Gyulafehérvár

Sepulchre of
János Hunyadi

GYULAFEHÉRVÁR The Bishopric Cathedral of Gyulafehérvár (Alba Iulia, Rumania today) was founded by Saint Stephen I (1000-1038), the first Hungarian king, in 1009. The original building was erected in in romanesque style using the foundations of an older church, but was finished in gothic style in the 12th century. This cathedral, the Saint Michael church, became the center of the Archdiocese of Transylvania, and also, the residential town of the Hungarian princes and governors of Transylvania.
In 1277, Saxon troops cracked down on the church, while it was having the morning service, with 2,000 people inside. Most of them were killed and the cathedral set on fire.
János Hunyadi (1446-1456), the great Hungarian fighter against the Ottoman onslaught, the Savior of Christianity, rebuilt and extended the church in the 1450's. It went through renovation again in 1671, by Mihály Apafi, Hungarian governor of Transylvania; between 1908-1918, by the Hungarian government, and in 1970, by Hungarian architect Lajos Bágyuj, but the Rumanian government stopped the work, because, after all, the Bishopric Cathedral of Gyulafehérvár is a crucial Hungarian historic, cultural and ethnic monument in Transylvania.
The cathedral has served as a burial place for major Hungarian historic figures. In the aisle of the church can be found the red marble sepulchre of János Hunyadi; his son, László Hunyadi; Transylvanian king Sigismund János (1559-1571) and his mother Queen Isabel; Friar György; Transylvanian Prince Gábor Bethlen (1613-1629); and György Rákóczi I. (1630-1648).