Saint George's church (, ) is a church located at 15 Noiembrie 29 Boulevard in

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, ...

, Romania. Originally it was as a residential building, and it was dedicated as an

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

church in 1934. It acquired its present look in the 1980s.

History

The building was built in 1903 as a villa for a Hungarian

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

in the Blumăna (Bolonya) neighbourhood of the city. At that time,

was part of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

. The count was fond of hunting, and this can be seen on the building: the sculptures, ornaments, and painted windows depict hunters, hunting dogs, deer, bears. In 1918, at the end of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the count and his family left the city. The empty villa was nationalised. At the beginning it was used as a girls' orphanage, then it became the headquarter of

Gazeta de Transilvania ''Gazeta de Transilvania'' was the first Romanian-language newspaper to be published in Transylvania. It was founded by George Bariț in 1838 in Brașov. It played a very important role in the awakening of the Romanian national conscience in Tran ...

’s editorial staff. Rooms on the upper floors were used as a chapel by Orthodox believers. As the neighbourhood of Blumăna was mostly populated by

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

and

Transylvanian Saxons The Transylvanian Saxons (; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjer Såksen'' or simply ''Soxen'', singularly ''Sox'' or ''Soax''; Transylvanian Landler dialect, Transylvanian Landler: ''Soxn'' or ''Soxisch''; ; seldom ''sa ...

, there were no

Romanian Orthodox The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; , ), or Romanian Patriarchate, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates in the Eastern Orthodox Church. S ...

churches up to then. The building has been declared a church in 1934 and it was dedicated for

Saint George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...

. Orthodox people planned to build a new church in the district, but the Communists that came to power did not allow the building of new churches, so they continued to use the Saint George's church. In the years 1985–1986 they renovated the building, removed several internal walls to make an arch-vaulted nave, and built a belfry as well. The painting of the interior was finished in 1990. After the fall of the communist regime in 1989, new Orthodox churches were built in Blumăna.

Sources

* * * {{cite web , url=https://www.crestinortodox.ro/biserici-manastiri/biserica-sfantul-gheorghe-brasov-blumana-i-120992.html , title=Biserica Sfântul Gheorghe din Brașov , publisher=Creștin Ortodox Romanian Orthodox churches in Brașov County Religious buildings and structures in Brașov