Uncle Anti’s wooden headboards

He says that when he looks at a piece of wood, he knows what he can make out of it. The retired teacher came to Covasna County from Lunca Fernicului more than half a century ago, and there is hardly anyone who does not know him as a teacher, cultural organiser, folk carver, best man, or choir member.  In recent years, it is mainly through his headboards that he has been “risking” entering eternity, and his works can be found in many places in the Carpathian Basin, from cemeteries, memorials, and institutions to private homes. 

His talent and knowledge in the field of woodcarving have accompanied him since childhood, and he carved his first work in Sfântu Gheorghe in the seventies for the grave of a colleague’s father. His skill and work are underpinned, among other things, by the restoration of the wooden headboards surrounding the reformed fortified church, but he also restored folk headboards in Țara Călatei, which also shows his commitment to saving headboards. He says that if the Gábor Áron Hall of the former county hall in Sfântu Gheorghe is the alpha of the revolution in Covasna County, then the headboards of the thirteen martyrs of Arad are rightfully its omega. In this spirit, he recommended the historic building’s neighbourhood as a location, and the memorial site is also an attraction for visitors arriving from other areas.

Samu Csinta