Bogeschdorf Fortified Church

The church in Curciu has remained almost unchanged since its construction in the beginning of the 15th century. The remarkable value of the three-aisle basilica with polygonal chancel lies in its outstanding stone masonry. In the chancel the well preserved mullioned windows with tracery can be admired as well as the typical Gothic windows in the tower. The sculptures ornamenting the portals, tower, windows, buttresses, as well as the capitals, keystones, sedilia and the door of the sacristy date back to around 1427. At the beginning of the 19th century the side aisles were heightened, thus obtaining a cross section of a hall church. At the same time both the main nave and the side aisles were covered with a flat, stuccoed ceiling. The tower’s defence level was demolished and replaced in 1913 by the present, with zinc sheet covered spire. Today the ring wall with the gate tower initially used as entrance, as well as a Gothic chapel integrated in this wall still stands as part of the fortified ensemble.

The small aisle-less church without tower from the 15th century is almost entirely preserved. The chancel was rebuilt in 1500 and the ceiling of the nave dates back to a construction phase from the 19th century. Nothing from the initial defense wall has remained. The importance of the church is given by its mural paintings and constructive details. Painting remains can bee still seen on the western funnel-shaped portal, which features a fine crafted profile. The chancel is richly decorated with figures sculptured in stone placed on the consoles of the ribs. Tracery, the portal of the sacristy, the tabernacle and the sedilia are particularly valuable as well. Conservation works have been carried out in order to preserve the ample paintings in the chancel, representing biblical scenes. The mural paintings on the exterior walls of the chancel are a unique testimony of the past: depictions of the Passions of Christ resemble the mural paintings on the monasteries in Moldavia from the beginning of the 16th century.

Above the previous Romanesque construction, a Gothic hall church with polygonal chancel was erected in the first half of the 15th century. No tower was added to the church, but the hall was heightened by half its size and covered with a lierne vault. Above the chancel that boasts its groin vault, three massive defence levels and a timber frame parapet walk were built. In the 15th and 16th century the church was protected by a wall and several defensive towers, of which only the southern tower, serving both as a gate and a bell tower still exists. Later the town hall was even located here. The defensive systems of the chancel were dismantled in the 19th century and replaced by a high-hipped roof. On the western facade the probably Romanesque painted portal was exposed. The organ, the pulpit and the altar were set up in the second half of the 18th century and the pews and the tabernacle are Gothic. The sedilia with round arches originate from the Romanesque construction phase.