Mentényi Klára szerk.: Műemlékvédelmi Szemle 2004. A Kulturális Örökségvédelmi Hivatal tájékoztatója (Budapest, 2004)

MŰHELY - Szabó Tekla: Az őraljaboldogfalvi falfestmények feltárása és korabeli másolataik

Tekla SZABÓ: THE CONSERVATION OF THE WALL PAINTINGS OF THE PROTESTANT CHURCH OF ŐRALJABOLDOGFALVA AND THEIR CONTEMPORARY COPIES Őraljaboldogfalva (Sintamarie Orlea) can be found in Hunyad county in Transylvania, Romania. The border settlement formerly belonging to Hungary was built in the vicinity of the royal castle of Hátszeg (Hateg) and its main role was the defence of the Transylvanian passes to Havasalföld. The building of the church could be connected with the foundation of the county of Hátszeg around 1280. In 1300 László Kán voivode of Transylvania was the owner of it together with the castle. In 1311, during the time of painting the church it must have been owned by the king as on the wall paintings the soldiers were represented with the red and white striped shields of the House of Árpád. The papal tithe lists from the period between 1332-1336 proved that Őraljaboldogfalva was the market-town parish church paying the largest sum in the county. In 1447 the royal market-town was given to the Kendeffys by János Hunyadi. This family of Romanian origin was the landlord of the village till the end of World War II. The political and economic importance of the settlement did not continue, the congregation of the Protestant church belonging to a village having mainly Romanian population was only 16 in 2000. It is considered now as a church nearly ruined. The architectural details of the church and the rich decoration of its rather wide nave (120 m

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) prove the former rank of the settlement. The plan is simple: it has a square ended choir, a nave with a western gallery and a western tower originally covered with winched spire. The interior decoration of the church originates from four periods. The oldest are the complicatedly constructed consecration crosses. Following them was made the fresco cycle which can be dated with the inscription of the nave's southern wall: (— [D]EDICAT[A] PRO [HONORE] B/EAT/E M/ARI/E V[IRGINIS] AN/N/O D/OMI/NI M° C[CC] ° VND/E/C[IM]0). Its scenes are the following, starting with the lower side of the northern wall from left to right: Annunciation of St. Anne, Annunciation of Joachim, Meeting at the golden gate, the birth of Mary, Mary blessed by the three high priests, Legend of the Holy Cross. On the central part of the wall: Presentation of Christ in the temple, Vir dolorum, Ascension of Christ, Transfiguration, Two female martyrs, Entry to Jerusalem. The upper part of the wall was ruined. On the left side of the triumphal arch is the Annunciation on its right is the Birth of Christ. Above the Passion is represented with the way to the Calvary, the Crucifixion and the Deposition. The southern side uses different sizes of wall fields. As a continuation of the triumphal arch's Birth of Christ scene the Adoration of the Magi can be seen with the Death of the Virgin above. Below the left side window a saint bishop is represented in a long size frame. On the wall field right to it different scenes of the Last judgement were painted: on the left is the Heaven (The bosom of the three patriarchs, An angel leading the saved to the gate of Heaven, The throne of Hetiomasia). On the right are the scenes of Hell (An