SEPSISZENTGYÖRGY (Sfintu Gheorghe, Rumania today), was first mentioned in a historic document in 1332, when the pope acknowledged revenues collected from here. Sepsiszentgyörgy became a town in 1461, and in 1520 it received the privilege to hold fairs. A devastating Turkish raid leveled the town in 1568. Sepsiszentgyörgy is the cultural center for the local Székely population. It has a professional theatrical company, and the town is the home of the most comprehensive Székely ethnographical museums, called the Székely múzeum (Engl. Székely museum), in Transylvania. This picture shows the main building of the Székely múzeum, which was designed by Székely Károly Kós, in 1913. The museum, which was originally founded in 1879, has a large open-air exhibition, displaying, among others, a complete Székely house, numerous Székely gates, etc, whereas the library has 56,000 volumes with invaluable information on the Székely people, history and culture. On the right, a wonderful Székely-gate; full of hand-carvings, paintings, art, folklore and culture. (Picture : Courtesy of Olivier Clary, Olivier.CLARY@meteo.fr).

Székely gate

IMAGES ON THE SZÉKELY-LAND

Images and text supplied by András Szeitz, unless otherwise indicated.

Hungarian Images and Historical Background

© 1994 András Szeitz
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