2022-05-24 13h01 Malancrav: Biserica Evanghelica Luterana
The fortified evangelical church of Mălâncrav was built in the 14th century, on the site of a much older Romanesque basilica.
The history of the church as well as of the locality is closely linked to the nobility of Transylvania, mainly by the name of the Apafi family to which the king of Hungary ceded this territory until the 18th century when part of the Apafi property is passed into possession of the Bethlen family by a court decision from Vienna.
The present evangelical church is mentioned for the first time in the will of Nikolaus Apafi. Another important act in the history of the church dates from an article published in 1424 by Pope Martin V.
The church has three ships and a bell tower and was built in the early 14th century by Nikolaus' son Gregor. The international Gothic sanctuary was rebuilt in 1400. The current form of the religious building is due to the interventions which took place at the beginning of the 20th century and the enclosure which formerly surrounded the church, only a simple wall belt and the first levels of the gate tower have been preserved.
Inside, above the altar, you can see the coat of arms of the Apafi family on the keystone, surrounded by the inscription GENTILE SCUTUM APPAE.
Under the sacristy is the tomb of Prince Mihai Apafi II, whose crypt is the work of the transylvanian sculptor Elias Nicolai, from the 17th century. This monument is today in the Budapest Art Museum.
The real "treasure" of the church of Mălâncrav is its mural painting, the best-preserved set of 14th century Gothic linear narrative painting. On the north side of the central nave are most of the frescoes made around 1350. There are thus 53 pictorial scenes arranged in five registers, making a veritable quintessence of the creation revealed by the Old and New Testaments. The scenes painted in the choir of Mălâncrav are characterized by a great detachment from the constraints of the painting of the church and they are a fine example of the Gothic style which spread through Bohemia and Slovakia to Transylvania in from Italy and France.
2022-05-24 13h01 Malancrav: Biserica Evanghelica Luterana
The fortified evangelical church of Mălâncrav was built in the 14th century, on the site of a much older Romanesque basilica.
The history of the church as well as of the locality is closely linked to the nobility of Transylvania, mainly by the name of the Apafi family to which the king of Hungary ceded this territory until the 18th century when part of the Apafi property is passed into possession of the Bethlen family by a court decision from Vienna.
The present evangelical church is mentioned for the first time in the will of Nikolaus Apafi. Another important act in the history of the church dates from an article published in 1424 by Pope Martin V.
The church has three ships and a bell tower and was built in the early 14th century by Nikolaus' son Gregor. The international Gothic sanctuary was rebuilt in 1400. The current form of the religious building is due to the interventions which took place at the beginning of the 20th century and the enclosure which formerly surrounded the church, only a simple wall belt and the first levels of the gate tower have been preserved.
Inside, above the altar, you can see the coat of arms of the Apafi family on the keystone, surrounded by the inscription GENTILE SCUTUM APPAE.
Under the sacristy is the tomb of Prince Mihai Apafi II, whose crypt is the work of the transylvanian sculptor Elias Nicolai, from the 17th century. This monument is today in the Budapest Art Museum.
The real "treasure" of the church of Mălâncrav is its mural painting, the best-preserved set of 14th century Gothic linear narrative painting. On the north side of the central nave are most of the frescoes made around 1350. There are thus 53 pictorial scenes arranged in five registers, making a veritable quintessence of the creation revealed by the Old and New Testaments. The scenes painted in the choir of Mălâncrav are characterized by a great detachment from the constraints of the painting of the church and they are a fine example of the Gothic style which spread through Bohemia and Slovakia to Transylvania in from Italy and France.