The first representations of Baroque architecture appeared in Tîrgu-Mureș in the second half of the 17th century. The Pálffy House on 12 Bolyai Street, built around 1640, through its structure and exterior shapes, reflects an evolutionary stage that surpasses typical Renaissance architectural elements such as those of the oldest buildings of Tîrgu-Mureș, the Köpeczi and Nagy Szabó houses. The edifice was built by judge Tolnai János and sold to the Pálffy family in 1885, hence the name by which the building is known today. The building is rectangular and has a square-shaped prominence on the side facing the street, with a small porch. It has three levels: the basement, the ground floor and one storey. As it is placed on a slope, the basement is smaller than the ground floor. On the top floor, the porch has one ample semicircular opening on each side. The entrance is on the ground floor, on the right side of the façade. Before the alterations performed in the 19th century, there was another entrance through the porch, which was walled up. The most frequently used type of roof on this building is the flattened archway. The shape of the roof, with its half-broken slopes which make it appear as if there were an attic, is typical for the Baroque. The exterior decoration of the facades is made up of stucco ornaments: long rods that surround the arcades of the porch, and floral and vegetal motives. On the top part, right under the roof, lies a strongly profiled cornice, specific to Baroque plastic morphology. Certain decorative elements also appear inside, even if discreet, that belong to the new architectural current of Baroque. Such is the stucco that adorns the arched ceilings of several rooms. After a long period of not being used that brought it to a rather advanced state of decay, the building was remodeled in 2006 to restore its functionality. Today it hosts the newly-established Music School of the University of Theatrical Arts of Tîrgu-Mureș. The Pálffy House is especially popular due to its “middle name” of "Executioner's House". Although it doesn”™t have a clear historical background, but is rather a legend, this name is very often used by the inhabitants of Tîrgu-Mureș. Bibliography: Ioan Eugen Man, Tîrgu-Mureș, istorie urbană de la începuturi până în 1850, Tîrgu-Mureș, Ed. Nico, 2006, p. 128. Grigore Ionescu, Istoria arhitecturii în România, vol. II, București, Ed. A.R.S.R., 1965.