 As Renaissance styles survived late in the city, the appearance of Baroque art was also delayed, but from the mid-18th century Klausenburg was once again at the centre of the development and spread of art in Transylvania, as it had been two centuries earlier. The first enthusiasts for Baroque were the Catholic Church and the landed aristocracy. Artists came initially from south Germany and Austria, but by the end of the century most of the work was by local craftsmen. The earliest signs of the new style appear in the furnishings of St. Michael's church: the altarpieces and pulpit, which date to the 1740s, are carved, painted and richly decorated with figures. An altarpiece depicting the Adoration of the Magi (1748 – 50) is the work of Franz Anton Maulbertsch. The earliest two-towered Baroque church was built by the Jesuits from 1718 to 1724 on the pattern of Košice and was later handed over to the Piarists. During the century more simply designed Baroque churches were built for the mendicant orders, Lutherans, Unitarians and the Orthodox Church. The noble families built houses and even palaces in the old town. The Baroque Bánffy Palace (1774 – 1785), constructed around a rectangular yard, is the masterpiece of Eberhardt Blaumann. Its peculiarity lies in the appearance of the principal façade.
