The Central Cemetery in Cluj Napoca is one of the oldest cemeteries, known in the past as the Hajongard Cemetery. The old name of the cemetery comes from the German dialect, Hasengarten (in translation “Garden with rabbits”), representing the name of the current cemetery location. The first attestation of Hajongard Hill dates from 1503 and is located south of Cluj medieval fortress.
At the end of the 16th century, following the plague epidemic in 1585, the cemetery becomes too small, so it is decided to settle the current cemetery location on an area of several hectares. The architectural diversity of the funerary monuments, as well as the names of some personalities with a decisive role in the political, cultural and artistic life of Transylvania, make the cemetery one of the most uncommon objectives of the city.
Starting with the 19th century, the cemetery began to be organized with designation of plots, planting trees and delimitation of the fence between denominations and nationalities. The Central Cemetery, in his current form, includes alleys, buildings with impressive architecture, funerary monuments in different architectural styles (eclectic, baroque, neoclassical, neobaroque, neogothic, neorenaissance, Art Nouveau, etc), trees and leisure venues, even cultural events. Also here, you can admire the tomb-chapel of the Bethlen family – the only neo-Roman style funerary monument in the county. Starting with 2015, the Central Cemetery in Cluj-Napoca is classified as a historical monument in the list of historical monuments.
