Tăşnad - The Calvinist Church

The church of Tăşnad was the see of the archdean during Middle Ages, and it is rather well preserved. According to the inscription on the key-stone of the altar screen, the church was almost finished in 1476. László Geréb of Vingard, bishop of Alba Iulia, a relative of King Mathias, financially supported the construction. The long sanctuary is closed with three sides of a decagon. The vault and the mullions of the windows were preserved in their original form. According to the traces of the ribs and the pillars coming down to the floor, it can be assumed that the nave was vaulted. The traces of an arched door are visible on the outer northern façade. The church became Protestant in the 16th century. It housed many synods, supported by the prince of Transylvania, during the 17th century. The Turks burnt the church and massacred the refugees hiding inside, in 1660. After a fire in 1691, the community built a wooden church that functioned until 1770, when the medieval edifice was restored. During the restoration, the nave was fit with a wooden flat ceiling. After finishing the work to the church, the Schwabs tried to occupy the church by force, but they were kept back by the local landlord, László Vay. The craftsman Jakab Vinkler, from Carei, built the tower in late baroque style in the period between 1814 and 1822. Carpenter Horváth, from Nagykálló, made the steeple of the tower, similar to the one of Nagykálló. The priest chair and the pulpit were made in classic style, in 1837. A neogothic hall was built on the southern façade. The church has two bells made in 1843, respectively in 1823. (TSz).