SZÉKELYUDVARHELY

(Odorheiu Secuiesc, Rumania today)
 is the Székely
            center, west of the Mountains of Hargita (Hung. Hargitai havasok). Archeological
            excavations unearthed artifacts dating back to the ancient Dacian and Roman
            cultures, however, the first written document mentions the town in 1301, during the
            reign of the Hungarian king of the House of Árpád, telling about the castle here as
            the residence of certain Székely nobles. In 1485, the renaissance Hungarian king
            Matthias (1458-1490) gave the town the privilege of a free royal town with the right
            to hold fairs. It received its present name, Székelyudvarhely, in 1613, from
            Hungarian Prince of Transylvania Gábor Bethlen. The town has been going through
            numerous devastating periods, such as wars with the Ottoman (Turkish) troops,
            Tartars, Habsburgs. For instance, Basta, the sadistic Habsburg commander set entire
            Székelyudvarhely on fire in 1602. The town actively participated in the Hungarian
            Liberation Fight of 1848, therefore, after it fell, it was ordered to pay military ransom
            to the Austrian court.
            Székelyudvarhely has a permanent and very active theatrical company.
            The Reformed (i.e., Presbyterian) College was founded by count János Bethlen, in
            1672. The college, originally called Gymnasium Bethlenianum, was a superior
            educational institution, which raised students, such as Balázs Orbán, the ethnographer
            of the Székely-land, Elek Benedek, the author, Miklós Barabás and others. The
            college building shown here was built in 1768, but when the college moved to a new
            unit in 1921, this building became a boarding school.

scenery shot from szekelyudvarhely

 

           

   Chapel of  Jesus



            The Chapel of Jesus is one of the oldest architectural monuments of Transylvania.
            The romanesque chapel is surrounded by walls and its construction dates back to the
            early 13th century. Its original painted paneled wooden ceiling was made in 1677, but
            later destroyed. The present ceiling is from the last century.
            During the Tartar invasion of 1241, the courageous Székely bowers shouted the name
            of Jesus during their attack on the Tartars, and they won the battle. To commemorate
            this, they built the chapel of Jesus on the spot of the victory.
 

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