Brukenthal National Museum

The Brukenthal National Museum is an art museum in Sibiu spread across nine buildings, including five palaces filled with European paintings and objects. The collection features artworks from the 15th to 18th centuries and displays styles from across different regions of Europe.

Baron Samuel von Brukenthal founded this institution in 1817 as the first public museum in Romania and Central Europe. The creation represented a turning point in how people could access and understand works of art.

The collection reflects German, Austrian, Flemish, Dutch, and Italian artistic traditions spanning several centuries. You can see how these different European styles came together in one place and influenced each other.

The museum spreads across different locations in Sibiu with specialized sections like art galleries, natural history, and pharmacology displays. Plan your route between buildings or consider multiple visits to explore all the collections at a comfortable pace.

One notable section is the pharmacology museum housed in a building from 1569 that once served as one of Romania's first pharmacies. Here you can see original medical instruments and the setup of an 18th-century apothecary.