St Anne's Chapel – St Anne's Lake

St Anne's Chapel – St Anne's Lake

St Anne's Chapel stands on the shore of St Anne's Lake, which lies at about 950 metres in the volcanic crater of the Csomád Mountains. It has been a place of pilgrimage for centuries and is now cared for by the Roman Catholic parish of Lázárfalva.

The first written record of the chapel dates from 1765: it was built by the faithful of Csíkkozmás and Tusnád, while sources give differing dates for the earlier chapels. The building was destroyed by fire in 1842 and then rebuilt; in 1927 it was reconstructed by the committee of the four villages that own the area around the lake, and in 1972 it was renovated by Ferenc Szabó, parish priest of Kozmás. In 2021 a new restoration began with support from the Hungarian government.

The history of the pilgrimage is a stormy one: in 1786 Bishop Ignác Batthyány banned it because of “bloody brawls and gross excesses”, in 1830 Bishop Miklós Kovács allowed it again, but in 1844 it was banned once more. Since 1990 it has again been held regularly on St Anne's Day, 26 July, or the nearest weekend: the pilgrim processions reach the chapel in a procession around the lake, where a festive Mass is celebrated. In the past, pilgrimages were held here twice a year, on St Anne's Day and on the Nativity of Mary.

The lake is part of the Mohos Nature Reserve: swimming has been prohibited since 2018, and bears roam the area.

Visiting: a road leads to the lake from Sepsibükszád; from the car park it is a 15–20-minute walk, and a minibus runs for elderly and disabled visitors. From Tusnádfürdő a hiking trail takes about an hour and a half. An entrance ticket is required; the reserve's management provides information on fees.

More about the pilgrimage: St Anne's Pilgrimage at Lake St Anne

Church accommodation nearby: Pilgrim Accommodation

Photo: Csanády / Wikimedia Commons, public domain · Photo: Fortepan / Márton Kurutz, CC BY-SA 3.0