Small Square (Piața Mică) and Bridge of Lies

About Small Square (Piața Mică) and Bridge of Lies

Piața Mică, the Small Square, called the Kleiner Ring by the Saxons and Circulus Parvus in Latin documents, took shape on the line of Sibiu's second ring of fortifications; that is why its north and east sides curve, following the course of the old wall. It was the craftsmen's square: the houses, built in the 14th–16th centuries, have vaulted loggias on the ground floor, opening onto the square through round arches, under which the guilds kept their workshops and displayed their goods. The butchers' stalls on the square are mentioned as early as 1370, and the last meat market was held here on 1 July 1909. All the buildings around it are listed historic monuments.

The square is cut in two by Ocnei street, which runs down to the lower town. Until 1851 the road passed through a tunnel under a row of houses, with a church on top; once they were demolished, the two halves of the square were first linked by a wooden footbridge. It was replaced by the Bridge of Lies, cast in iron in 1859 and officially opened on 17 December 1860, the oldest surviving cast-iron bridge in Romania. Legend has it that the bridge will collapse under anyone who tells a lie while standing on it; another explanation of the name starts from the German Liegebrücke, the "lying bridge", one without piers, close in sound to Lügenbrücke, the "bridge of lies". The historic centre of Sibiu, with its ensemble of squares, has been on the UNESCO Tentative List since 2004.

Information verified on 21 October 2026.

Good to know before you go

Getting there

By car: Sibiu is on the A1 motorway; Cluj-Napoca is ~180 km away (~2 hours 15 minutes on the A3, A10 and A1), Brașov ~145 km on the DN1 (~2 hours 30 minutes) and Bucharest ~270 km on the A1 to Pitești and then the DN7 through the Olt valley (~4 hours). The Small Square is in the historic centre, where car access is restricted; leave the car in one of the car parks around the centre and continue on foot.

Public transport: Sibiu railway station is ~1 km away, about a 15-minute walk through the lower town; you can walk up Ocnei street, right under the Bridge of Lies. From the Grand Square it is a few steps, past the Council Tower, and across the bridge you go straight into Huet Square, by the Evangelical Cathedral.

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, a 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 and the Bridge of Lies are free. The Museum of Pharmacy History, the galleries in the Arts House and the other museums in the houses on the square have separate tickets.

Rules

The square and the bridge are for pedestrians only. Pets are allowed on a lead. Flying a drone over the town requires authorisation, as over any built-up area.

Facilities

Cafés, restaurants and terraces in the loggias of the houses · benches · tourist information centre on the Grand Square, a few steps away · pedestrianised square, paved with stone