Union Square was voted by over 7.000 inhabitants of Cluj-Napoca as the landmark most worthy of becoming the symbol of the Transylvanian municipality. The survey was organized by the national newspaper “Adevărul” which gathered votes for two weeks. The mayor of the time said that the result was a testament to the significance of the edifice and the extent to which people identified with it.
It was the center of Clus Citadel (a former name of Cluj-Napoca) in medieval times and it is the center of the city at present as well. This fact has remained unchanged for hundreds of years and it signifies a reassuring link to the past. The square is called the “heart” of Cluj-Napoca and this is in fact accurate, as it is the life and soul of the town.
Over the years, it has had different names. In the Middle Ages, it was called “The Big Square”, while in the second half of the 19th century it bore the name “The Main Square”. Next, at the beginning of the 20th century it was renamed “King Matthias Square”, after Matthias Corvinus. Beginning with the year 1918, when Greater Romania was formed, the square received the name “Union Square”. This is also the name by which it is known today, although for a brief interlude during the communist regime, it was lost in favor of “Freedom Square”.
As shown by the names it had in the past, Union Square is the largest and most significant square in Cluj-Napoca. It is the point from where the center and the rest of the city start to unravel. And it is not only important locally but on a European level as well, as it is the largest of the old central and Southeast European squares (200m by 160m).
The Square is important for St. Michael’s Church which is located on one side of it, the statue of King Matthias Corvinus and the Roman remains, located on the other side. The square does not relinquish its connection to King Matthias Corvinus – king of Hungary, Croatia (1458-1490) and Bohemia (1458-1490) – even though it does not bear its name anymore. Son of famous anti-Ottoman resistance hero, John Hunyadi (Iancu de Hunedoara), Matthias Corvinus was baptized in St. Michael’s Church.
Some of the most important buildings in the city were erected around the square, thus outlining its margins. To the East is Banffy Palace, presently used by the Art Museum and the twin buildings that mark the beginning of Iuliu Maniu Street. On the South side are the former City Hall and the National Bank, while on the Southwest side is the Continental Hotel, built in 1894.
Sources:
Ciorca, Ioan şi Horvath, Leonard (2011) Aşezăminte istorice de patrimodiu din Cluj-Napoca, Direcţia judeţeană pentru cultură şi patrimoniu naţional Cluj, Cluj-Napoca.
Pop, Floriana (2013, 25 April), Piaţa Unirii, cu Biserica Sf. Mihail şi statuia lui Matia Corvin, cel mai cunoscut simbol al Clujului, Adevărul, URL: adevarul.ro/locale/cluj-napoca/piata-unirii-biserica-sf-mihail-statuia-luimatia-corvin-mai-cunoscut-simbol-clujului-1_5178e42a053c7dd83f4564e7/index.html, Accessed: 21.05.2015.
Krajnik, Monika (2011, 6 September), Piaţa Unirii, simbolul Clujului, Adevărul, URL: adevarul.ro/locale/cluj-napoca/piata-unirii-simbolul-clujului-1_50aef2197c42d5a663a1d593/index.html, Accessed: 21.05.2015.
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