St Martin's Church – Sânmartin (Csíkszentmárton)
The parish church of Sânmartin (Csíkszentmárton), dedicated to St Martin the bishop, is one of the most important Baroque monuments of Lower Ciuc (Alcsík). It was built between 1802 and 1817 on the site of a 15th-century Gothic church, but its tower, loopholed wall and statue of Mary dating from 1525 preserve the memory of earlier centuries.
The parish is listed as Sancto Martino in the papal tithe register of 1333, and the village itself appears in documents in 1332. Its first known church was built in the Gothic style in the 15th century; the fragmentary tabernacle niche from that church is now set into the wall of the churchyard, and its 15th-century stone font stands in the chancel. The statue of Mary made in 1525, the oldest image of the Virgin in Ciuc, also survives from the medieval church. The old church was pulled down in 1749 and a new one was built in its place; in the same year Ferenc Szabó had the present tower erected.
Between 1802 and 1817 the second church was in turn demolished and rebuilt in Baroque style, keeping the old tower. The new church was consecrated to St Martin on 14 June 1817 by Sándor Rudnay, Bishop of Transylvania. The building, 35 metres long and 13 metres wide, is surrounded by a loopholed stone wall built in 1744–45, though its eastern section was removed when the new chancel was built; burials took place inside the enclosure from 1819. From 1850 the village was for a long time the seat of a district, and its St Martin's Day fairs were famous far and wide.
The finest pieces of the interior are the high altar and pulpit with neoclassical decoration, made in the 1840s by Simon Hoffmayer, the last important master of the Baroque school of sculpture in Cluj. The high altarpiece depicts St Martin the bishop, the Holy Family and St John of Nepomuk paintings of the side altars are the work of János Pap of Brașov, and the reliefs of the pulpit show biblical scenes. The Stations of the Cross date from 1876 and the organ from 1870, from the Brașov workshop of József Nagy. The 24-metre tower with four corner turrets houses three bells: the largest, weighing some 400 kilograms, was cast by István Boltosch in 1688, and its Latin inscription asks St Martin's protection against hailstorms. A valuable crucifix and a gilded silver candlestick of 1665 are kept in the church's chapel.
Pilgrimage feast: the church's feast is held on 11 November, the feast of St Martin the bishop.
Visiting: the church stands in the centre of Sânmartin, some 17 km south-east of Miercurea Ciuc (Csíkszereda) in the Lower Ciuc basin, in a village that has merged with neighbouring Cecheșeni (Csíkcsekefalva). At the northern end of the village is the Chapel of the Lord, built in 1743, and several mineral springs and traditional village baths can be found in the surrounding area. For Mass times, enquire at the Sânmartin parish.
Sources: Wikipedia – Roman Catholic church of Csíkszentmárton · Wikipedia – Csíkszentmárton (Sânmartin)
Photo: Pasztilla aka Attila Terbócs / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Photo: Pasztilla aka Attila Terbócs / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Town:
Sânmartin (Csíkszentmárton)
