Marisia - Maros Megyei Múzeum Évkönyve 32/2. (2012)
Articles
196 Z. Soós-R. Bakonyi Boldizsár Bornemisza received the territories because of their disloyalty. At the same time the Bánfi and the Kornis family appeared as owners in Välenii de Mure? through marriages (Csősz 2000, 22-23). In the 17th century the Rédei family appeared as well as owner through marriage and then it played a significant role in the life of the settlement. Judit Bornemisza, the wife of Ferenc Kornis lived in Välenii de Mure? as a widow and died there in 1636. In 1888 a tombstone from 1586 was found on the site of the actual tower which belonged to Pastor Sámuel Trauzner. The inscription of the tombstone is: “Hic jacet, filia pastoris ev. ref. Samuelis Trauzner anno Domini MDLXXXVI” (Vajda 1892, 1; Léstyán 2000, 156). A source from 1892 says that the reformed congregation in Välenii de Mure? was founded between 1562 and 1586 probably by the same pastor Sámuel Trauzner. Since then, the Calvinist congregation owns the church. The oldest document about the Church is from 1692 when Miklós Zabolai is mentioned as the pastor of the reformed community (Vajda 1892, 2). In 1816 the congregation ordered an organ from János Szabó of Vásárhely that was yet in use in 1892 (Vajda 1892, 5). The church was too small for the congregation and therefore in 1833 and 1888 it was transformed. They had demolished the northern and southern wall of the nave and enlarged it first towards north and later towards south. Probably in this period the medieval altar was demolished. The tower was built in 1888 near the southern side. Before that, there was a belfry made of wood (Jékely-Kiss 2008, 74). One year later teacher’s and the ringer’s house were demolished and the cemeterium was fenced in (Vajda 1892, 6; In the report of the presbyter convention, 5, Välenii de Mure?). In 1892 the church had three bells, one from 1663, one from 1815 and one from 1888 (Vajda 1892, 2) but later they were used for military purposes during World War I. The actual church has a rectangular form, its north-western part ends in an irregular polygon. The building has a northwest-southeast orientation. Its size is 11 x 22 m. A tower is connected to its southern end and there is an entrance hall on the western side. The pulpit is placed near the eastern wall. The pulpit crown was made by Pál Rédei to the memory of his sister, Éva Rédei in 1754: „A mindenható Istennek dicséretére, dicsőségére és már az Urban boldogul kimúlt kedves és el sem felejthető testvérhugának Anno 1754 Die 18. Martié gróf Rhédey Évának örök emlékül építtette gróf Rhédey Pál, kinek symboluma van Neh. Cap. XIII. w.14.”. South of the pulpit we can see the walled-up medieval triumphal arch with the medieval paintings - the length of the medieval wall is 6.7 m (PI. 1/1-2). The simple shaped tabernacle has a small niche that ends up in a pointed arch and it is walled under the triumphal arch (PI. 1/3). There is the sepulchre of Pál Rédei from 1764 next to the pulpit, under the left side of the paintings. One can also find two other sepulchres in the hall of the church. One belongs to Anna Bethlen (1724), and the other belongs to Barbara Rédei. The research of the walls revealed that from the medieval structure the triumphal arch and large portions of the western wall were preserved. On the western wall a 40 cm wide consecration cross was identified. On the triumphal arch a high quality fresco fragment was preserved representing in the centre the blessing Christ, on the two sides there are two angels while on the southern side of the arch one can see the representation of Virgin Mary who receives the Holy Spirit from God in the form of a dove. The God is represented in form of a head of an older man with silver beard and long hair without body surrounded by a Gloria. The messenger of God and Christ is another angel on the northern side of the arch but there the fresco is preserved fragmentary. We suppose that it could be the figure of Archangel Gabriel. The iconography
