Franciscan Friary – Gyergyószárhegy
The Franciscan monastery in Gyergyószárrhegy stands on the side of Szármány Hill, above the Lázár Castle. It is one of the oldest sacred ensembles in the Gyergyószentmiklós area, and is also an important site of 17th-century Transylvanian Franciscan culture.
As early as the 15th century, a group of chapels already stood on the site. In 1642, István Lázár invited two Franciscan monks to Szárhegy, and in 1665, with a donation letter, the younger István Lázár gave the chapels and the land attached to them to the order.
The most prominent resident of the monastery was John Kájoni, a 17th-century Transylvanian Franciscan scholar, organ builder and music collector who built a parish church here as the parish priest and died in 1687 in Szárhegy.
The ensemble has been repeatedly ravaged by the storms of history: in the early 18th century and in the 19th century it was damaged by fires, and in 1940 an earthquake destroyed it. In 1951, communist rule removed the monks, who were only allowed to return in 1978. The lead-glass windows of the Baroque church are the works of Palka József.
The monastery also provided a home for contemporary art: from 1974 onwards, the Szárhegy artist’s colony operated here, which for a long time welcomed artists within the monastery walls.
Visit: The church is open during religious services and by prior arrangement. More about the Franciscan monasteries: Four accepted religions, one landscape.
Photo: Țetcu Mircea Rareș / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Photo: Țetcu Mircea Rareș / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
City:
Gyergyószárhegy