What the public preferred in 2025 at Brukenthal MN
More than 100,000 tickets were sold in 2025 at the museums from Brukenthal NM in Sibiu, according to a response to a curatorial request by the institution’s management.
The total number of visitors to the Brukenthal National Museum’s museums in 2025 (tickets sold) was 102,826. Paying beneficiaries were: adults 43,753; students 43,897; senior citizens 10,042. Non-paying beneficiaries (free tickets related to free admission programs, e.g. Joia Sibienilor): 5,134.
This represents a decrease from 2024, when MNB recorded 127,663 paying visitors.
About 30%, foreign visitors
In 2025, the museum did not have its own visitor monitoring system to accurately determine the visitors’ origin (international vs. national), but in the first 9 months of the year, about 28.7% of the tourists who arrived in Sibiu county were foreigners, according to data published by the National Institute of Statistics (INS).
“Based on this statistic and correlating the requests for the 2025 guides, we estimate that approximately 30% of all tickets were purchased by foreign citizens,” the curatorial response said.
“Ovidiu Maitec 100”, the most visited exhibition
The most visited temporary exhibition was “Ovidiu Maitec 100” at the Brukenthal Palace, with a total number of registered visitors of 14,467, of which 14,000 were paying visitors and 467 attended the related free programs.
The most popular museum of the Brukenthal National Museum was the Brukenthal Palace with the highest number of visitors among the museums managed by the institution: 56,290.
The Museum of Contemporary Art sold 3 219 tickets last year.
Events organized and hosted by MNB in 2025
In addition to the permanent exhibition, the Brukenthal National Museum hosted 37 exhibitions at its premises (14 of which with the MNB heritage, 6 with the heritage of other cultural institutions and private collections, 17 contemporary art projects).
16 temporary exhibitions were organized at other institutions and the MNB participated with loans in 5 projects.
In addition to these there are special exhibitions and projects SCAF – Sibiu Contemporary Art Festival: at the Ursulines Monastery and partner venues (Promenada Mall Sibiu) – 6 exhibitions/projects. National extensions of SCAF – four exhibitions (three at Nopcsa Castle in Săcel and one at Cantacuzino Castle in Bușteni).
Events in 2026
The Brukenthal National Museum is now in the process of selecting and shaping the cultural program for 2026, a stage that takes place in the context of the appointment of a new manager and the definition of the strategic directions for the new mandate.
In addition, the budget for 2026 has not yet been approved, which influences the final calendar of exhibitions, conferences and associated projects, the curatorial response said.
“In this framework, we mention that one of the recurrent strategic projects of the institution is the International Symposium “Brukenthal. Ars et Historia”, which will take place from May 7 to 8, 2026, with the theme “Sacred and everyday in art and history: interdisciplinary dialogues”. The research results presented at the symposium will be published in the scholarly journal Brukenthal Acta Musei (edition 2027), contributing to the strengthening of the academic and interdisciplinary dimension of our cultural program.”
The full schedule of exhibitions and events for 2026 is not yet formally finalized. Details will be announced as soon as the selection process is finalized and the budgetary framework confirmed.
