# Tailors' Bastion

[Romania](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/attractions) › [Transylvania](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/region/transilvania) › [Cluj County](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/county/cluj) › [Cluj-Napoca](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/city/cluj-napoca)

> A 15th-century defensive tower of Cluj's old citadel, rebuilt in 1627–1629 under Gabriel Bethlen; today an urban culture centre with exhibitions, a conference hall and a café.

**At a glance:** Fortresses and fortifications in Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County. The visit takes 30 min. Information verified on 23 October 2026.

## Key facts

- **Opening hours:** The interior hosts exhibitions and events organised by City Hall, and visiting depends on their programme, announced on the tower's Facebook page. The wall and the tower can be seen from the street at any time.
- **Visit duration:** 30 min — the tower and the wall beside it
- **With kids:** Yes — short walk on foot
- **Parking:** Yes, paid — on the streets in the centre
- **Best season:** All year round — visible from the street all year
- **Address:** Strada Baba Novac 35, Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County
- **Coordinates:** 46.76827, 23.59739
- **Website:** https://primariaclujnapoca.ro/locatie/bastionul-croitorilor/
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cluj-Napoca_Tailors%27_Bastion
- **Wikidata:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q604280
- **Categories:** [Fortresses and fortifications](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/cetati-si-fortificatii), [Monuments and historic sites](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/monumente-si-situri-istorice)

## About Tailors' Bastion

The Tailors' Bastion, also called the Bethlen Bastion, stands at the south-eastern corner of Cluj's old citadel, on Strada Baba Novac. It was built in the 15th century and is mentioned in documents in 1475; the tailors' guild maintained it and defended the stretch of wall beside it. In 1627–1629, after lightning set off the gunpowder stored in the tower, it was rebuilt in the time of Prince Gabriel Bethlen, which gave it its second name.

It is one of the few towers left from the town's medieval fortifications. The stonework is massive, with narrow windows and firing loopholes, and the roof is a red-tiled pyramid. Beside the tower a stretch of wall with a guard walkway survives. Restored in 2007–2009 after years of neglect, the bastion was turned into an urban culture centre, to a design by the architects Adrian Borda, Eleonora Ciotlăuș and Klara Veer.

### What you can see

From the street you see the stonework, the tower's windows and the wall with its guard walkway alongside. In front of the tower stands the statue of Baba Novac, a captain of Michael the Brave, executed in Cluj in 1601. Inside, a new steel structure with a staircase and platforms is set between the old walls, under the roof timbers, and the levels are used for exhibitions, conferences and events. Nearby, on Ulița Lupilor, stands the Reformed Church.

### Good to know

The bastion belongs to Cluj-Napoca City Hall and works as a cultural venue; the interior can be visited depending on the exhibitions and events on the programme.

## Don't miss

- The massive stonework of the tower, with narrow windows and firing loopholes, under the red-tiled pyramid roof.
- The stretch of wall beside the tower, with a guard walkway, preserved from the old citadel.
- The modern interior: the steel staircase and platforms set between the medieval walls, under the roof timbers.
- The statue of Baba Novac in front of the tower, erected in 1975, recalling his execution in Cluj in 1601.
- The exhibitions and events held on the tower's levels, from painting and photography to craft fairs.

## Good to know before you go

### Getting there

**By car:** the bastion is in the centre of Cluj, on Strada Baba Novac, ~10 minutes' walk from Piața Unirii. Leave the car in a car park in the centre and walk a few minutes.

**Public transport:** from Cluj-Napoca railway station you reach the centre by public transport or on foot in ~25–30 minutes; from Piața Unirii it is ~10 minutes' walk to the bastion.

### Where to park

Spaces on the streets in the centre of Cluj are paid, at a machine or in the app, and fill up quickly on weekdays and at weekends. From the car parks nearby you reach the bastion on foot in a few minutes.

### Rules

The usual rules of a historic monument apply: do not touch the masonry and do not climb on the walls. Photography inside depends on the rules of each exhibition or event.

### Facilities

Café · conference hall · exhibition rooms on several levels

## Details

- **Construction period:** 15th century
- **Founder:** the tailors' guild
- **State of preservation:** restored
- **Historical period:** Middle Ages

## Frequently asked questions about Tailors' Bastion

**How long does a visit to Tailors' Bastion take?**

A visit to Tailors' Bastion takes about 30 min (the tower and the wall beside it).

**Can you visit Tailors' Bastion with kids?**

Yes, Tailors' Bastion is suitable for children (short walk on foot).

**Where can I park at Tailors' Bastion?**

There is paid parking at Tailors' Bastion (on the streets in the centre). Spaces on the streets in the centre of Cluj are paid, at a machine or in the app, and fill up quickly on weekdays and at weekends. From the car parks nearby you reach the bastion on foot in a few minutes.

**How do I get to Tailors' Bastion?**

Tailors' Bastion is located at Strada Baba Novac 35, Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County. By car: the bastion is in the centre of Cluj, on Strada Baba Novac, ~10 minutes' walk from Piața Unirii. Leave the car in a car park in the centre and walk a few minutes. Public transport: from Cluj-Napoca railway station you reach the centre by public transport or on foot in ~25–30 minutes; from Piața Unirii it is ~10 minutes' walk to the bastion.

**When is the best time to visit Tailors' Bastion?**

The best season for Tailors' Bastion: All year round (visible from the street all year).

## Nearby attractions

- [Reformed Church on Ulița Lupilor](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/biserica-reformata-ulita-lupilor-cluj-napoca) — Churches · Cluj-Napoca, CJ · 30 min · 0 km
  The Gothic hall church begun in 1486 for the Franciscans, with a 17th-century star vault, the 1646 pulpit, the 1913 Angster organ and the Apafi tombs.
- [Cluj-Napoca National Theatre](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/teatrul-national-cluj-napoca) — Monuments and historic sites · Cluj-Napoca, CJ · 2 – 2½ hours · 0 km
  The neo-Baroque building of 1906, designed by the Viennese firm Fellner & Helmer, home to the “Lucian Blaga” National Theatre and the Romanian National Opera; seen at performances and on the Opera's guided tours.
- [Dormition of the Theotokos Metropolitan Cathedral, Cluj-Napoca](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/catedrala-mitropolitana-cluj-napoca) — Churches · Cluj-Napoca, CJ · Free · 30 min · 1 km
  The Orthodox cathedral in Avram Iancu Square, built between 1923 and 1933 in the Neo-Byzantine style with Brâncoveanu elements, with a central dome ringed by 18 columns and an interior being covered gradually in mosaic.
- [Bánffy Palace in Cluj-Napoca](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/palatul-banffy-cluj-napoca) — Castles and palaces · Cluj-Napoca, CJ · 16 lei · Top 100 · 1 km
  The finest Baroque palace in Transylvania, built between 1774 and 1785 on Cluj's Union Square, with classical statues along its attic; it houses the Art Museum, with five centuries of Romanian and Transylvanian painting.
- [St Michael's Roman Catholic Church, Cluj-Napoca](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/biserica-sfantul-mihail-cluj-napoca) — Churches · Cluj-Napoca, CJ · 30 min · 1 km
  The Gothic hall church on Piața Unirii, built in the 14th–15th centuries, with a 76 m Neo-Gothic tower, a Baroque pulpit and the frescoes of the Schleunig chapel.
- [Pharmacy Museum](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/muzeul-farmaciei-cluj-napoca) — Museums and memorial houses · Cluj-Napoca, CJ · 44 lei · ½ – 1 hours · 1 km
  A department of the National Museum of Transylvanian History, in Hintz House on Union Square, in the oldest pharmacy in Cluj: the dispensary with 18th-century decoration, the laboratory and old medical equipment.

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Last updated: 23 October 2026
Source: Pe Plaiuri (https://peplaiuri.ro/en) — Guide to tourist attractions in Romania