and keeps shorter hours in winter, so confirm the day and the closing time before you walk over.

Allow about ninety minutes for the main galleries, a little more if you read the labels carefully. Photography rules vary by room, so ask at the desk. The palace is flat inside once you are on a floor but involves stairs between levels, so visitors who struggle with steps should ask staff about the lift or alternative routes. Pair the visit with a stroll across the Large Square, a coffee in the Small Square and a look at the Evangelical Cathedral, which is only a couple of minutes away on foot.