Bánffy Palace, Cluj-Napoca
Palatul Bánffy · Bánffy-palota (Kolozsvár)
Cluj-Napoca, Cluj · Piața Unirii 30
Open as the Cluj-Napoca Art Museum
Summary
The most representative Baroque building in Transylvania, built 1774-1785 on Piața Unirii for Count György Bánffy to designs by Johann Eberhard Blaumann. It houses the Cluj-Napoca Art Museum, but a court-ordered restitution of two-thirds of the building threatens the museum's space.
Legal status
State-owned since 1945; 1999 final court ruling recognises a private claimant as owner of two-thirds; museum ordered in Sept 2023 to vacate that share ↗
History
Count György Bánffy commissioned the palace from Johann Eberhard Blaumann; it was built 1774-1785 around a courtyard, with a Rococo portal and six mythological statues. Emperor Francis II stayed in 1817 and Franz Joseph I in 1852 and 1887. The state took the building in 1945 and from the 1950s it was adapted as an art museum, opening to the public in 1965. A cinema in the courtyard was demolished in 1974. A final court ruling of 1999 recognised a private claimant as owner of two-thirds, and in September 2023 the museum was ordered to hand that part over.
Transactions & prices
| Date | Type | Amount | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Restitution | — | Final court ruling recognising a claimant as owner of two-thirds; enforcement ordered Sept 2023 ↗ |
Sources & links
Found a mistake, or know more about this building? Write to us at contact@conace.eu.
