Reformed Church – Suza (Csúza)
The Reformed church of Suza (Csúza) is a characteristic congregational church of the Hungarians of Drávaszög. It was built on the site of a medieval church; the village has been Reformed since 1544.
The first, Gothic church was built at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries; it is first mentioned in writing in 1301. The villagers converted during the Reformation, in 1544: at that time the preacher Mihály Sztárai founded some one hundred and twenty Protestant congregations in Baranya and Slavonia within a few years.
The present church was built in 1806 on the remains of the earlier building and acquired its current form in 1869. Two of its three bells were taken away during the First World War; the villagers bought new ones in the 1930s. After the war in former Yugoslavia, from 1998 onwards, the onion-domed tower, the roof and the façades were restored.
The Reformed cemetery is the resting place of pastor Gedeon Ács (1799–1887), who took part in the Hungarian War of Independence of 1848–49, went into exile with Lajos Kossuth and also lived in America. He returned home in 1861 and served in Suza until his death. The congregation has about 250 members today, all of them Hungarian.
Visiting: The church stands on the village's main street (Maršala Tita 54). For service times, contact the local Reformed parish.
Sources: Wikipedia
Photo: Szajci / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Town:
Suza (Csúza)