# Small Square (Piața Mică) and Bridge of Lies

[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 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.

**At a glance:** Monuments and historic sites in Sibiu, Sibiu County. Opening hours: daily open 24 hours. Ticket: Free. The visit takes 30 min. Information verified on 21 October 2026.

## Key facts

- **Opening hours:** daily open 24 hours — The square and the bridge are open at all times. The Council Tower has been closed for restoration since January 2026, for about two years. The museums nearby (Museum of Pharmacy History, the galleries in the Arts House) keep their own hours.
- **Ticket:** Free — the square and the bridge
- **Visit duration:** 30 min — without the nearby museums
- **With kids:** Yes — pedestrianised, the bridge legend
- **Parking:** Yes, paid — around the historic centre
- **Best season:** All year round — all year round
- **Address:** Piața Mică, Sibiu, Sibiu County
- **Coordinates:** 45.79772, 24.15163
- **Website:** https://www.sibiucity.ro/index.php/ro/piata_mica
- **Wikidata:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q141458576
- **Categories:** [Monuments and historic sites](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/monumente-si-situri-istorice)

## 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.

### What you can see

The bridge has four flattened cast-iron arches, with openwork decoration of quatrefoils and ever smaller circles. On the south side the large circles bear the coat of arms of Sibiu, and on the north side the year "1859" and the name of the foundry, "Friedrichshütte". It is worth seeing from below too, from Ocnei street, between the brick walls of the ramp, where the arches and the cast-iron lamps at either end are seen best.

The Arts House, the former Butchers' Hall, has a loggia with eight arches on the ground floor and the town's coat of arms from 1789 on its façade; today it houses galleries of the ASTRA Museum. Next to the bridge, the Luxembourg House (no. 16), restored with funding from Luxembourg and named so since 2007, has Baroque façades and a 15th-century Gothic door. At no. 26, in the former Black Bear pharmacy, where one pillar of the loggia bears the year 1568, the Museum of Pharmacy History has been open since 1972. On the tall roofs you can also see the "eyes of Sibiu" here, the eyelid-shaped dormers.

### Good to know

The Council Tower, on the edge towards the Grand Square, has been closed for restoration since January 2026, for about two years. The museums in the houses on the square have their own opening hours and tickets.

## Don't miss

- The Bridge of Lies, seen from above and from below, from Ocnei street, with the coat of arms of Sibiu cast in iron.
- The inscription "1859" and "Friedrichshütte" on the north side of the bridge.
- The eight-arched loggia of the Arts House, the former Butchers' Hall.
- The Luxembourg House, with its Baroque façades and 15th-century Gothic door.
- The pillar dated 1568 in the loggia of the house at no. 26, home of the Museum of Pharmacy History.

## 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

## Details

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

## Frequently asked questions about Small Square (Piața Mică) and Bridge of Lies

**How much is a ticket to Small Square (Piața Mică) and Bridge of Lies?**

Admission to Small Square (Piața Mică) and Bridge of Lies is free (the square and the bridge). 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.

**What are the opening hours of Small Square (Piața Mică) and Bridge of Lies?**

Opening hours at Small Square (Piața Mică) and Bridge of Lies: daily open 24 hours. The square and the bridge are open at all times. The Council Tower has been closed for restoration since January 2026, for about two years. The museums nearby (Museum of Pharmacy History, the galleries in the Arts House) keep their own hours.

**How long does a visit to Small Square (Piața Mică) and Bridge of Lies take?**

A visit to Small Square (Piața Mică) and Bridge of Lies takes about 30 min (without the nearby museums).

**Can you visit Small Square (Piața Mică) and Bridge of Lies with kids?**

Yes, Small Square (Piața Mică) and Bridge of Lies is suitable for children (pedestrianised, the bridge legend).

**Where can I park at Small Square (Piața Mică) and Bridge of Lies?**

There is paid parking at Small Square (Piața Mică) and Bridge of Lies (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, 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.

**How do I get to Small Square (Piața Mică) and Bridge of Lies?**

Small Square (Piața Mică) and Bridge of Lies is located at Piața Mică, Sibiu, Sibiu County. 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.

**When is the best time to visit Small Square (Piața Mică) and Bridge of Lies?**

The best season for Small Square (Piața Mică) and Bridge of Lies: All year round (all year round).

## Nearby attractions

- [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.
- [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.
- [Evangelical Cathedral of Sibiu](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/catedrala-evanghelica-sibiu) — Churches · Sibiu, SB · 10 lei · ½ – 1 hours · 0 km
  The Gothic church of the Sibiu Saxons, with a 73-metre tower you can climb, the 1914 Sauer organ, the 1445 Crucifixion fresco and the gravestones of the ferula.
- [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.
- [Holy Trinity Metropolitan Cathedral, Sibiu](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/catedrala-mitropolitana-sibiu) — Churches · Sibiu, SB · Free · 30 min · 1 km
  The Orthodox cathedral of the Metropolis of Transylvania, built between 1902 and 1906 on the model of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, with striped brick fronts and a dome painted by Octavian Smigelschi.
- [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.

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Last updated: 21 October 2026
Source: Pe Plaiuri (https://peplaiuri.ro/en) — Guide to tourist attractions in Romania