Renaissance Memories in Simeria

Although a little far from the city centre, the Serestély House on the outskirts of Simeria is one of the jewels of Sfântu Gheorghe. Or, as it was immortalised in its time with the year it was built: the Serestéj House. The rectangular mansion, built in 1794 and preserved more or less in its original form, was built in the Baroque style, similar to the houses in Burzenland, and the names of the beneficiaries, Jósef Serestej and Sára Móritz, are inscribed on the beam in the front room of the mansion. The house was built of natural stone and consists of only two rooms, but it was a prestigious building in its time.

The back part of the property, which had deteriorated over time, was purchased by the local government at the urging of the late museum director and alderman Ádám Kónya, with the intention of buying the front part of the building and then starting the saving of the monument. Later, the town decided to sell the house, and the new owner started the restoration. Under the blue limestone layer, experts found traces of motifs painted in black on a white background, and a community effort was launched to save the Renaissance floral motifs. In February 2011, a charity ball was held, the proceeds of which were used to restore the façade of the Serestély House, along with four other Hungarian monuments. In its present state, the Serestély House is a true landmark of the built heritage of Sfântu Gheorghe.