Wooden Church, Bretea Mureșană

The wooden church in the cemetery of Bretea Mureșană, dedicated to Saint Demetrius, was consecrated on 3 March 1653, according to its inscription, in the time of Prince George Rákóczi. The two inscriptions, in Romanian written in Cyrillic, name the founders — among them “Eva, mother of the Giurgești” — and the village priest, and the original bell, now in the bell tower of the new church, dates from 1665.

With its rectangular plan and bevelled corners, the church belongs to the classic western Transylvanian type. It has been much altered, though: the narthex was enlarged, the entrance moved, and the 1965–1969 “restoration” cut 3 m off the bell tower and set the church on a concrete foundation.