St John the Baptist Parish Church – Târgu Mureș

St John the Baptist Parish Church – Târgu Mureș

The Parish Church of St John the Baptist in Marosvásárhely is a twin-towered Baroque church on the city's main square, Rózsák tere (Roses Square) – one of the most characteristic Baroque church buildings in Transylvania.

Its construction is linked to the Jesuits, who settled in Marosvásárhely in 1702: at first they said Mass in the house of Simon Boér, then in a wooden chapel. The foundation stone of the present church was laid in 1728. Its design is attributed to the Jesuit Bálint Scherzer, and construction was directed by Konrad Hammer. The church was consecrated in 1750 by Zsigmond Antal Sztoyka, Bishop of Transylvania; the niches of the façade hold statues of St Ignatius of Loyola and St Francis Xavier, the two great saints of the Jesuit order.

The most important piece of the interior is the high altar of 1755, the work of Anton Schuchbauer and Johannes Nachtigall, bearing the coat of arms of the principal donors, the Haller family; the altarpiece depicts the Baptism of Christ. The pulpit was donated by Count Miklós Bethlen and his wife, Krisztina Csáky, and is decorated with statues of the four Evangelists. Among the side altars are those of St Ladislaus striking water from the rock, St Joseph, St John of Nepomuk and St Anthony of Padua. The stained-glass windows were made in 1898 and the murals in 1900, the work of Antal Szirmai.

The church's Museum of Church Art was founded in 2002, and its permanent exhibition has been open since 2005. A historical curiosity: after Francis II Rákóczi's installation as prince in Marosvásárhely in 1707, a thanksgiving service was held in the Jesuit chapel that stood on the site of today's church.

Visiting: the church can be visited during Mass and during the day; the parish provides information on the opening hours of the Museum of Church Art. The city's other great church monument is the Reformed fortress church.