Mălâncrav (; ) is a village in the commune of

Laslea Laslea (; ) is a commune located in Sibiu County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of five villages: Florești (''Felsendorf'', ''Földszin''), Laslea, Mălâncrav (''Malmkrog'', ''Almakerék''), Nou Săsesc (''Neudorf'', ''Apaújfalu''), ...

Sibiu County Sibiu County () is a county () of Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Its county seat () is the namesake town of Sibiu (). Name In Hungarian, it is known as ''Szeben megye'', and in German as ''Kreis Hermannstadt''. Under the ...

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. An asphalt road of 13 km leads to the village. In the formerly majority

Transylvanian Saxon The Transylvanian Saxons (; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjer Såksen'' or simply ''Soxen'', singularly ''Sox'' or ''Soax''; Transylvanian Landler: ''Soxn'' or ''Soxisch''; ; seldom ''sași ardeleni/transilvăneni/transilvani''; ) are a people ...

village, there still is a small community of Saxons. The route of the

Via Transilvanica Via Transilvanica 'The Transylvanian Trail' is a hiking trail that crosses the Transylvania, Bukovina and Banat regions of Romania, and is meant to promote their cultural, ethnic, historical and natural diversity. It was built between 2018 and ...

long-distance trail A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking, cycling, equestrianism or cross-country skiing. They exist on all continents exc ...

passes through the village.

History

The Saxon Romanesque

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 ...

church has early 14th-century Gothic

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'' ...

s in the

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

, with 15th-century murals in 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 a 15th-century late Gothic

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

. They constitute some of the most significant Gothic murals in

aside from those at

Ghelința Ghelința (, ; ) is a commune in Covasna County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of two villages, Ghelința and Harale (''Haraly''). It formed part of the Székely Land, ethno-cultural region of the historical Transylvania province. Demo ...

Covasna County Covasna County (, , ) is a county (județ) of Romania, in eastern Transylvania, with the county seat at Sfântu Gheorghe. Demographics In 2011, it had a population of 210,177, making it the second least populous of Romania's 41 counties and the ...

. In later centuries the Apafi family (descending from a certain Saxon man named Apa; later a leading Hungarian noble family in Transylvania) buried their dead in the church, since they had overlordship in the village. In 1902, the tomb chest of György Apafi, father of

Mihaly Apafi Michael Apafi (; 3 November 1632 – 15 April 1690) was Prince of Transylvania from 1661 to his death. Background The Principality of Transylvania emerged after the disintegration of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary in the second half of the 16 ...

, and his family was transferred to the

Hungarian National Museum The Hungarian National Museum (, ) was founded in 1802 and is the national museum for the history, art, and archaeology of Hungary, including areas not within Hungary's modern borders, such as Transylvania; it is separate to the collection of int ...

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

. The village was not part of the traditionally autonomous Saxon territory, although it had a majority ethnic German population until the 1970s.

In media

The film ''

Malmkrog ''Malmkrog'' is a 2020 internationally co-produced drama film directed by Cristi Puiu. Set in turn-of-the-20th-century Transylvania, at the snowy hillside manor of a blithe aristocrat named Nikolai (Frédéric Schulz-Richard), the film follow ...

'' (2020) has been named after the village and was shot at the Apafi manor.

Gallery

image:almakerek11.jpg, Exterior Image:almakerek1.jpg, 15-century altar Image:almakerek2.jpg, The apse Image:almakerek3.jpg, Mark the Evangelist Image:almakerek4.jpg, Murals Image:almakerek5.jpg, Jesus with the Cross Image:almakerek6.jpg, Holy Hungarians, Bishop Gellert,

Ladislaus I of Hungary Ladislaus I (, , , ; 1040 – 29 July 1095), also known as Saint Ladislas, was King of Hungary from 1077 and King of Croatia from 1091. He was the second son of King Béla I of Hungary and Richeza of Poland, Queen of Hungary, Richeza (or Adela ...

, Unknown,

Stephen I of Hungary Stephen I, also known as King Saint Stephen ( ; ; ; 975 – 15 August 1038), was the last grand prince of the Hungarians between 997 and 1000 or 1001, and the first king of Hungary from 1000 or 1001 until his death in 1038. The year of his bi ...

, his son Holy Prince Emericus Image:almakerek7.jpg, Mural Image:almakerek8.jpg, Murals Image:almakerek9.jpg, Murals

References

{{coord, 46, 13, N, 24, 39, E, display=title, region:RO_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki Populated places in Sibiu County Gothic architecture in Romania