St. John the Baptist Church (Romanian: Biserica Sfântul Ioan Botezătorul) is a Romanian Orthodox church located at 40 Muntele Mic Street, Caransebeș, Romania. It is dedicated to John the Baptist.
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The church was built in Viennese Baroque style between 1770 and 1780. It is situated in the old city cemetery, surrounded by a stone wall where the defensive walls of the citadel once stood. The cemetery used to include a wooden church; a large cross marks its altar, and a slight elevation indicates where the entrance once stood.[1]
According to an inscription in the interior, the new church was consecrated in May 1781. Two painters and an apprentice, all named Ion, painted the inside walls in Neo-Byzantine style in 1787. The floors are of stone and mosaic. The church acquired three bells, cast at Temeschwar (1790 and 1791) and Graz (1796).[1]
During the Austro-Turkish War of 1788–1791, Ottoman troops camped out inside the church, seriously damaging the painting and altar. A local merchant and his wife financed the subsequent repairs, which were finished in 1808, as the inscription mentions. The spire was coated in copper in 1855, and a new tin roof installed. Thorough exterior renovation took place in 1927, while the frescoes were freshened in 1960. Additional ample repairs, inside and out, were carrcarried out in 2006–2008.[1]
A number of important local figures lie buried in the cemetery, including Ioan Popasu, Nicolae Popea, Emilian Birdaș, Patriciu Dragalina, Iuliu Vuia, Pavel Jumanca and Traian Doda.[1] The church is listed as a historic monument by Romania's Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs.[2]
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Notes
edit- ^ a b c d (in Romanian) Description at the Caransebeș Tourist Office site
- ^ (in Romanian) Lista Monumentelor Istorice 2010: Județul Caraș-Severin Archived 2018-12-15 at the Wayback Machine
45°24′35″N 22°13′38″E / 45.40958521542242°N 22.227213982461727°E