Black Church – Brassó (Brașov)
History
Dedicated to the Virgin Mary as the city’s principal parish church, its construction was supported by several indulgence permissions granted to Brașov. In 1421, it was looted by the Ottomans, but building work continued uninterrupted. In 1444, John Hunyadi exempted the city from its St. Martin’s day taxes so that the funds could be directed toward the church’s construction; in gratitude, the Hunyadi family’s coat of arms was placed on one of the nave’s columns. The church itself was consecrated in 1477 and the tower in 1514, at which time there were supposedly twenty-two side altars in addition to the main altar. However, in 1542, the Saxon city converted to the Lutheran faith, and the former Catholic church became Evangelical. Transylvania held its first German-language Evangelical service here, and the first Evangelical pastor was appointed on Martin Luther’s personal recommendation. The galleries of the side aisles were constructed between 1710 and 1714, and the vaulted ceiling, damaged by the 1738 earthquake, was reinforced between 1762 and 1772. Restoration work, interrupted by World War I, was only completed in 1999.
Style
This structure is one of the easternmost and most significant examples of European Gothic architecture. It is a three-nave hall church measuring 89 m in length, 38 m in width, and 42 m in height, with its tower reaching 65 m. At both the western and eastern ends of the main nave, there were likely two former side chapels. The richly Baroque interior accommodates a well-preserved Buchholz mechanical organ, featuring 3,993 pipes and 76 registers. The Black Church also houses Europe’s largest collection of Anatolian carpets from the 16th to 18th centuries.Present day
The Black Church also houses Europe’s largest collection of Anatolian carpets from the 16th to 18th centuries.
