The Zoo

The Blue House is located in the Large Square, at no. 5, next to Brukenthal Palace. The building dates back to the 15th century but its current name was assigned in 1819. It is built in a late baroque style. The façade, on the height of two levels, is dominated by the triangular attic decorated with the blazon of Sibiu. Certain details inside the monument – the cross arched gangway, some late gothic framework that are fragmentary preserved and embedded into the walls, the arches of the ground-floor chambers – indicate a much ancient age of the house. Over the years, the building suffered a series of interventions; therefore, except for the few preserved elements, it isn’t particularly interesting. The inferior wing of the building used to house during 1768-1783, while owned by the Baron von Moringer, theatre shows and after that, a century later, it served as an Academy of Law, founded in 1844, and a few years later it became the registered office of the Natural Sciences Society (1858-1862). In the middle of the 19th century it also housed the garment shop called “La ducele de Reichstadt” (“At the Duke of Reichstadt”). At present, the inside of the building is home to some departments of the Brukenthal National Museum.

The building of the City Hall plays an important role in the life of the city, being located in an elegant edifice in the Large Square of Sibiu. At the beginning of the 20th century the houses on the North-Western side of the Large Square, next to the tower of the Roman-Catholic Church were demolished in order to build the eclectic style edifice of the Land Credit Bank in 1906, with elements of Art Nouveau. The building is U shaped, consisting of basement, high ground-floor, two stories and a garret basement. The façade full of decorative elements is impressive as well as the Art Nouveau interior design. The building was transferred to State ownership during the communism period, accommodating various administrative and financial institutions. After 1990 these institutions were removed in turn and the edifice became the patrimony of the municipality. Subsequently, extensive rehabilitation and repartition works were initiated, including the extension of the office spaces in the previously unused garret, the installation of an elevator that would enable the access to disabled persons, as well as the transformation of the patio in a covered chamber with waiting room purposes for the people coming to the City Hall to solve certain issues. The inside areas were reconfigured and after the new setup there are 75 office spaces, an exposition hall with other four annexes, three meeting rooms, ten public hallways for access to the offices, plus a multifunctional basement to be used for the archives of the institution as well.

Altemberger House, which currently houses the History Museum, is considered the most important ensemble of civil gothic architecture of Transylvania. The house was built at the end of the 15th century on the request of the mayor of Sibiu at the time, Thomas Altemberger, the construction team being led by the mason Andreas Lapicida. The ensemble includes 10 wings, plus a tower of defence and it served as an office for the town’s city hall for a period of 400 years (until 1948), being also known as the Old City Hall. The tower inside the building used to house the archives of the town and of the Saxon University during 1546 and 1923, which was subsequently moved to a new location on Arhivelor Street. In 1984, the History Museum, which was active since 1959 at the ground-floor of Brukenthal Palace, moved to this building. With a history and architecture profile, the museum presents the local history, mock-ups, photocopies, cutting weapons, firearms, insignias, tombstones, treasure house and numismatic collection. The Latin inscription above the door reminds us of the visit of the Emperor Joseph the 2nd. Due to the fact that the legendary founder of the city was named Hermann, the visitors are greeted in the patio of the museum by decorative figures, entitled Hermann’s, that illustrate the typologies of the townsfolk at the end of the 17th century: the healer, the knight, the banker, the butcher, the innkeeper, the infantry man, the student, the mayor and the minstrel. In the second patio, known as the Garden of the Martyrs, there are works of figurative sculpture, such as the four consoles of loggia representing the elegantly and meticulously executed portraits in stone of some men, decorating an area with elements of renaissance influence.

The House of Arts is one of the historical buildings of Sibiu mentioned as the Hall of Butchers in the church’s registry books of 1370. It is considered the oldest “guild house” of Transylvania. In the beginning, the building only had a ground-floor, the arches of which were preserved until today. The first floor was built later on and it was meant for storing, consisting of only one hall. The ground-floor was exclusively used as business area being split into 11 rooms for the carving and marketing of meat. The eight open arcades were owned by the ancient community, as it was mentioned in the town’s Bylaw of 1589. During the 16th – 17th centuries, the grand hall of the first floor served as a gathering area for the skinners guild and after that it became an oats storehouse. In 1765, the building was transformed for a few months into a show room for the actors of a theatre group managed by the actress Gertraud Bodenburger. With the occasion of some building repairs performed in 1787, on the Southern façade the blazon of Sibiu was applied with the crossed swards and the lily pads, according to the model of the time. During 1962 and 1967, the building was rehabilitated and was since then given to the cultural circuit. To the end of the 20th century, the building came into possession of Brukenthal Museum, the ground-floor serving as area for contemporary art storages and the grand hall was used as exposition area open to all kinds of artistic and cultural appearances. This is the time when it receives the title of “House of Arts”. Since the summer of 2007, the House of Arts changes its purpose, is administered by “Astra” Museum National Complex and becomes the registered office of “Emil Sigerus” Ethnography and Saxon Popular Art Museum.

Parcul Natural Dumbrava Sibiului este unul dintre cele mai importante obiective turistice din Sibiu şi împrejurimile acestuia. Loc preferat de promenadă încă din secolul al XVIII-lea, Parcul Natural Dumbrava Sibiului se află la 4 km de centrul oraşului Sibiu, de-a lungul şoselei care merge spre Răşinari, şi se întinde pe o suprafaţă de peste 960 ha. Parcul este traversat de pârâul Trinkbach, care formează pe cursul său trei lacuri de origine antropică: unul la Muzeul Tehnicii Populare şi două în Grădina Zoologică. Doritorii pot opta aici pentru plimbări de agrement cu barca şi hidrobicicleta. Vegetaţia parcului este abundentă, fiind reprezentată de: stejar, carpen, cireş pădureţ, ulm, jugastru şi tei, arbori precum gorunul, frasinul, arţarul şi scoruşul fiind mai rari. Dintre arbuşti cresc aici: lemnul câinelui, păducelul, porumbarul, sângerul, măceşul, salba moale, cruşinul, călinul, verigariul. Mai mult de jumătate din arboretele de aici depăşeşte 100 de ani, iar câteva zeci de exemplare de stejar depăşesc 200 de ani. În zona lacului cu bărci există un exemplar de stejar vechi de peste 400 de ani. În stratul ierbos al pădurii cresc peste 100 de specii de plante cu flori, incluzând: opaiţa, brânduşa, lăcrămiţa, iarba albastră, salata iepurelui. În Pădurea Dumbrava trăiesc căprioare, veveriţe, arici, mistreţi, şoareci, pârşi, vulpi, unele păsări: piţigoiul mare, mierla, presura, ciocănitoarea mare, gaiţa, turtureaua, bufniţa, pupăza, cucul, cinteza, sticletele, vrăbiile, corbul, precum şi un număr foarte mare de specii de insecte şi alte nevertebrate terestre. Parcul Natural Dumbrava este renumit astăzi pentru Muzeul Satului Astra, cuprins în arealul său. În partea de sud a Pădurii Dumbrava se găsesc Monumentul eroilor căzuţi în cele două războaie mondiale şi Cimitirul Municipal, deschis în anul 1907.

Dincolo de Bastionul Haller, în continuarea parcului care însoţeşte zidurile cetăţii, zona se lărgeşte, dând naştere unui alt parc al Sibiului - Parcul Tineretului. Aşezat la poalele cetăţii, fiind mărginit de vechile fortificaţii, dar şi de clădiri istorice, Parcul Tineretului este un loc de repaus îndrăgit de sibieni.

Ideea înfiinţării unui parc între Bastionul Soldisch şi actualul Hotel Continental Forum datează din anul 1969, dar este pusă în practică zece ani mai târziu, odată cu înfiinţarea Societăţii de Înfrumuseţare a Oraşului, a cărei primă realizare importantă este Parcul Astra. Situat în inima oraşului şi delimitat de străzile Mitropoliei, George Bariţiu, Ioan Lupaş şi Piaţa Unirii, parcul a fost reamenajat în anul 1926, când a primit fizionomia de azi, cu arbori şi arbuşti ornamentali. Parcul găzduieşte 9 busturi ale celor mai importante personalităţi româneşti grupate în jurul Asociaţiei ASTRA: George Bariţiu, Badea Cârţan, Timotei Cipariu, Octavian Goga, Gheorghe Lazăr, Andrei Mureşanu, Andrei Şaguna, Ioan Slavici şi Emanuil Gojdu. În imediata vecinătate a parcului se află clădiri impunătoare, dintre care trebuie menţionat Palatul Asociaţiunii, inaugurat în anul 1905. Acesta adăpostea o sală de conferinţe, biblioteca, prima sală de teatru românesc şi Muzeul de etnografie şi pictură românească. În prezent, clădirea găzduieşte Biblioteca Astra, cea mai importantă bibliotecă a oraşului. Intrarea în clădire se face pe poarta străjuită de doi atlanţi. Fosta sală de teatru este actuala sală de lectură şi impresionează prin atmosfera victoriană şi decoraţiile interioare bogate. În partea stângă a parcului se afla Policlinica de copii, iar lângă Palatul Asociaţiunii este fosta Şcoală normală de fete, astăzi Şcoala ajutătoare de hipoacuzici. Latura de est a parcului include o serie de clădiri din secolul al XIX-lea. Clădirile de la nr. 1 şi 3 datează de la începutul secolului XX şi sunt realizate în stil Art Deco. 

Sub Arini is one of the oldest parks in Romania. The municipality of that time established the park on a 22 ha area and built it between 1856 and 1865. Wolfgang Seifried was the engineer who developed and oversaw the works execution. Between 1857 and 1858, the two main alleys were built along the former ditch of the Swimming School and the Seviş stream. At the same time, various species of trees were planted, the most prominent being, of course, alders (arini). The dike was built in 1859, and a year later the bridge over the Trinbach brook. In 1865, the Sub Arini Restaurant was opened (today's Bolta Rece). Since 1881, the park has been under the care of the Society for the Beautification of the City, which planted more trees. The greenhouse was built in 1883, followed by the first artesian fountain in 1894. The music pavilion was built in 1898, and every Sunday the military band held performances there. Since 1904, the park was fitted with electric lighting. The municipal stadium, first known as the Physical Education Stadium, was opened in 1927 on the southern edge of the park. Between 1977-1981, the stadium was fitted with concrete stands for 12,000 spectators. In 1982, the capacity of the stadium was upgraded to 24,000 seats. In 1938, the bust of Mihai Eminescu, cast by the sculptor Radu Moga, was unveiled. In 1979, the municipality started to pave the main alleys, and replaced the old music pavilion with a new one. Also, the artesian fountain was refurbished. During the same time, the children playgrounds were built. Today, the park is home to 68 plant species (of which about 30 are exotic) and 95 sedentary or migratory bird species. The visitors could admire native species, such as alders, linden trees, chestnuts, sycamores and other trees (some of them over 150 years old), North American species, such as blue spruce, white pine, walnut, rock maple, tsuga, red cedar or Douglas fir, and trees from the Far East: Japanese barberry, ginkgo biloba and the Caucasian fir.

After the Tartar invasion of 1241, Sibiu was fortified between the 13th and 14th centuries, in four phases, with massive red brick walls. This led to the name Red Citadel which was assigned to the city of Sibiu. The walls expanded on approximately 4 km, provided with 39 defence towers and 5 bastions. Today we can see Soldisch and Haller Bastions, as well as the following Towers: Stairs, Council, Woodworkers, Gunsmiths, Potters, Thick, Leather Merchants, Munitions. The outside defence wall of the third fortification belt of Sibiu can be seen along Corneliu Coposu Avenue. Between the roadway and the wall there is a green area, dating since 1791, which was firstly set up between the Haller Bastion and the Thick Tower, only to be subsequently extended to Cisnădiei Bastion, known as the “invalids promenade”. Another part of the wall is located along Manejului Street, on the Eastern side of the Ursulines Church. The wall displays here a stream of semicircle arches which used to serve as support for the guard gallery. At the end towards the Ursalines Church, the wall forms two arcades that support a passage gallery towards the monks’ yard long-ago. Currently, this gallery makes the connection to Constituţiei Street. In bygone days, here used to be the Barbers Tower, close to the Salt’s Gate. The oldest construction of Sibiu, preserved in its initial form, can be found in the yard of Huet Square no. 2, where there is a 30 m section of the defence wall from the first fortification precincts of Sibiu, dating since the 13th century. The wall that can be seen on Cetăţii Street, between the Woodworkers Tower and the Potters Tower, is built during 1357 and 1366. A the present time, the wall has the aspect of the second half of the 15th century, when it was rebuilt with brick and provided with ample arcades on the inside, that support the guard road. A part of the defence wall from the third fortification belt of Sibiu is located between the Soldisch Bastion and Mitropoliei Street, on Ioan Lupaş Street, in the yard of Octavian Goga High School. Another section of the defence wall, over 200 m long, located in the subsidence area between the Upper and the Lower Towns, can be seen on Centumvirilor Street, between Odobescu and Tribunei Streets.