Teleki Library - Târgu Mureș

In 1802 Count Teleki Sámuel, the Chancellor of Transylvania, opened the first public library in Transylvania. The building was constructed between 1799 – 1802 and the library had the role of bringing people closer to books. It provided approximately 40.000 volumes, gathered over six decades, in which he had collected the first prints of the most representative scientific works, as well as a reading room for in-depth study of the valuable manuscripts. After World War II, this collection was completed with the 80.000 volumes of the former Reformed College, as well as funds from the castles in the region. Today the treasures of Teleki Library can be admired in the original hall, on the ground floor of the building.

Opening Hours
Exhibitions:
Tuesday-Friday: 10:00 - 18:00
Saturday: 10:00-16:00

Reading Room:
Tuesday-Friday: 10:00 - 18:00

Last admission half an hour before closing time!

“Entering the library I was shaken by amazement” – wrote Ferenc Kazinczy in 1816 when he visited the Teleki Library. The basic collection of today’s Teleki-Bolyai Library was made available for the general public by Count Samuel Teleki, Chancellor of Transylvania, on 18th October 1802.

It is really difficult to prioritise the treasures of the Teleki Library, its shelves and showcases boast with incunabula, about two thousand Hungarian books, famous Bibles, the basic works of 16th – 18th century Europe’s scholarship, 17th century hand-painted atlases, countless volumes published by the most famous European publishing houses. After the Second World War this collection was enriched with the 80,000 volumes of the former Calvinist College, as well as with other fragmentary confessional and aristocratic collections. The Library’s oldest document is a 14th century parchment codex, known as the Koncz Codex that on some of its pages bares another handwriting which is the sixth oldest Hungarian language monument from the first quarter of the 15th century, known as the Lines and Glosses of Tîrgu Mureș. The most representative volumes are on display in the museum located in the main hall, while the researchers, students and local historians can work with almost any volume of the library in the upstairs reading room.

 Today the former reading room houses the temporary exhibitions and can be visited along with the Bolyai Museum. The latter presents objects and documents connected to the two mathematicians; alongside Farkas’ main work, the Tentamen (in which his son’s famous non-Euclidean geometry is included as an appendix), the visitors can catch a glimpse of Farkas’ study and on a separating screen read selected copies of the 20,000 manuscripts of the two. During recent years the Teleki-Bolyai Library has played an active role in the life of the local community. The activities for kids are destined for school children, while the thematic, cultural and book-related discussions proved to be significantly popular among the general public.

Opening Hours
Exhibitions:
Tuesday-Friday: 10:00 - 18:00
Saturday: 10:00-16:00

Reading Room:
Tuesday-Friday: 10:00 - 18:00

Last admission half an hour before closing time!

Virtual tour - as if you were there

Nearby...

This website uses cookies

We use cookies to improve functionality and performance. Please accept them for a better use of the page. Read more: Privacy Policy

background-image-for-checkout-overlay