Petreşti - The Roman Catholic Church of “St. Elisabeth”

The medieval church was dedicated to St Peter, the village being mentioned as “Mezőszentpéteri” in a document from the year 1399. The community was Calvinist, but among them Sándor Károlyi colonized with catholic Schwabs, in 1738. Ten years later, Ferenc Karolyi banned the Calvinists from using the church. The new church was made after Joseph Bitthauser’s plan, in 1786. The earthquake of 1834 greatly damaged the edifice: the tower collapsed over the nave, only the sanctuary remained standing. After a fire, in 1870, the church needed renovation again. The outer decorations of the present building are simple, the only prominent element being the cornice around the nave. The roof is short in comparison with the size of the nave. The columns in Doric style of the tower are decorated with prominent cornices. The clocks are set above the windows. The steeple of the tower is onion bulb shaped, and it has a lantern. The altar-painting was made by Orlay Petrich Soma in 1876. (TSz).