Ament-Kovács Bence – Eitler Ágnes (szerk.): Örökségképzés, kulturális emlékezet, identitás. 25–162. Budapest: BTK Néprajztudományi Intézet, 2023 

Ágnes Fülemile: The Kalotaszeg Tower Motif as an Iconic Architectural Symbol

DOI: https://doi.org/10.61380/978-963-567-071-0-02 

Abstract: Kalotaszeg is one of the most iconic ethnographic landscapes of the Carpathian Basin, with a significant artistic and scientific representation and an elevated place in public thinking. The “image” of the region is the result of a complex symbolization process that has been ongoing for over a century. This study highlights a specific formal element in the wide-ranging topic of Kalotaszeg’s influence on Hungarian national architecture. Focusing on the iconography of
the “church tower of Kalotaszeg” as a motif, it reviews the symbolic meanings associated with its use in architecture (and, to a lesser extent, visual arts). The author outlines the process that began in the 1870s and was embedded in the contemporary international context of interest in vernacular expressions in architecture, when, as part of the construction of a national culture and in search of a folk-inspired national architecture, this particular type of tower became a prominent symbol with multiple meanings. The form was partially de-sacralized and used to enhance the representativeness and symbolism of temporary exhibition installations and secular public buildings. After 1920 and in the period between 1940‒1945, it was imbued with political content as a powerful symbol of Transylvania. It also became a defining identity marker of the new Reformed Presbyterian church architecture between the two world wars, and then it returned in this capacity after the regime change in 1989. The study is illustrated with rich visual material.

Kulcsszavak: négy fiatornyos, harangházas, ácsolt faszerkezetű torony, vernakuláris faépítészet, építészeti ikonográfia, nemzeti stílus keresése, Kalotaszeg tájegység, református templomi építészet 

Keywords: four-turreted tower, vernacular wooden architecture, architectural iconography, search for national style, Kalotaszeg region, Reformed Presbyterian church architecture 

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