The Black Church (, , ), stands in the city of

Brașov Brașov (, , ; , also ''Brasau''; ; ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the county seat (i.e. administrative centre) of Brașov County. According to the 2021 Romanian census, ...

in south-eastern

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. It was built by the local Transylvanian Saxon (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

) community of the city during

medieval times In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and t ...

and represents the main Gothic-style monument in the country, as well as being the largest and one of the most important houses of worship in the region which belong to the

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

, i.e.,

Evangelical Church of Augustan Confession in Romania The Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Romania (, ) is a German-speaking Lutheran church in Romania, mainly based in Transylvania. As a Lutheran church, it adheres to the Augsburg Confession. Its history goes back to the 12th cent ...

. Author Judit Petki contends that, contrary to a widely held view, the Black Church received its dark appearance not as a result of the fire which affected much of the city in 1689, but only in recent times due to pollution.Petki (2019) The current popular name is apparently a 19th-century creation.Roth (2010) The cathedral, a working church, is the main city landmark of historical Brașov, and a museum is open to visitors.

Name

Petki calls the view that the Black Church got its name because it was sooted by the 1689 Brașov fire, a misconception. She bases her view on 21st-century studies, which have found no evidence of fire destruction; the church has blackened simply because of environmental pollution after Brașov has turned into an industrial city in the 19th century. Furthermore, the name "Black Church" was not used until the end of the 19th century.

History

Construction

The originally

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

structure was known as the Church of

Saint Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

, replacing an older building used for the same purpose. Construction on it began during the late 14th century, at an unknown date — analysis of related evidence has led several researchers to conclude that work began between 1383 and 1385,Vătășianu, p.228 employing

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

n workers and craftsmen who proceeded to establish the Brașov Bulgarian colony in

Șcheii Brașovului Șcheii Brașovului (, or more recently ''Obere Vorstadt''; traditional Romanian name: ''Bulgărimea'', colloquially ''Șchei'') is the old ethnically Bulgarian and Romanian neighborhood of Brașov, a city in southeastern Transylvania, Romani ...

. According to popular legend, a German child was disturbing the Bulgarian builders or told them that one of the walls was leaning. An annoyed Bulgarian pushed the child off the church tower and then

immured Immurement (; ), also called immuration or live entombment, is a form of imprisonment, usually until death, in which someone is placed within an enclosed space without exits. This includes instances where people have been enclosed in extremely ti ...

his corpse in the church to conceal his crime.Balkanski (1996) It is known that, in its first stages, the building was serviced by a priest named Thomas (died 1410), whose grave is located in the

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

area. Work on the fortifications in the surrounding area probably began at the same time as work on the church, leading in time to the completion of Brașov's third citadel. Its

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

originally featured a single column, but its role in supporting the entire central structure — on the model of German cathedrals built by Hans Stettheimer (a view expressed by researchers such as Ernst Kühlbrandt and Antal Hekler) is under dispute.Vătășianu, p.229 The

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

and aisles took longer to complete, and construction was interrupted for various intervals: in 1423,

Pope Martin V Pope Martin V (; ; January/February 1369 – 20 February 1431), born Oddone Colonna, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 November 1417 to his death in February 1431. His election effectively ended the We ...

issued an

indulgence In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence (, from , 'permit') is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for (forgiven) sins". The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' describes an indulgence as "a remission bef ...

for people involved in construction, as a means to reactivate the site; in 1474, a document issued by

Sixtus IV Pope Sixtus IV (or Xystus IV, ; born Francesco della Rovere; (21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 until his death in 1484. His accomplishments as pope included ...

acknowledged that work was still lagging.Vătășianu, p.230 Several octagonal pillars, redesigned at least once during the building process, were probably completed around 1444. One of them features the inlaid crest of military leader

John Hunyadi John Hunyadi (; ; ; ; ; – 11 August 1456) was a leading Kingdom of Hungary, Hungarian military and political figure during the 15th century, who served as Regent of Hungary, regent of the Kingdom of Hungary (1301–1526), Kingdom of Hungary ...

, who is mentioned among the church benefactors.Vătășianu, p.231 The most intense work took place before and after 1450, and involved completing the exceptionally large number of portals, including the northern "Golden Gate" and its adjacent altar of the Holy Sacrifice. The eastern portal, commissioned by the Hungarian

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Matthias Corvinus Matthias Corvinus (; ; ; ; ; ) was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia from 1458 to 1490, as Matthias I. He is often given the epithet "the Just". After conducting several military campaigns, he was elected King of Bohemia in 1469 and ...

, was completed in 1476. The

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government of a parish in England, Wales and some English colony, English colonies. At their height, the vestries were the only form of local government in many places and spen ...

was enlarged at some point between 1500 and 1515.

Style and shape in historical context

Completed during the 15th century (soon after 1476), the church belongs to the final stages of Gothic architecture. The result was a three-nave

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

, all the same height, that is: a "

hall church A hall church is a Church (building), church with a nave and aisles of approximately equal height. In England, Flanders and the Netherlands, it is covered by parallel roofs, typically, one for each vessel, whereas in Germany there is often one s ...

", as was preferred during the 15th and 16th centuries in the German lands, where most of the architects and masons originated. Many parts of the building show similarities with the church in

Sebeș Sebeș (; German: ''Mühlbach''; Hungarian: ''Szászsebes''; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Melnbach'') is a city in Alba County, central Romania, southwestern Transylvania. Geography The city lies in the Mureș River valley and straddles the river ...

and St. Michael Church of

Cluj-Napoca Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...

, as well as with the '' Dominikánsky kostol'' in

Košice Košice is the largest city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary. With a population of approximately 230,000, Košice is the second-largest cit ...

. The design was itself an inspiration for other religious buildings in the region, and it is possible that a stonemason originally employed on the site later worked on the church in

Ghimbav Ghimbav (; ) is a town in Brașov County, Transylvania, central Romania. Geography The town is situated in the southern part of the Transylvanian Plateau, at an altitude of , on the banks of the river Ghimbășel. It is located in the Burzenland ...

Reformation

The Catholic services were replaced with Lutheran ones during the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

, coinciding with the influence exercised by Johannes Honter (1498–1549). His statue of the reformer was erected by Harro Magnussen (1861–1908) on the southern side of the building. It was long thought that the church had been partially destroyed during a great fire set by invading

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

forces on 21 April 1689 (during the

Great Turkish War The Great Turkish War () or The Last Crusade, also called in Ottoman sources The Disaster Years (), was a series of conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and the Holy League (1684), Holy League consisting of the Holy Roman Empire, Polish–Lith ...

), but this theory has been proven wrong.

Later work

A large part of the inner structure was modified during the 18th century, breaking with the original design. The explanation that the church had to be repaired following the fire of 1689 has been discarded, but it was modified with the help of masons coming from Danzig, as local craftsmen had not mastered the craft of completing the enormous vaults; these were to be completed in

Baroque style The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from the early 17th century until the 1750s. It followed Renaissance art and Mannerism and preceded the Rococo (i ...

Restoration

From the years, 1937 and 2000, the Black Church was restored and the intellectual elite of the Transylvanian Saxons were able to carry out a substantial program of restoration of this portion of their historic heritage despite unfavorable political contexts. By doing so, they were able to preserve the forms of solidarity that were unique to their community and complete the work.

Features

Size

The Black Church is 89 meters long and 38 meters wide.Ziegler & Ziegler (2019) It measures 21 meters from the floor level to the top of its walls, 42 meters to the ridge of the roof,Kotzan (2013) and 65 meters to the highest point of its only

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

Sculpture

Much of the outside structure was built in friable grit, which caused outer sculptures and masonry elements to deteriorate with time. The oldest features surviving include several sculptures, arches, simpler masonry patterns such as trilobes, as well as numerous portals, while the crowning is imitation Gothic dating from the 18th century. The oldest sculpture appears to be the almost completely deteriorated bust of

John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

; it is located in the choir section and reflects the

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

Gothic art Gothic art was a style of medieval art that developed in Northern France out of Romanesque art in the 12th century, led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to all of Western Europe, and much of Northern Europe, Norther ...

as seen in the works of

Johann Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name '' Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Graciou ...

and Peter Parler.Vătășianu, p.322 A more flamboyant Gothic style was used in the outside sculptures — those probably depicting the church's supposed founder, Thomas, and the Catholic

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

of Transylvania,

Nicholas Nicholas is a male name, the Anglophone version of an ancient Greek name in use since antiquity, and cognate with the modern Greek , . It originally derived from a combination of two Ancient Greek, Greek words meaning 'victory' and 'people'. In ...

. Other pieces in that style include the Nativity,

Salvator Mundi , Latin for Saviour of the World, is a subject in iconography depicting Christ with his right hand raised in blessing and his left hand holding an orb (frequently surmounted by a cross), known as a . The latter symbolizes the Earth, and the whol ...

, an

archangel Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the Catholic hierarchy of angels, based on and put forward by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite in the 5th or 6th century in his book ''De Coelesti Hierarchia'' (''On the Celestial Hierarchy'') ...

, as well as depictions of saints believed to be the

Four Evangelists In Christian tradition, the Four Evangelists are Matthew the Apostle, Matthew, Mark the Evangelist, Mark, Luke the Evangelist, Luke, and John the Evangelist, John, the authors attributed with the creation of the four canonical Gospel accounts ...

(probably completed in various stages between 1430 and 1450). Newer medieval sculptures, created after 1450 and showing some

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

influences, feature the northward

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

depicting

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

in the

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, as well as various figures on the same facade. The statue of Mary and Jesus faces towards the old

city hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

and stands above the coat of arms of Kronstadt (Brașov), as the Virgin Mary is the patron of the city. The twelve statues seen today on the choir buttresses are copies created by local artists and placed there in 1937–1944, when the badly weathered 15th-century originals were moved inside the church, where they are still on display.SC Hidraulica SRL unterstützt die Restaurierung der Statue der Hl. Katharina
FB posting of the church's congregation (Honterusgemeinde - Schwarze Kirche), 17 August 2021. The copies are themselves seriously affected by the intensifying air pollution, five of them having been restored between 2018 and the summer of 2021.

Murals

A partly destroyed

mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...

, which appears to have been completed around 1477, is situated near the southeastern portal, and features the coat of arms of

and his wife Beatrice.Vătășianu, p.763 It shows the Nativity, together with depictions of Saint Catherine and

Saint Barbara Saint Barbara (; ; ; ), known in the Eastern Orthodox Church as the Great Martyr Barbara, was an Early Christianity, early Christian Greek saint and martyr. There is no reference to her in the authentic early Christian writings nor in the origin ...

. Unlike the inner

Annunciation The Annunciation (; ; also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord; ) is, according to the Gospel of Luke, the announcement made by the archangel Gabriel to Ma ...

mural, which is late Gothic, the outside painting is heavily influenced by the Renaissance.

Bell, organ, carpets, valuable items

The Black Church has three bells, the largest weighing 6.3

tonnes The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1,000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton in the United States to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the s ...

, which makes it the biggest in Romania. The larger of the two

organs In a multicellular organism, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in a structural unit to serve a common function. In the hierarchy of life, an organ lies between tissue and an organ system. Tissues are formed from same type cells to a ...

, boasting an impressive 4,000 pipes, was built in 1839 by Carl August Buchholz and is played during weekly concerts. Of its rich collection of "Transylvanian" rugs, donated between the 15th and 17th centuries by Transylvanian Saxon merchants, some have been used to decorate walls as well as floors after the Reformation. The church also features a

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...

tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle (), also known as the Tent of the Congregation (, also Tent of Meeting), was the portable earthly dwelling of God used by the Israelites from the Exodus until the conquest of Canaan. Moses was instru ...

in Gothic style, a

baptismal font A baptismal font is an Church architecture, ecclesiastical architectural element, which serves as a receptacle for baptismal water used for baptism, as a part of Christian initiation for both rites of Infant baptism, infant and Believer's bapti ...

completed in 1472 and donated by a merchant named Johannes Rewdel, two large

chalice A chalice (from Latin 'cup', taken from the Ancient Greek () 'cup') is a drinking cup raised on a stem with a foot or base. Although it is a technical archaeological term, in modern parlance the word is now used almost exclusively for the ...

s (both dated around 1504) and several

brocade Brocade () is a class of richly decorative shuttle (weaving), shuttle-woven fabrics, often made in coloured silks and sometimes with gold and silver threads. The name, related to the same root as the word "broccoli", comes from Italian langua ...

chasuble The chasuble () is the outermost liturgical vestment worn by clergy for the celebration of the Eucharist in Western-tradition Christian churches that use full vestments, primarily in Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran churches. In the Eastern ...

s (created between in the late 15th and mid-16th centuries).Vătăşianu, p.853, 856, 876, 880–881

Gallery

Image:RO BV Brasov 10.jpg, Brașov, Black Church in the background Image:Black Church Brasov 2.jpg, The church and its surroundings Image:BisericaNeagradinPtaSfatului.jpg, Council Square and the Black Church File:RO BV Brașov Biserica Neagră 04.jpg, Northern and western facades Image:Black church from Barasov.jpg, Southwest corner with bell tower Image:Black Church Brasov.jpg, Statue of Johannes Honter in front of the bell tower File:Detaliu Biserica Neagra - Ceasul.jpg, The southern clock face with the

Image:Biserica Neagra Statui.jpg, Outside sculptures (southern part of the apse) Image:Virgin Mary, Brasov patron.jpg, Mary and Jesus (outside sculpture) Image:Statue on Black Church.jpg, Statue of St. Catherine on a buttress Image:The gold gate.jpg, The "Golden Gate" File:Biserica Neagră interior.jpg, Interior with rugs File:Brasov Black Church Viewed from Mountain.jpg, View of the church from the Tâmpa mountain

Activities

The church website is regularly updated. A Lutheran service is held each Sunday for the small German community in the city. The church contains a museum and is open to visitors. The Anatolian carpets, which together constitute the largest collection of "

Transylvanian rugs The name Transylvanian rug is used as a term of convenience to denote a cultural heritage of 15th–17th century Oriental rug, Islamic rugs, mainly of Ottoman Empire, Ottoman origin, which have been preserved in Transylvanian Protestant (Hungarian ...

", are preserved in their historical locations throughout the church. The public can attend organ concerts, on a regular basis and as part of musical events.

References

Bibliography

* (1996). "Окръг Брашов" ('Brașov County'), in ''Трансилванските (седмиградските) българи. Етнос. Език. Етнонимия. Ономастика. Просопографии'' ('The Transylvanian (seven-city f. Siebenbürgen#Etymology">Siebenbürgen#Etymology.html" ;"title="f. f. Siebenbürgen#Etymology Bulgarians. Ethnic group">Ethnos. Language. Ethnonymy">Siebenbürgen#Etymology">f. Siebenbürgen#Etymology Bulgarians. Ethnic group">Ethnos. Language. Ethnonymy. Onomastics. Prosopography'), IK "Znak '94", Veliko Tarnovo, p
44
Via macedonia.kroraina.com, re-accessed 19 Oct 2021. *Heltmann, Heinz & Servatius, Gustav (1993). ''Reiseführer Siebenbürgen''. Wort und Welt Verlag, Thaur bei Innsbruck, p. 365. * * Miletich, Lyubomir (1896). "Дако-ромънитѣ и тѣхната славянска писменость. Часть II. Нови влахо-български грамоти отъ Брашовъ: Брашов и брашовските българите („шкеи”, ''bolgárszeg'')" (based on Google translation: "Daco-Romanian ?and their Slavic ocuments? Part II. New Vlacho-Bulgarian diplomas from Braşov: Braşov and the Bulgarians of Braşov ("Șkei", ''bolgárszeg'')"), in ''Сборникъ за Народни Умотворения, Наука и Книжнина'' ('Collection of Folk Tales, Science and Literature'), Vol. XIII, 1896, Sofia. *Petki, Judit. ''Kulcskérdések a Nagy tűzről'', 'Key questions about the Great Fire' (in Hungarian). Brassói Lapok, 5 September 2019, p. 4. *Roth, Harald (2010). ''Kronstadt in Siebenbürgen – Eine kleine Stadtgeschichte''. pp. 162–164, . *Vătășianu, Virgil (1959). ''Istoria artei feudale în țările romîne'' ('History of feudalistic .e. medievalart in the Romanian lands'), Vol. I. Editura Academiei RPR, Bucharest. *

External links

Official website
valid as of 2021.
Black Church 360 Virtual Tour
{{DEFAULTSORT:Biserica Neagra Religious buildings and structures in Brașov Historic monuments in Brașov County Lutheran cathedrals in Romania Protestantism in Romania Transylvanian Saxon people Gothic architecture in Romania Tourist attractions in Brașov Piața Sfatului