At the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century, architectural structures of late Baroque were still used in Tîrgu-Mureș. One of the buildings that fall into this category is the house count Teleki Domokos built for himself in 1803. A few years earlier, an inn could be found at the same location, in the so-called Small Square (today Petofi Square), but it had slowly degraded due to the fact that the entire commercial activity of the city had moved to the Large Square (Trandafirilor Square). The count bought the plot of land in 1797 and built a residence on the foundation of the old building, similar in appearance to the other buildings in town. Therefore, even though it was built at the end of the 19th century when the Baroque was already obsolete and the neo-classicism was gradually replacing it, the Teleki Domokos house brings no architectural innovations. It is U-shaped, with shorter lateral arms, probably added in a later stage of construction. One of these arms was demolished in 1928 and restored in 1958- 1959 . The building has an interior yard delimited by open galleries with archways supported by pillars on the ground floor and columns supporting architraves on the floor level. The column caps are decorated with wreaths of laurel leaves and floral elements. The central body is crossed by a long corridor connecting the street entrance to the yard. The rooms on the ground floor are smaller than those on the first floor where the honor hall can also be found, with its windows facing the street. Differences exist also in what concerns the covering system. On the ground floor, the central body is covered by vaults with penetrations, and the side wings are covered by flat ceilings, while on the first floor all the rooms have flat ceilings. Visually, the façade is dominated by the middle axis with the ample opening of the portal, shaped as a basket”™s handle,  and a balcony added during the restoration of 1986. The lower register is marked by six striped lesena and by the rectangular windows with light-colored plaster framings. Similar to the other Baroque palaces of Tîrgu-Mureș, the top register of the façade has richer and more diverse decorative elements. The double-profiled pilasters have composite caps made up of volutes and wreaths, while underneath the windows decorative shapes highlighted by lighter-colored plaster are visible. The windows are larger, and their framings are marked by a relieved stone placed in the middle. Like on the Toldalagi palace, which was probably its source of inspiration, a fronton was placed on the roof, with a rounded top and slightly larger toward its base, flanked by two skylights. Whereas on the Toldalagi palace these are richly decorated, the ones on the Teleki Domokos house are much simpler, with no particular ornaments. A short text is inscribed on the fronton that appears as a statement of the founders regarding the period the building was erected: "Dominic Teleki, prefect of the Turda County and his spouse Suzana, Countess of Kendeffi". Due to its vicinity to the Reformed Church in the fortress, the building was bought in 1935 by the reformed parish and is used  by the arch-priest”™s office.

Bibliography: 

Ioan Eugen Man, Tîrgu-Mureș, istorie urbană de la începuturi până în 1850,Tîrgu-Mureș, Ed. Nico, 2006, pp. 250-252.