Unirii Square, Cluj-Napoca

Unirii Square is the central square of Cluj-Napoca and the city's zero point. It is about 220 metres long and 160 metres wide, one of the largest historic squares in Romania. At its centre stand the Roman Catholic St. Michael's Church and, south of the church, the Matthias Corvinus monument. In the Middle Ages it was the Great Square (Hungarian Nagypiac), as distinct from the Little Square, today's Museum Square. It was the heart of the medieval town, built around the parish church. At the end of the 19th century it was briefly called Main Square, then, in the early 20th century, King Matthias Square; from 1952 to 1980 it was Liberty Square, and since 1980 it has been called Unirii (Union) Square. In 1890 the shops built around the church were demolished, and on 12 October 1902 the Matthias Corvinus monument by sculptor János Fadrusz was unveiled, with a base designed by architect Lajos Pákey. Around the square stand the Baroque Bánffy Palace (1774-1785), home of the Cluj National Museum of Art, the Wolphard-Kakas House, begun in Renaissance style in the 16th century, the former Town Hall (1843-1846), the Jósika, Rhédey and Wass palaces, the Hintz House and the former Hotel Continental (1894) on the south-west corner. The Matthias Corvinus monument combines the king's equestrian statue with four statues of his commanders: Blasius Magyar, Paul Kinizsi, Stephen Zápolya and Stephen Báthory. The west side of the square and the area around the church are pedestrian, and the square is the starting point for walks through the historic centre. The square is part of the urban ensemble "Historic centre of the city of Cluj" (LMI code CJ-II-a-A-07244). St. Michael's Church (CJ-II-m-A-07469), the Matthias Corvinus monument (CJ-III-m-A-07819), the Bánffy Palace (CJ-II-m-A-07497) and the Wolphard-Kakas House (CJ-II-m-A-07498) are category A monuments, and most of the surrounding houses are also listed historic monuments. Did you know that the sculptor János Fadrusz gave his own face to one of the statues of the monument, that of Stephen Báthory? The model of the monument won the grand prize at the 1900 Paris World Exhibition. According to tradition, Matthias's horse stands with all four hooves on the ground because the king died a natural death, not in battle.