Unitarian Church – Homoródkarácsonyfalva
Homoródkarácsonyfalva is a Unitarian village in the Homoród valley, about twenty kilometres from Székelyudvarhely. Its hilltop church became known through one of the most significant modern discoveries of the St Ladislaus legend.
The village is already mentioned in the papal tithe register of 1333. In spring 2006 a medieval mural cycle emerged from under the plaster on the north wall of the church, telling the legend of the knight-king in seven scenes: the king's reception, the blessing by the Bishop of Várad, the cavalry battle with the Cumans, the abduction of the girl, her rescue, the seizing of the wounded Cuman and the rest beneath the tree. The 14th-century cycle runs along the wall for more than eleven metres.
The interior is dominated by an 18th-century painted coffered ceiling: made around 1752, it consists of 96 panels, and the painted wooden furnishings date from roughly the same period.
The uncovering of the murals and the restoration of the church were organised by the For Homoródkarácsonyfalva Foundation, established in 2005, with the support of private donors from Hungary – a fine example of a community joining forces to save its monuments.
Visiting: the church can be visited by prior arrangement; the Unitarian parish can tell you where to get the key. More on the St Ladislaus legend: Faith Set in Stone.
Photo: Ildikó Márton / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 ro
Town:
Homoródkarácsonyfalva (Crăciunel)