The Reformed Church at Ghidfalău

Built around the year 1236 and surrounded by fortified walls, the church bears the traces of each reconstruction it was subjected to: you will find Roman, Gothic, Renaissance and late Baroque influences there, a piece from each epoch.

Inside, you will discover a hidden treasure: fragments of mediaeval frescoes brought to light starting with 2016. A peculiarity is the unusual manner in which the scenes with Jesus's life are painted - in reverse timeline - which is still a mystery.

Up in the choir, there are fragments of a series of frescoes from the legend cycle of Saint Ladislaus: The Blessing, Leaving Oradea, The Army Deployment, The Battle with the Cumans. Legend goes that Saint Ladislaus never wanted the crown, but he accepted the Hungarians' wish to lead them. He always refused to wear the golden crown, the earthly one, aspiring to a heavenly crown, a sign of his Christian faith and work. 

Enjoy the encounter with the past and the spiritual energy of this church. At the end of your visit, step into the small museum close by, dedicated to general Czetz János - a marking figure of the Hungarian revolution of 1848, who later founded the Faculty of Military Engineering in Argentina.

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The Reformed Church at Ghidfalău

Surrounded by fortified walls, the church, originally Catholic, built somewhere around 1236, was reconstructed again and again, imprinted with each historical period, and today it bears evidence of the Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and even late Baroque style, in the case of the pipe organ. Its mechanism was changed 150 years ago, but the wooden box dates from around 1817. The church building has served as a place of worship for Reformed believers since the 16th century.

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The Legend of Saint Ladislaus

Beautiful details, touching due to the naive artistic execution, can be seen in the fragmented fresco that can be found today in the church loft and representing Saint Ladislaus. God’s power is represented as a hand descending from heaven, surrounded by a halo, blessing Saint Ladislaus in front of the four-tower church – a classic medieval representation of the Episcopal church in Oradea. 

Legend has it that Saint Ladislaus never wanted to be crowned, but accepted the wish of the Hungarians to lead them. That is why he always refused to wear the golden crown, the earthly one, aspiring to a heavenly crown, a sign of his Christian faith and work. The painter evokes this detail and paints the crown close to the saint, in the hands of a servant caring for the horse.

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Czetz János (1822 – 1904)

At the exit of the churchyard, through the bell tower built in 1787, you will find a small museum dedicated to General Czetz János, born in this commune, a prominent character of the Hungarian revolution of 1848 and who later founded the Faculty of Military Engineering in Argentina.