Transsylvania Nostra Journal

Ever since the Middle Ages, Saint Michael’s Church has dominated the main square of Cluj-Napoca. The urban open space was shaped by the church. For centuries, the ensemble of church and open space served sacral, social and political functions. Its dimensions have not changed fundamentally over time, but the spatial proportions, and especially the church’s appearance and visual role have been constantly modified, depending on the degree of built-up area and the nature of the use of space. In connection with the church conservation on the agenda, we have to clarify the role of the church garden, its significance related to townscape and function.
Based on the analysis of the historical townscape, it is clear that within the garden’s conservation design, the goal was to balance the townscape appearance, the proportions of church and urban open space. The open space’s spirit is change itself; ever since the Middle Ages, the relationship between the church and the urban open space, the latter’s appearance, and within that the church’s environment have been modified time and again.
Freeing the church in the late 19^th century from the ring of merchant and market houses has resulted in an almost sterile environment. However, the use of the urban open space, the ordering of the relationship between the church and the open space, and the breakdown of functions required the church garden’s vertically articulated presentation, beyond the one in a planar manner. The evergreens planted in the mid-20^th century are favourable spatial elements within the townscape ensemble, as with their slender crowns, they confer lightness to the church’s massive volume.
Our historical urban open spaces change in the same way as the town itself changes, develops, and expands. Natural elements must be once again given space, even in urban areas. In the case of the church in the main square of Cluj-Napoca, the trees that embody time, change, and the majesty of nature, enhance the urban open space’s liveability and substance, but the visual effect, which they lend to the church’s volume, is as important.

Keywords: historical urban open space, church garden, Saint Michael’s Church, Cluj-Napoca