Architectural masterpiece in Densuş guards the secret of its origin
02.02.2010
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One of Romania’s oldest worship places, the medieval church of St. Nicholas in Densuş,
Hunedoara County, is in urgent need of repair. It’s a place of beauty that
combines elements of the romanic, pre-gothic and byzantine styles. Historians say
this is probably Romania’s oldest Orthodox church, even though a precise proof of
its construction date is yet to be discovered. Specialists think it was built by
Romanian noblemen in the region of
Haţeg, probably even before the reign of Litovoi. The monument might be
included on the list of protected UNESCO sites.
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Densuş Church
The origin of the worship place in Densuş is a subject of controversy. Some historians
say it was built on the ruins of a pre-Christian civil building in Dacia, probably
a villa rustica, the residence of a Roman nobleman. Others think it lays
on top of a temple dedicated to the war-god Mars, worshipped by Roman legionnaires
that retired to this part of Transylvania, where they would get money, lands and
civil offices after 20 years of military service.
Other historians say it was first a mausoleum dedicated to the Roman general Longinus
Maximus, a friend of emperor Trajan that was killed by the Dacians, after kind Decebal
lured him into a trap, at the end of Trajan’s first war in Dacia and at the beginning
of the second. Trajan would have supposedly ordered, after Dacia’s conquest, a mausoleum
to be built to honour the memory of his general. Finally, historian Nicolae Iorga
writes that the church in Densuş was built in the 16th century.
Recycled materials from Roman Sarmisegetusa
Everything seems strange about this amazing building, visible from the Haţeg road.
The church is made out of river boulders and lightly chiselled blocks of stone,
but also out of weird materials that seem to have been reused by Romanians at the
beginning of the Middle Ages. Many locals say the materials have been brought from
the ruins of Dacia’s former Roman capital, Ulpia Traiana Sarmisegetusa, city founded
by the emperor Nerva Traianus, commonly known as Trajan. The ruins are actually
quite close, just ten kilometers away to the South. It is indeed possible for the
people to have brought “building blocks” with Roman inscriptions, column heads,
but especially the eight headstones that make up the columns at the church’s tower.
The mystery of a Slavonic inscription
An inscription in the old Slavonic language was discovered in 2007 on one of the
church’s walls. It probably dates back to the era when the edifice was built. “So
far, only a few words were deciphered. We think the rest might hide data that could
tell us more about the construction period and, especially, about Roman continuity
in these parts”, Orthodox priest Alexandru Gherghel says. The priest knows the church
he preaches in might have been built in the 10th century, although history
manuals record a later date.
However, Gherghel thinks official history is wrong in this case, because it takes
into account the paintings in the church, not its actual building period. “Children
are being taught a mistake, that the church was built some 400 years later that
it’s actually the case. It’s not fair, since it’s been decorated by Ştefan the Painter,
famous in the 13th century. So, the church used to exist before”, the priest explains.
Online resources:
Historic monument, rehabilitated through PAPI Cândeşti
Keywords: DensuşHunedoara countychurch UNESCOemperor TrajanSarmisegetusa