The Old City Center - The Bolyai Square

When it comes to city centers, most of the cities have an old one and a new one as well, which is inevitable, if it is about an old city. Medieval cities usually started their existence by building along the rivers and around the common markets. Then after some time suburban areas started to appear and when thee cities got bigger and bigger, at some point the surrounding villages became part of the city as suburban areas.

As I love old architecture, obviously I prefer the old city centers. This is why today I'm going to show you a part of the old city center of Targu Mures (Marosvásárhely). The old city center is called The Roses Square and the first street up the the Bolyai Square is also part of the old city center.

This is the old Hungarian Royal Panel Court at the Bolyai Square. Back in the day when this building was built, the city was part of Hungary. The activity done in this building was of utmost importance as up until 1890, there were two Royal Panel Courts, on in Budapest, the other in Marosvásárhely (Targu Mures), the latter serving the whole Transylvania region.

Over the years, the building has proved too small and the new court has been built, which still functions as court today.

These buildings were built in Art Nouveau style, which I admire a lot. Unfortunately going in is impossible, unless you have official business and I suppose taking photos is also out of the question.

Next to the court on the right, there's a building you never want to visit. It's the local prison. I wanted to take a closer photo, but as you can see, there were two guards watching everything, not to mention the cameras. Somewhere there must be a sign (or many), saying photography is not allowed (for security reasons, obviously). I took this photo hiding behind the pine. Then I thought I go to the other side of the street and try a better shot from there. I thought I was smart, it's just that others have been smarter then me as the guards could still see me 😂 So I gave up as was not in the mood to be chased or fined.

Opposite to the old Royal Panel Court there's the Unitarian church, which was built in the Art Nouveau era. The construction work started in 1929 and was sponsored by the locals.

The problem with these churches is that are not open all day, you can only go in when there's a service and taking photos before the service is not exactly convenient. This is why I can't show you the inside. On the other hand, these Unitarian churches, just like the Reformed churches are very simple as far as the decoration is regarded. There are no paintings on the walls, no saints, no cross, just the pulpit, the benches and a few embroidered wall decorations.

The statue of the two Bolyai at the center of the Bolayi square, in front of the Bolyai high school. Farkas Bolyai father (1775 – 1856) and János Bolyai son (1802 – 1860), both famous mathematicians.

To my shock, the school building was fully covered as was going through some renovation work, so this is the best photo I could take.

The left side of the building wasn't covered, so here's a sample of how the left side of the building looks like.

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This is how the building looked like before the renovation works started and this how the building is going to look like after the works are finished. It's a protected building, so changing style is out of the question.

Built in 1557, it is known as the best Hungarian language school of the city and according to this article, in 2013 was named the best Hungarian language school in Transylvania. I suppose it's an honor to attend classes in such an old school with such legacy.

Opposite to the Bolyai high school, on the left side there's the Târgu Mureş University of Art, Institute of Music section. In simple words this is where the puppeteers are studying. There' a puppet theater in the city by the way.

Back in the day it was called the Porkoláb house, most likely named after the owner of that time. It is known to be the oldest house of the city and legend has it that this is where the executioner lived once.

In the medieval times capital punishment (death penalty) was very common and as far as I know the identity of the executioner was protected. I suppose this is why there's no confirmation if the legend is just a legend or it's true.

There are several old, art nouveau style buildings in the Bolyai square.

These buildings may be the oldest ones in the city and are protected. This is why renovation must be done carefully as the original style must be restored and not changed by any means. Unfortunately, owning an old building like this has a lot of disadvantages as restoration can cost a fortune, but regardless, it must be done. During communist years a lot of old buildings fell victim of demolition.