The Grand Square is the central square of Sibiu, starting with the year 1366, the year that marks the completion of the third belt of fortifications of the city. It is the witness of the economic activities of the old city, being the main public square. The square would hold fairs, civic assemblies and even executions, among which the most famous is the execution of Johann Sachs von Harteneck, Saxon count, in 1703.
The Grand Square was designated an architectural monument by UNESCO because of its historical buildings, among which: Moringer House (or Blue House), Brukenthal Palace, Council Tower, Haller House, Roman Catholic Parish Church, Hecht House, Lutsch House , Filek Palace and Weidner-Reussner-Czekelius House.
The Grand Square in Sibiu also stands out through a collection of statues, such as the one dedicated to the Romanian scholar Gheorghe Lazăr, made of bronze by the sculptor Radu Aftenie, in 2006. A commemorative plaque dedicated to the victims of the December 1989 Revolution is embedded in the granite pavement of the street.
The statue of St. John Nepomuk, placed in the square in 1734, was later dismantled and moved to the courtyard of the Brukenthal Museum in 1948. 50 years later it was relocated to the inner courtyard of the Roman Catholic Parish Church.
On the eastern side of the square, a red stone circle on the floor marks the site of the statue of Roland (Count, Frankish military leader during the reign of King Charles the Great, who played a crucial role in repelling the Breton army), attested in 1555 and demolished mid-18th century. The location of the statue was the place established for the public executions of those sentenced to death by beheading.
The Grand Square was called Der Grosse Ring or Grosser Platz for several hundred years, and in the interwar period it was called King Ferdinand Square; During the communist era, it became Republic Square, then became The Great Square, as of 1999.
