Located in the heart of Cluj-Napoca, the Saint Michael's Church is a Gothic-style Roman Catholic church, the second largest church (after the Black Church of Braşov) in Transylvania. The construction was begun in the first part of the 14th century, probably immediately after the settlement had officially become a town, in 1316, during the reign of Carol Robert of Anjou, and was completed between 1442 and 1447, the old tower being built between 1511 and 1545.
The church was converted with the population to Protestantism between 1545 and 1566. Then the more radical Unitarian party took it over in the period 1566-1716. At last, it was confiscated in the counter reformation by the Habsburg government supported Catholic Church. The oldest of its sections is the altar, inaugurated in 1390, while the newest part is the clock tower, which was built in Gothic Revival style (1837-1862).
The western portal, carved in 1444, is decorated with the three coats of arms of Sigismund as King of Hungary, as King of Bohemia and as Holy Roman Emperor. In the Schleunig chapel, located on the ground floor of the old tower, was baptized Matthias Corvinus (1443, Cluj - 1490, Vienna), considered to be the greatest king of Hungary. The church has been also, for half a century, since 1466, the place where met the Transylvanian Diet.
The inside painting is lost, however the restorations of the church revealed some very old and artful frescoes, dating from the 14th-15th centuries. Between the north side chapel and the main nave wall, there is a spiral staircase, so-called royal steps, on which two people can climb up and down at the same time without meeting. In the outer wall of the church remained embedded at least two missiles fired by the Turkish at the order of pasha of Timişoara during the siege in June 1603.
About the stamp
The stamp is part of the series Holy Easter 2016, about which I wrote here.
References
St. Michael's Church, Cluj-Napoca - Wikipedia
Top 10 must-see at the Church of Saint Michael in Cluj-Napoca - Cluj Travel
Saint Michael's Church - Cluj Online
Sender: Ana
Sent from Cluj-Napoca (Cluj / Romania) on 18.05.2016
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