Black Church

Biserica Neagră or Black Church is a church in Brașov, a city in south-eastern Transylvania, Romania. It was built by the German community of the city and stands as the main Gothic style monument in the country, as well as being the largest and one of the most important Lutheran (Evangelical Church of Augustan Confession in Romania) places of worship in the region.

The originally-Roman Catholic structure was known as the Church of Saint Mary, replacing an older building used for the same purpose. Construction on it began during the late 14th century, at an unknown date and was finalized in 1477.

Following the fire of 1689, Biserica Neagră was repaired with the help of masons coming from Danzig, as local craftsmen had not mastered the craft of completing the enormous vaults; these were to be completed in Baroque style.

Biserica Neagră is 89 meters in length and 38 meters wide. It measures 65 meters from the floor level to the highest point of its only bell tower. The Black Church has a six-ton bell, the biggest in Romania, an impressive 4,000 pipe organ built in 1839 by Carl August Buchholz (1796–1884) which is played during weekly concerts, as well as a rich collection of "Transylvanian" rugs donated from the 15th to 17th centuries by Transylvanian Saxon merchants, some of which are said to have been used to decorate walls as well as floors after the Reformation.

Several octagonal pillars, redesigned at least once during the building process, were probably completed around 1444. One of them features the inlaid crest of military leader John Hunyadi, who is mentioned among the church benefactors. The most intense work took place before and after 1450 and involved completing the exceptionally large number of portals, including the northern "Golden Gate" and its adjacent altar of the Holy Sacrifice. The eastern portal, commissioned by the Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus, was completed in 1476. The vestry was enlarged at some point between 1500 and 1515.

Its altar originally featured a single column, but its role in supporting the entire central structure — on the model of German cathedrals built by Hans Stettheimer (a view expressed by researchers such as Ernst Kühlbrandt and Antal Hekler) is under dispute. The naves took longer to complete, and construction was interrupted for various intervals: in 1423, Pope Martin V issued an indulgence for people involved in construction, as a means to reactivate the site; in 1474, a document issued by Sixtus IV acknowledged that work was still lagging.

The cathedral is a major symbol of Brașov, and a museum is open to visitors. A Lutheran service is held each Sunday for the small German community in the city.

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