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Cluj-Napoca Piarists' Church


Coordinates: 46°46′04″N 23°35′25″E / 46.767814°N 23.590399°E / 46.767814; 23.590399

The Piarist Church (Romanian: Biserica Piariștilor, also known as the Jesuit Church (Biserica Iezuiților) or the University Church (Biserica Universității); Hungarian: piarista templom), located at 5 Str. Universității, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, and dedicated to the Holy Trinity, was the first Roman Catholic church built in Transylvania after the Protestant Reformation, as well as the province's first Baroque church building. Among the city's more notable edifices, it served as a prototype for numerous other churches in Transylvania. It features a strong contrast between the sober exterior and a very well-decorated, almost exuberant interior. A statue of the Virgin Mary stood in front of the church until 1959, when the Communist authorities moved it to another part of the city.

On 13 March 1718, Jesuit priests began a fundraising campaign in order to build the church. Bishop Georgius Martonfi laid the cornerstone; the church was completed in 1724 and consecrated the following year by Bishop Joannes Antalfi. The Jesuits were suppressed in 1773 by Pope Clement XIV, so in 1776 Empress Maria Theresa transferred the church to the Piarists.


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