Hermes House

The former residence of the Association of the Craftsmen (Hermes House), no. 11 Small Square (no. 11 Huet Square)
1867
Initially named the “House of the Association of the Small Craftsmen” (Burger- und Gewerbeverein-Haus), it was built between 1865 and 1867 and inaugurated on November 24th, 1867, becoming the administrative headquarters of this Association, as well as a location meant to host various activities, such as a club, the library, the education of the apprentices and exhibitions of craftsmanship products. Nowadays it hosts the Franz Binder Museum of Universal Ethnography opened in 1990.
Although newly built in the 19th century, on the background of relatively few testimonies of the prior constructions (a wood construction, a stone construction, traces of collared ceramics, fragments of the west wing main wall), the building is considered to be important from a historical point of view due to the fact that it is situated in the oldest central part of Sibiu and also because of the fact that, in the past, important persons of the time lived here – county administrators of the German population, royal judges – the 17th – 18th century. This fact is attested by three stone plaques subsequently applied on the wall separating the hall of the new building at the west and referring to the former owners of the building, prior to the House of the Association of the Small Craftsmen, and respectively the nowadays Hermes House. On (2) the plaque in the middle displays the sculpted coat of arms of the former county administration of the Germans, Johannes Lulay. On the right and left side there are two engraved plaques - (1) the one of the left indicates ANNA MARIA FRANKLIN/ GEBORENE/ ROSENAURIN, and (3), the one on the right reads VALENT(IN) FRANCK/ JUDEX REGIUS/ ANNO 1695/ DIE 6 IUNII/.
The symbolic name of Hermes for the former house of the Association of the Small Craftsmen was given after World War II, by association with the name and the significance of god Hermes from the Greek mythology – as the god of commerce – given the fact that this used to be the headquarters of the guilds and that during the Middle Ages, the Small Square was the place where craftsmanship products were sold.