St Michael's Church – Cluj-Napoca (Kolozsvár)
The Gothic church on the main square of Cluj-Napoca (Kolozsvár) is the earliest hall church in Transylvania and its second-largest church after the Black Church of Brașov. Its neo-Gothic tower is the tallest church tower in historic Transylvania.
The church was built in the 14th–15th centuries. The earliest known document referring to it dates from January 1349: an indulgence issued in Avignon for those who donated towards the lighting and furnishing of the church. The carved frame of the sacristy door was made in 1528 at the request of parish priest Johannes Klein – one of the earliest works of the Transylvanian Renaissance.
Between 1545 and 1716 it was used by the Lutherans, then the Reformed and later the Unitarians; it has been Catholic again since 1716. Among others, Sigismund Rákóczi (1607), Gabriel Báthory (1608) and Gabriel Bethlen (1613) were elected Princes of Transylvania within its walls. The neo-Gothic tower, 76 metres high (80 metres with the cross), was built between 1837 and 1858.
On 18 May 1944 Bishop Áron Márton delivered his famous sermon in this church condemning the persecution of the Jews. After a complete restoration between 2018 and 2022, Archbishop Gergely Kovács reconsecrated the church on 13 August 2022; the works received a Europa Nostra Award in 2024.
Pilgrimage feast: On the feast of Saint Michael the Archangel, 29 September.
Visiting: The church stands on the main square of Cluj-Napoca, next to János Fadrusz's monument to King Matthias Corvinus (1902). It is easy to explore on foot together with the other churches of the city centre.
Sources: Wikipedia · Szabadság (Cluj daily)
Photo: Andrei kokelburg / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 ro · Photo: Monica Emilia Chirila / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 ro
Town:
Cluj-Napoca (Kolozsvár)