Fortified reformed church from Ilieni

On the Vârful Filtrului Hill, rising above Sânzieni, you can see the small four-foiled chapel in the distance, shouting the message of Christianity from afar. The chapel was built around 1680 by Sámuel Kálnoki in memory of King St Stephen. The thick plaster wall painting, discovered in 1995, shows St Stephen in the centre, St Ladislaus on the right and St Emeric on the left.  Many Catholics from the area come to Vârful Filtrului, the "Șumuleu of Covasna County" for the pilgrimage on St. Stephen's Day on 20 August.

On the crest of Saint Michael's Hill, extending into the lowland between Lemnia and Mereni (the northeastern part of the Three Chairs region), rises a fortress church surrounded by high walls. It was built to serve the needs of the two neighboring villages and for their common use.  In the middle of the courtyard enclosed by an oval-shaped wall, a towerless church with a single nave was built at the end of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th century, replacing an earlier church. The Gothic-style building underwent several reconstructions over the centuries, but architectural evidence from that period has survived to this day, such as Gothic stones supporting the columns of the outer wall and the carved cornice of the building's base. Also from this period is the inscription on the triumphal arch: "Olimu erat Scriptum 1510."  The most significant reconstruction took place in 1777, giving the church its final Baroque form.  The bell tower on the eastern wall was adorned with a characteristic Baroque-style dome. On the northern and southern sides, the church is fortified with semi-circular towers, consisting of multiple levels. From the courtyard, regularly spaced embrasures open in the church wall. It is possible that the fortress wall itself was built earlier before the reconstruction of 1777. The church can be visited by appointment at 0746-235285.

The stone church of the settlement is believed to have been built in the second half of the 13th century. At the end of the 15th and beginning of the 16th century it was completely demolished and replaced by a larger, wider church built in the late Gothic style. In the 15th century the church was already surrounded by a wall. Between 1791-1797 the tower situated in the castle wall was rebuilt, but unfortunately it collapsed just a year after it was finished. In 1806 the sanctuary was demolished, including the arch, and rebuilt with an extension to the east. In 1818 the south door was walled in, and the south portico with an entrance was built, as well as the external staircase on the east side. In 1864, they completely replaced the roof. In 1912, the wall was demolished and a new portico was attached to the south portico, between 1914-1922. In 1977 the church was damaged again by an earthquake. After the earthquake debris was removed, an inscription in Szekler script (runic script) was found on the inside of the west wall, together with a Latin inscription in Gothic script running along the west and north sides, dating from the 15th to 16th centuries. The inscription contained many so-called ligatures, which have led to several possible interpretations over time. There were those who thought to find the word “Dánok” in it, Bálint Mike and Ferenc Kósa read: “István Kádár kneels before his lord, his God” and Márta Zomorainé Cseh’s: “Give your sweet woman face to God in the morning”. In terms of technique, the characters were scratched, scratched and painted, as well as just painted on the wall. The Latin inscription in Gothic letters translates as “in the year of our Lord 1526, the roof and vaulting of the church of St. Catherine was begun, built and finished by…chief manson omehl, on the 29th of September”. Among the furnishings of the interior of the church, the 1765 communion table, made in the Gregorius Rösler joinery in Bodendorf, as a donation of Péter Miklós of Dalnic, and the pulpit crown, the oldest inscription of which dates back to 1779 are also worth mentioning. The painted pew and pulpit pews are the work of Katalin Hervai and József Mike. The parish owns three bells. The first one was cast in 1530, and was re-cast in 1799 in Brasov in the workshop of master Andrásofszki. The inscription reads: “IN ONE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED THIRTY-THREE, I WAS NEW AND RARE, UNTIL ONE THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED NINETY-EIGHT…IN Dalnic I COLLAPSED TOGETHER WITHTHE TOWER, AND I WAS RENEWED IN BRASOV IN ONE THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED NINETY-NINE.” The second bell was cast in 1926 in the Schilling and Latterman factory in Thuringia. The inscription reads: “MY PREDECESSOR WAS TAKEN TO BATTLE, I PREACH PEACE, I CALL THE LIVING TO LIVE, AND I WEEP FOR THE DEAD. CAST FROM A DONATION OF THE PARISHIONERS OF THE Dalnic REF. CHURCH IN 1926”. Our youngest bell was cast in 1995 in Târgu Mures. The inscription reads: “If God is with us, who is against us…” Rom. 8,31 Dalnic 1995, Cast by Sándor Rácz and sons, M.VÁSÁRHELY. By prior arrangement the church can be visited by groups outside visiting hours!

⛪ The final late Gothic style of the church was most likely shaped in 1547 when the patron, Pál Daczó, had rebuilt it at his own cost. A series of earthquakes has severely damaged the church. The building was originally surrounded by two walls – a castle bulwark – and had two watchtowers as well. The outer wall was pulled down in 1786 by the parish, and its stones were used to construct a building for the German school, as ordered to be established by Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor. The building of the school was set up beside the belfry and today houses the cantor. Walking into the churchyard we may find the graves of numerous significant personalities connected to Sfântu Gheorghe: among others, former mayors Bálint Császár and Ferenc Gödri, as well as the founding editor of the daily newspaper Székely Nemzet, József Málik, lie here. The obelisks of József Váradi and Ferenc Bartalis, martyrs of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, were set up here also. The arch of the fortification closest to the cemetery is surrounded by many wooden headboards. The first one was set up in 1983 by former students of the Székely Mikó Kollégium (a longstanding secondary school in Transylvania) who graduated in 1943. The number of the headboards has grown to more than seventy since then, serving as a reminder of the past teachers and students of the Székely Mikó Kollégium. 📌 For a full church visit, prior arrangement by telephone is required!

The Unitarian Church-fortress of Aita Mare has fortified walls, surrounded by a 5m high thick wall, with two bastions in two opposite corners. The fortress is located at the highest point of the village, also called “Raven’s Nest”. According to the documents, the defence walls were built in the second half of the XVIth century or  the early XVIIth century. In the inner court is situated the church, which reveals gothic architectural imprints. The most conspicuous elements of this religious edifice are the chalice-like pulpit, consisting of four boxes carved in stone, and a stone balustrade dating from 1710. Considering the antiqueness of the pulpit, it is the sixth oldest dais in Transylvania. Noteworthy are the inner boxes painted with colorful ornaments, specific to the local ethnographic area. The most important repairs were carried out in the 1990s: the gate tower was renovated in 1993, the north-western tower was restored between 2000 and 2002, and finally the entire building was restored between 2019 and 2021. The fortified church can be visited from Monday to Friday, and in the weekends by prior arrangements.

⛪ One of the most valuable churches of Covasna County is the fortified Roman-Catholic Church in Ghelinţa, having Saint Emeric as its patron. From the XIIIth century the building was influenced by various architectural styles, such as Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque. The murals represent the legend of St. László’s (king in Hungary in the XIth century) fight against the Cumans. These murals from the XIV-XVth centuries are considered one of the best preserved frescos in Transylvania. Among the oldest elements of the Church are the century-old baptismal font and the wooden ceiling, made of 103 unique painted boxes (even from 1629). For those fascinated by history, art and antiques, we recommend visiting this church ❗️ The church has no visiting program, therefore you are kindly asked to announce your visit by phone at least one hour before arriving (please note that the presentation of the church is in Romanian and Hungarian).