# Grand Square (Piața Mare)

[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 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.

**At a glance:** Monuments and historic sites in Sibiu, Sibiu County. Opening hours: daily open 24 hours. Ticket: Free. The visit takes 45 min. Information verified on 8 October 2026.

## Key facts

- **Opening hours:** daily open 24 hours — The square is open at all times. The Roman Catholic Holy Trinity Church can be visited daily. The Council Tower has been closed for rehabilitation since January 2026, for about two years. Tourist information centre (Str. Samuel Brukenthal 2, entrance F, from the Grand Square): Monday–Friday 9:00–17:00, Saturday–Sunday 9:00–13:00.
- **Ticket:** Free — and the Jesuit church
- **Visit duration:** 45 min — without the nearby museums
- **With kids:** Yes — pedestrianised square, fountain
- **Parking:** Yes, paid — around the historic centre
- **Best season:** All year round — Christmas market in winter
- **Address:** Piața Mare, Sibiu, Sibiu County
- **Coordinates:** 45.79678, 24.15183
- **Website:** https://www.sibiucity.ro/index.php/ro/piata_mare
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pia%C8%9Ba_Mare
- **Wikidata:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6675722
- **Categories:** [Monuments and historic sites](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/monumente-si-situri-istorice)

## About Grand Square (Piața Mare)

Piața Mare, the Grand Square, is the heart of Sibiu's upper town: a rectangle paved with stone and granite, about 142 metres long and 93 wide, closed in on every side by old houses with steep tiled roofs. The square took shape with the third ring of fortifications, completed in 1366, and documents from 1408 and 1411 mention it as the grain market, the "Kornmarkt". From the 16th century it became the centre of the walled town. The Saxons called it the Großer Ring, the "Great Ring"; between the wars it was King Ferdinand Square, the communists renamed it Republic Square, and in 1990 it got its old name back.

For centuries the town's assemblies, fairs and executions took place here. From 1550 the pillory, topped by a statue of Roland, stood on the east side, and in 1703 the Count of the Saxons, Johann Sachs von Harteneck, was beheaded here. A fountain is recorded as early as 1538. After 1948 the statue of St John of Nepomuk, which had dominated the square since 1734, was moved away and the middle of the square became a park with flowerbeds, removed only in the 1980s. The complete renovation of 2005, before Sibiu became European Capital of Culture in 2007, gave it today's paving, a fountain rebuilt after the 19th-century one and a new, smaller statue of Gheorghe Lazăr.

### What you can see

The north side is dominated by the Roman Catholic Holy Trinity Church, built by the Jesuits between 1726 and 1733 in the Viennese Baroque style, with its 47-metre tower completed in 1738, next to the former Jesuit seminary. In the north-east corner rises the Council Tower, with the vaulted passage through to Piața Mică, the Small Square, and beside it the 1906 Art Nouveau building of the City Hall. On the west side stand the Brukenthal Palace, completed in 1788, and the Blue House, which got its name in 1819, when a second floor was added. Among the burghers' houses, the Haller House, from the 15th–16th centuries, with Renaissance windows, and the General's House, seat of the commander of the Austrian troops in Transylvania from 1784 to 1904, stand out.

Look up at the roofs: the narrow dormers, like half-closed eyelids, are the "eyes of Sibiu", which ventilate the attics, and they are best seen on the Grand Square. A circle of red stone in the paving on the east side marks the spot of the old pillory.

### Good to know

The Council Tower has been closed for restoration since January 2026, for about two years. In winter the square hosts the Christmas Market, from mid-November to early January, when the stalls and the stage take up most of it.

## Don't miss

- The Roman Catholic Holy Trinity Church, the former Jesuit church, Baroque, with its 47-metre tower.
- The Brukenthal Palace and the Blue House, side by side on the west side of the square.
- The "eyes" in the roofs of the houses, the dormers that earned Sibiu its nickname of the city with eyes.
- The circle of red stone in the paving, on the spot of the pillory with the statue of Roland.
- The fountain with its iron railing, rebuilt in 2006 after the 19th-century one.

## Good to know before you go

### Getting there

**By car:** Sibiu is on the A1 motorway; Cluj-Napoca is ~175 km away (~2 hours on the A10 and A1), Brașov ~145 km on the DN1 (~2 hours 30 minutes) and Bucharest ~275 km on the DN7 through the Olt valley or on the A1 (~4 hours). The Grand Square is right in the middle of the upper town, in the historic centre, where car access is restricted; leave the car in one of the car parks around the centre and walk up.

**Public transport:** from Sibiu railway station to the Grand Square it is ~1.5 km, about a 20-minute walk through the lower town, or a few stops on the Tursib buses. From Sibiu airport (~5 km) there is a bus and taxis. The square is the starting point for the rest of the centre: the Small Square lies beyond the passage under the Council Tower, and Huet Square, with the Evangelical Cathedral, is a few steps to the north-west.

### Where to park

You cannot park on the square: it is pedestrianised. The nearest public car parks are Cazarma 90, next to the pedestrianised Nicolae Bălcescu street, and the one on Piața Teatrului, both a 5–10 minute walk away; spaces on the streets around the historic centre are paid, at the machines, by SMS or in the app. In summer, at weekends and on festival days they fill up quickly.

### Fees & discounts

The square is free, and entry to the Roman Catholic Holy Trinity Church is free. The Brukenthal Palace, the Blue House (exhibitions of the Brukenthal Museum) and the other museums nearby have separate tickets.

### Facilities

City Hall tourist information centre, entered from the square · cafés, restaurants and terraces around the square · benches · pedestrianised square, paved with granite and stone

## Details

- **Historical period:** 14th–19th centuries
- **Civilisation:** Transylvanian Saxons

## Frequently asked questions about Grand Square (Piața Mare)

**How much is a ticket to Grand Square (Piața Mare)?**

Admission to Grand Square (Piața Mare) is free (and the Jesuit church). The square is free, and entry to the Roman Catholic Holy Trinity Church is free. The Brukenthal Palace, the Blue House (exhibitions of the Brukenthal Museum) and the other museums nearby have separate tickets.

**What are the opening hours of Grand Square (Piața Mare)?**

Opening hours at Grand Square (Piața Mare): daily open 24 hours. The square is open at all times. The Roman Catholic Holy Trinity Church can be visited daily. The Council Tower has been closed for rehabilitation since January 2026, for about two years. Tourist information centre (Str. Samuel Brukenthal 2, entrance F, from the Grand Square): Monday–Friday 9:00–17:00, Saturday–Sunday 9:00–13:00.

**How long does a visit to Grand Square (Piața Mare) take?**

A visit to Grand Square (Piața Mare) takes about 45 min (without the nearby museums).

**Can you visit Grand Square (Piața Mare) with kids?**

Yes, Grand Square (Piața Mare) is suitable for children (pedestrianised square, fountain).

**Where can I park at Grand Square (Piața Mare)?**

There is paid parking at Grand Square (Piața Mare) (around the historic centre). You cannot park on the square: it is pedestrianised. The nearest public car parks are Cazarma 90, next to the pedestrianised Nicolae Bălcescu street, and the one on Piața Teatrului, both a 5–10 minute walk away; spaces on the streets around the historic centre are paid, at the machines, by SMS or in the app. In summer, at weekends and on festival days they fill up quickly.

**How do I get to Grand Square (Piața Mare)?**

Grand Square (Piața Mare) is located at Piața Mare, Sibiu, Sibiu County. By car: Sibiu is on the A1 motorway; Cluj-Napoca is ~175 km away (~2 hours on the A10 and A1), Brașov ~145 km on the DN1 (~2 hours 30 minutes) and Bucharest ~275 km on the DN7 through the Olt valley or on the A1 (~4 hours). The Grand Square is right in the middle of the upper town, in the historic centre, where car access is restricted; leave the car in one of the car parks around the centre and walk up. Public transport: from Sibiu railway station to the Grand Square it is ~1.5 km, about a 20-minute walk through the lower town, or a few stops on the Tursib buses. From Sibiu airport (~5 km) there is a bus and taxis. The square is the starting point for the rest of the centre: the Small Square lies beyond the passage under the Council Tower, and Huet Square, with the Evangelical Cathedral, is a few steps to the north-west.

**When is the best time to visit Grand Square (Piața Mare)?**

The best season for Grand Square (Piața Mare): All year round (Christmas market in winter).

## Nearby attractions

- [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.
- [Sibiu Zoo](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/gradina-zoologica-sibiu) — Zoos and aquariums · Sibiu, SB · 20 lei · 2 – 2½ hours · 6 km
  The zoo in the Dumbrava forest, opened in 1929 and considered the first in Romania, with tigers, lions, jaguars, white wolves, bears and lakes where you can go boating.
- [ASTRA Museum of Traditional Folk Civilisation](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/muzeul-civilizatiei-populare-traditionale-astra) — Museums and memorial houses · Sibiu, SB · 50 lei · 2½ – 3 hours · Top 20 · 7 km
  Romania's largest open-air museum, in the Dumbrava forest outside Sibiu: over 300 houses, mills, workshops and wooden churches brought from across the country, along ~10 km of paths.
- [Cisnădioara Fortified Church](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/biserica-fortificata-din-cisnadioara) — Monasteries and churches · Cisnădioara, SB · 10 lei · 14 km
  A Romanesque basilica from the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries, left almost unaltered, on the rocky top of St Michael's Hill, ringed by a defensive wall and looking out to the Făgăraș Mountains.
- [Ocna Sibiului](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/ocna-sibiului) — Resorts and thermal baths · Ocna Sibiului, SB · 35 lei · Top 100 · 14 km
  A spa resort 15 km from Sibiu with salt lakes formed where old salt mines caved in: in summer you swim in water that keeps you afloat, between white banks of salt.
- [Valea Viilor Fortified Church](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/biserica-fortificata-din-valea-viilor) — Monasteries and churches · Valea Viilor, SB · 8 lei · UNESCO World Heritage · Top 100 · 43 km
  The Saxon church in a vineyard valley near Mediaș, with its choir turned into a defence tower, an almost intact oval wall and a wood-and-iron portcullis that has survived for centuries.

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Last updated: 8 October 2026
Source: Pe Plaiuri (https://peplaiuri.ro/en) — Guide to tourist attractions in Romania