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Wooden Church (Miskolc)
Encyclopedia
The Wooden Church is a church in Miskolc
, Hungary
. It is built of carved wood. The present building was built in 1999 in place of the previous one that was destroyed by arson in 1997.
The first church was consecrated on September 13, 1637, but both this date and the existence of the church are preserved only in tradition and there is no documentary evidence. The first document mentioning a church at this site dates back to 1698. This church was built of wood, but nothing else is known about it. The first church known by the name of 'Wooden Church' was built in 1724 and it stood until 1937.
István Bató
, a 19th century citizen of Miskolc left a large sum to the church. As long as there are Protestants in Miskolc, this wooden church should be kept in good condition... should it burn down, it should be rebuilt of wood, he wrote in his will. Thus when the church became too old to maintain, the citizens decided that the new church should also be built of wood.
The new church was designed by Bálint Szeghalmi. It was made entirely of wood brought from Transylvania
, an area with long traditions of wood-carving, and the design also had Transylvanian elements. (Szeghalmi also designed the first permanent lookout tower on Avas hill in similar style.) The result was a beautiful and unique church. The construction was finished by 1938.
The church was set on fire by an arson
ist on December 4, 1997. The city mourned its loss, and an almost identical church was built in its place in 1999.
Miskolc
Miskolc is a city in northeastern Hungary, mainly with heavy industrial background. With a population close to 170,000 Miskolc is the fourth largest city of Hungary It is also the county capital of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén and the regional centre of Northern Hungary.- Geography :Miskolc is located...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
. It is built of carved wood. The present building was built in 1999 in place of the previous one that was destroyed by arson in 1997.
The first church was consecrated on September 13, 1637, but both this date and the existence of the church are preserved only in tradition and there is no documentary evidence. The first document mentioning a church at this site dates back to 1698. This church was built of wood, but nothing else is known about it. The first church known by the name of 'Wooden Church' was built in 1724 and it stood until 1937.
István Bató
István Bató
István Bató was a prominent citizen of the Northern Hungarian city of Miskolc in the 19th century. Several local legends are linked to him, and although the citizens of Miskolc are not superstitious, some traditions connected with the curses Bató laid on those who defy his will, remain.Bató was a...
, a 19th century citizen of Miskolc left a large sum to the church. As long as there are Protestants in Miskolc, this wooden church should be kept in good condition... should it burn down, it should be rebuilt of wood, he wrote in his will. Thus when the church became too old to maintain, the citizens decided that the new church should also be built of wood.
The new church was designed by Bálint Szeghalmi. It was made entirely of wood brought from Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
, an area with long traditions of wood-carving, and the design also had Transylvanian elements. (Szeghalmi also designed the first permanent lookout tower on Avas hill in similar style.) The result was a beautiful and unique church. The construction was finished by 1938.
The church was set on fire by an arson
Arson
Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
ist on December 4, 1997. The city mourned its loss, and an almost identical church was built in its place in 1999.
