Haris Andrea szerk.: Koldulórendi építészet a középkori Magyarországon Tanulmányok (Művészettörténet - műemlékvédelem 7. Országos Műemlékvédelmi Hivatal,)
G. Lászay Judit: A szécsényi ferences kolostor építéstörténete a 17. század végéig
The Franciscan Church and Monastery at Szécsény Judit G. Lászay This monastery founded in 1332 is one of our few surviving Franciscan monuments with significant mediaeval details. It was begun by the voivod Tamás Szécsényi, right on the walls of the settlement, the family seat of the landlord which he supported by granting it the rights of a market-town. The monastery was not discussed at the conference, since research only began in 1989 fall, following the resettling of the order in the building nationalised in 1950. The building complex comprises a single nave church and a sanctuary with buttresses and ending with a polygon chevet, a tower on the north side and a one storey monastery enclosing a rectangular courtyard. What we can see today is the result of the major Baroque reconstruction that took place in several stages between 1694 and 1750. The only significant building activity after this was executed at the beginning of the 20th century, when doors, windows, floors and the roof structures were changed. The church was renovated in the mid 1970s, although this was not preceded by any detailed research, a painted Gothic sedile and a Turkish mihrab niche was revealed on the south side of the sanctuary, together with some further Gothic details. The present resarch stated that the church was eredted on the site of the former parish church. The sanctuary and the two storey sacristy connected to the sanctuary by flying buttresses, elevated over a rectangular ground scheme, with vaults supported by a central pillar were built together about the middle of the 14th century. The wing comprising the living quarters were built where the north wing stands today. (Its walls date, to a great extent from the Middle Ages.) During the 15th century a chapel with a polygon chevet - a chapter-house - was erected next to the sacristy, and the east wing was enlarged so that the ground plan of the monastery reflected a U shape. Up till the 18th century there was only a small elevated building adjoining the north wing on the side of the town wall. A Crucifixion scene from the beginning of the 17th century and surviving details of a somewhat younger Turkish wall painting were furthermore revealed in the course of the research. Illustrations 1. West view of the church and monastery (1990) 2. Walls and foundations of the church and monastery containing mediaeval details 3. The east and south wing of the monastery from the courtyard (1990) 4. The arcades of the north and east wing during work (1992) 5. The east and south wing after restoration (1993) 6. Details of the Gothic sacristy 7. The Gothic sedile and the Turkish mihrab niche in the sacristy, both revealed during renovation in the 1970s 8. Base of a pillar in the sacristy (1976) 9. Detail of a keystone (1976)
