Fából és deszkából. A miskolci Deszkatemplom (Miskolc, 1999)

A Deszkatemplom története (összegzés angolul)

formed Church also contributed financially. The Reformed Church intended their main secondary school, or gimnázium, to be a workshop of universal Hungarian culture, desired that it serve the population of the city, irrespective of denominational background. At the end of the 19

th century, the Reformed population was spiritually and materially an important part of the city, and, despite the fact that the 19

th century was a period of rationalism and decline of religion, the number of Reformed church members did not decline drastically at this time. At the beginning of the 20

th century, the initiation of the home mission movement resulted in the organization of different Reformed associations. The importance of the role of the church in Miskolc and throughout the country was manifest during the suffering induced by the two world wars. The growth of membership made it necessary to replace the Deszka wood church (which had been continually used since the 18

th century, but did not have its own congregation) with a larger, more modern church building. The specifications of the church building were set by Miskolc resident István Battó, who left money in his will for its construction on condition that the church be built of wood and board, as an expression of human transience and God's greatness. The members of the church council under the leadership of István Farkas, the bishop at that time, decided on the building of the new church. The chief architect of the city, Bálint Szeghalmy, won the bid to design the church, and he fully complied with Battó'

s specifications. This church, like its predecessor, is a wood church, and thus its historical continuity has been preserved. The cornerstone was placed on the 26

th of September, 1937, and the church was dedicated on the 18

th of September, 1938. The church was built facing east and west, on the southern slope of a hill to the north of the city, on the eastern edge of the Tetemvár cemetery. Its placement was determined by the previously standing church and the location of the tombstones. The construction of Deszka church reflects the style of historical Hungarian wood churches and towers. The character of the building is defined by not only the beautiful base of the building, which reflects historical building forms, but also its lower log wall, shingled roof, and the suspended panelling which covers the tower and is decorated with folk-style carved woodwork. The brown shades of the log wall are only brightened by the