Zoological Museum of Babeș-Bolyai University

The Zoological Museum of Babeș-Bolyai University is in the Faculty of Biology and Geology building, at 5-7 Clinicilor Street in Cluj-Napoca, south-west of the city centre, in the university hospitals area. The museum was founded in 1859 as a department of the Transylvanian Museum and holds some of the oldest zoological collections in south-eastern Europe. Between 1864 and 1871 the naturalist Ottó Herman worked here and began his study of spiders, birds and fish; his arachnid collection, gathered mostly in Transylvania, is kept in the museum. Other collections bear the names of researchers and collectors: the French entomologist René Jeannel (beetles), Lucia Dușa, Béla Kis, Vasile Vicol and Marg-Wladimir Manoliu, whose butterfly collection was donated by his family. The permanent exhibition covers 700 square metres in three rooms and follows the order of complexity, from sponges to mammals. The first room shows invertebrates, fish, amphibians and reptiles, many preserved in liquid, plus themed insect displays. The second is the diorama hall, with six large dioramas (including the Danube Delta and a heron colony) and a small diorama of 45 hummingbirds. The third room is devoted to mounted birds and mammals, nests and eggs. The bird collection numbers about 3,000 specimens of 487 species, and the herpetological collection about 5,000 specimens. Guided tours in Romanian, Hungarian and English can be arranged for groups. Admission is by ticket. The museum belongs to Babeș-Bolyai University and also serves as a teaching base for pupils and students. Did you know that the museum keeps the oldest butterfly (Lepidoptera) collection in Romania, whose first catalogue was published in 1850? It also holds the museum's oldest specimens, bird eggs collected in 1848.