800-year-old Árpád Age temple partly restored in Hungary – PHOTOS

The 800-year-old Árpád Age temple is near the small village of Csákányospuszta with a 36-minute driving distance from Budapest, close to Tatabánya and on the route of the National Blue Trail.

ROM Vándor Programme renews churches

Sándor Scheer, the CEO of the subcontractor Market Építő Ltd., said they carried out the restoration work in the framework of the ROM Vándor Programme. He added they aim to restore and promote Hungarian monuments. They think of a 10-year-long term at least concerning the program and allocate approximately HUF 100 million (EUR 250,000) on it each year.

As a key player in the Hungarian construction industry, they wanted to set an example others may follow. They would like to follow their motto “We love to build”, and create value in the long term, Magyar Építők wrote.

800-year-old Árpád Age temple, cemetery only remnants

The temple’s area is privately owned, but Zoltán György Sármán, the owner, gladly offered it for the restoration work and the community.

The most important goal of their initiative was to preserve the ruins of the 800-year-old temple in their natural beauty. The Rom Vándor Programme helped before the renovation of the temple of Tök in the Zsámbék basin and the ruins of the Kövesd temple, close to Lake Balaton.

The ruins of Csákányospuszta were once a small church directed to the Northeast. The 800-year-old Árpád Age church was single-nave and had a horseshoe-shaped sanctuary. Erected between the 12th and 13th centuries for the village of Csákányegyház, it is the only remnant of the once-existing Árpád Age settlement apart from the cemetery. The latter was discovered between 2003 and 2006 and contained 144 graves.

In the 15th century, the village became unpopulated.

They plan to restore 2-3 medieval churches yearly

Péter Belecz, the programme director of the Rom Vándor Programme, said they strengthened the Medieval walls of the temple with original stones they found nearby. Furthermore, they built a fireplace close to the church.

Attila Gergő, a local Roman Catholic vicar, consecrated the renovated temple, which received monument protection.

Photo: FB/ROM Vándor

The Rom Vándor Programme mapped more than 100 Medieval church ruins. Based on the plans, they would renew 2-3 each year. The work cannot be faster since all ruins need individual solutions. The next church inauguration will be in Varjaskér, Somogy county, which Market Építő Ltd. will finish this autumn. Interestingly, the company’s employees participate in the work voluntarily.

Read also:

• Reviving heritage: Renovation beckons for Hungary’s oldest Church in Zsámbék – PHOTOS and more in THIS article
• 8+1 must-see churches in the Hungarian countryside

Photo: FB/ROM Vándor