The former seat of the Prefecture on 5 Bolyai street is also known as the “County House" or "County Chief”™s House" because it was first used as headquarters of the former Mureș County (Scaun). A house belonging to Szalai György  existed in 1711 in the same place. As its owner was condemned for treason, the house was confiscated and became the property of the Mureș County. Construction works to expand the building started in 1744 under the supervision of judge Dóza Mihai. At the first county assembly, on April 13, 1746 the building was almost finished. The neighboring plots of land were bought during the 19th century so that the construction could be further expanded. The lateral wings were erected between 1824 and 1838, and the back wing between 1842 and 1843. The ground floor served as prison and on the top floor there was a large assembly hall. As it was built in three stages, but also due to the structure of the land, the plan of the building is irregular; it has a trapezoidal shape with unequal sides. It has a ground floor and a top floor and the basement is only partial. A typically Baroque covering system was used for the rooms in the basement. The interior yard can be entered from the street by a large, semi-circular passageway. The portal is framed with plaster of a different color than that of the wall, and so are the windows. From the passageway all the rooms can be accessed: those on the ground floor, as well as those on the first floor. On the ground floor, in the building”™s older wing, rooms are placed on two rows. This is due to an open corridor with three arches that existed at one time, but was later walled up. Access to the top floor is possible by two staircases, one in the passageway at the entrance and the second one in the Northern wing, which can be reached directly from the interior yard. On the top floor there is an open corridor toward the yard with six semi-circular arches supported by massive poles. The rooms on the top floor are more spacious and are covered with flat ceilings. Currently, these spaces are used as workshops by the artists of Tîrgu-Mureș. Bibliography: Ioan Eugen Man, Tîrgu-Mureș, istorie urbană de la începuturi până în 1850, Tîrgu-Mureș, Ed. Nico, 2006, pp. 224-226.