# Natural History Museum

[Romania](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/attractions) › [Transylvania](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/region/transilvania) › [Sibiu County](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/county/sibiu) › [Sibiu](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/city/sibiu)

> The natural sciences department of the Brukenthal National Museum, in a building from 1895: dioramas with sound and light, a Bison priscus skeleton, mammoth bones and a mineral collection.

**At a glance:** Museums and memorial houses in Sibiu, Sibiu County. Opening hours: Monday–Tuesday closed, Wednesday–Sunday 09:00 – 17:00. Ticket: 20 lei. The visit takes 1 – 1½ hours. Information verified on 23 October 2026.

## Key facts

- **Opening hours:** Monday–Tuesday closed, Wednesday–Sunday 09:00 – 17:00 — The ticket desk closes at 16:30. Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Free for pensioners and Sibiu residents (with ID) on the first Thursday of each month.
- **Ticket:** 20 lei — pensioners 10, pupils 5 lei
- **Visit duration:** 1 – 1½ hours — duration estimated by the museum
- **With kids:** Yes — dioramas and dinosaurs in the courtyard
- **Parking:** Yes, paid — on the streets of the historic centre
- **Best season:** All year round — open all year
- **Address:** Strada Cetății 1, Sibiu, Sibiu County
- **Coordinates:** 45.79491, 24.15475
- **Phone:** +40 269 217 691
- **Website:** https://www.brukenthalmuseum.ro/sectoare/naturale
- **Wikipedia:** https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muzeul_de_Istorie_Natural%C4%83_din_Sibiu
- **Wikidata:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q12736106
- **Categories:** [Museums and memorial houses](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/muzee-si-case-memoriale)

## About Natural History Museum

The Natural History Museum has stood since 1895 in a building constructed especially for it, on Strada Cetății, at the edge of Sibiu's Upper Town. The Transylvanian Society for Natural Sciences, founded in 1849 by Saxon intellectuals, had amassed ever larger collections, and towards the end of the 19th century it no longer had anywhere to keep them. Work on the new building began in the autumn of 1894 to the design of the architect C. W. Fr. Maetz, and it was inaugurated on 12 May 1895.

The building is in Late Italian Renaissance style, with a basement, a ground floor and an upper floor, a yellow façade with exposed brickwork, a columned portico at the entrance and the year 1894, in Roman numerals, under the cornice; it was renovated between 2006 and 2008. Since 1957 the museum has been a department of the Brukenthal National Museum. The permanent exhibition, opened in December 2007, is built from three-dimensional dioramas, with sound and light that follow the day–night cycle in each environment shown. The collections exceed one million items.

### What you can see

The exhibition has four sectors. "The Evolution of the Living World" begins with marine invertebrates, corals and insects, passes through fish and reptiles and reaches birds, with a corner of the Danube Delta recreated using authentic tree trunks. "Ecosystems" covers the temperate zone, from plain to alpine summit, with the wolf, the fox and the bear, the tropical forest, with parrots and exotic butterflies, the Arctic zone, with a seal that is among the museum's oldest pieces and a snowy owl, and a diorama of Australia, with the koala, the lyrebird and the marsupial marten.

The palaeontological sector has the complete skeleton of a Bison priscus, found in 1900 in a quarry in Sighișoara, and mammoth and woolly rhinoceros bones found in the Gușterița district of Sibiu, along with cave bear remains. The mineralogical sector is in the main hall, on either side of the stairs: native gold, copper, ornamental stones, mine flowers and minerals first reported in Romania, such as tellurium, krennerite and rhodochrosite. Dinosaur models stand in the courtyard and the garden.

### Good to know

The museum has its own ticket, separate from the one for the Brukenthal Palace; the sections of the Brukenthal National Museum can also be visited with a single ticket valid for 48 hours. Temporary exhibitions have separate tickets.

## Don't miss

- The complete Bison priscus skeleton, found in 1900 in a quarry in Sighișoara and 180 cm tall.
- Mammoth and woolly rhinoceros bones found in the Gușterița district of Sibiu.
- Dioramas with sound and light that follow the day–night cycle, from the Danube Delta to Australia.
- The mineralogical sector in the main hall, with native gold and minerals first reported in Romania.
- The painted ceiling above the staircase in the hall and the 1895 building with its columned portico.

## Good to know before you go

### Getting there

**By car:** Sibiu is on the A1 motorway; from Cluj-Napoca it is ~180 km (~2 hours 15 minutes on the A10 and A1), from Brașov ~145 km on the DN1 (~2 hours 30 minutes), and from Bucharest ~270 km on the A1 and the DN7 through the Olt Valley (~4 hours). The museum is on Strada Cetății, at the edge of the historic centre, ~400 m from the Great Square (Piața Mare), where car access is restricted: leave the car in one of the car parks around the centre and walk.

**Public transport:** from Sibiu railway station it is a 20–25 minute walk through the centre, or you can take a Tursib bus to the central area; from the Great Square the museum is a few minutes' walk. From Sibiu airport (~5 km) there is a bus and taxis.

### Where to park

Spaces on the streets around the historic centre are paid, at a machine, by SMS or in an app, and there are few of them. Public car parks with a barrier, such as Piața Teatrului or Cazarma 90, are 5–10 minutes' walk away. In summer, at weekends and on festival days they fill up quickly.

### Fees & discounts

Adult ticket 20 lei; pensioners 10 lei; pupils, students, Euro 26 card holders and people with a medium or mild disability 5 lei. The single ticket for all the sections of the Brukenthal National Museum, valid for 48 hours, costs 120 lei (adults). Temporary exhibitions have separate tickets, between 10 and 50 lei. Admission is free for pre-school children, for holders of ICOM cards or press cards, and on the first Thursday of each month for pensioners and Sibiu residents; Euro 26 card holders under 30 get in free on the 26th of the month. Guided tours of the exhibitions, in Romanian or English, cost 200 lei for 60 minutes and must be requested at least 48 hours in advance at secretariat@brukenthalmuseum.ro.

### Rules

The visit is self-guided or with a guide on request. Professional photography and filming are charged (for example, 500 lei per hour inside the museum for individuals). Do not touch the exhibits and follow the instructions of the gallery staff.

### Facilities

sales point with the museum's publications and products · online tickets · garden with dinosaur models · guided tours on request

## Details

- **Collection type:** natural history
- **Guided tour:** Yes

## Frequently asked questions about Natural History Museum

**How much is a ticket to Natural History Museum?**

A ticket to Natural History Museum costs 20 lei (pensioners 10, pupils 5 lei). Adult ticket 20 lei; pensioners 10 lei; pupils, students, Euro 26 card holders and people with a medium or mild disability 5 lei. The single ticket for all the sections of the Brukenthal National Museum, valid for 48 hours, costs 120 lei (adults). Temporary exhibitions have separate tickets, between 10 and 50 lei. Admission is free for pre-school children, for holders of ICOM cards or press cards, and on the first Thursday of each month for pensioners and Sibiu residents; Euro 26 card holders under 30 get in free on the 26th of the month. Guided tours of the exhibitions, in Romanian or English, cost 200 lei for 60 minutes and must be requested at least 48 hours in advance at secretariat@brukenthalmuseum.ro.

**What are the opening hours of Natural History Museum?**

Opening hours at Natural History Museum: Monday–Tuesday closed, Wednesday–Sunday 09:00 – 17:00. The ticket desk closes at 16:30. Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Free for pensioners and Sibiu residents (with ID) on the first Thursday of each month.

**How long does a visit to Natural History Museum take?**

A visit to Natural History Museum takes about 1 – 1½ hours (duration estimated by the museum).

**Can you visit Natural History Museum with kids?**

Yes, Natural History Museum is suitable for children (dioramas and dinosaurs in the courtyard).

**Where can I park at Natural History Museum?**

There is paid parking at Natural History Museum (on the streets of the historic centre). Spaces on the streets around the historic centre are paid, at a machine, by SMS or in an app, and there are few of them. Public car parks with a barrier, such as Piața Teatrului or Cazarma 90, are 5–10 minutes' walk away. In summer, at weekends and on festival days they fill up quickly.

**How do I get to Natural History Museum?**

Natural History Museum is located at Strada Cetății 1, Sibiu, Sibiu County. By car: Sibiu is on the A1 motorway; from Cluj-Napoca it is ~180 km (~2 hours 15 minutes on the A10 and A1), from Brașov ~145 km on the DN1 (~2 hours 30 minutes), and from Bucharest ~270 km on the A1 and the DN7 through the Olt Valley (~4 hours). The museum is on Strada Cetății, at the edge of the historic centre, ~400 m from the Great Square (Piața Mare), where car access is restricted: leave the car in one of the car parks around the centre and walk. Public transport: from Sibiu railway station it is a 20–25 minute walk through the centre, or you can take a Tursib bus to the central area; from the Great Square the museum is a few minutes' walk. From Sibiu airport (~5 km) there is a bus and taxis.

**When is the best time to visit Natural History Museum?**

The best season for Natural History Museum: All year round (open all year).

## Nearby attractions

- [The Guild Towers on Strada Cetății](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/turnurile-breslelor-strada-cetatii-sibiu) — Fortresses and fortifications · Sibiu, SB · 2 lei · 30 min · 0 km
  The best-preserved stretch of Sibiu's third ring of fortifications: a wall with a covered walkway and three guild towers, the Carpenters', Potters' and Arquebusiers' Towers; two can be visited.
- [Grand Square (Piața Mare)](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/piata-mare-sibiu) — Monuments and historic sites · Sibiu, SB · Free · 45 min · 0 km
  The main square of old Sibiu, about 140 by 90 metres, enclosed by merchants' houses with "eyes" in their roofs, by the Brukenthal Palace, the Jesuit church and the Council Tower.
- [Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church of Sibiu](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/biserica-romano-catolica-sfanta-treime-sibiu) — Churches · Sibiu, SB · Free · 30 min · 0 km
  The Baroque Jesuit church on the Grand Square, built in 1726–1733, with the fresco behind the high altar, the 1860 organ and the funerary monument of Marshal Traun.
- [Brukenthal Palace](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/palatul-brukenthal) — Castles and palaces · Sibiu, SB · 50 lei · 1 – 1½ hours · Top 100 · 0 km
  The Baroque palace of Governor Samuel von Brukenthal on Sibiu's Great Square has housed Romania's oldest museum since 1817: a gallery of European painting with van Eyck, Titian and Bruegel.
- [Council Tower (Turnul Sfatului)](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/turnul-sfatului-sibiu) — Monuments and historic sites · Sibiu, SB · Free · 15 min · 0 km
  The 13th-century gate tower linking the Grand Square and the Small Square, Sibiu's symbol, with an onion-shaped spire; closed for restoration since January 2026, for about two years.
- [Small Square (Piața Mică) and Bridge of Lies](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/piata-mica-si-podul-minciunilor-sibiu) — Monuments and historic sites · Sibiu, SB · Free · 30 min · 1 km
  The second square of old Sibiu, with guild houses arcaded at street level, the Arts House and the Bridge of Lies, the 1859 cast-iron footbridge over Ocnei street.

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