Veseuș (Szásznagyvesszős, Michelsdorf an der Kokel) – Alba County
Located just a stone’s throw from the Jidvei wine region, internationally renowned for its noble and fine wines, the village of Veseuș not only seems to be from another world, but it is an unfortunate example of the pure poverty in which millions of people in 21st-century Romania live. Once the pride of the flourishing community with nearly 400 souls, the Saxons’ church in Veseuș is now condemned to perish.
The Evangelical Church in Veseuș, forgotten even by the Saxons who left for Germany
Built in the Gothic style at the beginning of the 16th century, more precisely in 1504, on the site of a former Romanesque basilica, the hall church in Veseuș later incorporated Baroque elements (1794). Another three decades later, in 1825, the ensemble was completed with the bell tower. Both buildings are listed as historical monuments in Alba County and are part of the Romanian national cultural heritage.
The Lutheran church in Veseuș is one of the four places of worship built by the Saxons from the Târnava Mică Valley, and also the only one that is in a miserable and desacralized state today. While the Saxons from Jidvei (Zsidve, Seiden), Bălcaciu (Bolkács, Bolkatsch), and Șona (Szépmező, Schönau) contributed to the strengthening of the churches in their native villages, the community from Veseuș dispersed after emigrating to Germany.
While nearly 400 Saxons lived in Veseuș during the interwar period, after 1989, none remained, with the overwhelming majority of today’s local residents being of Roma ethnicity. As a „dead-end” village, many preferred to move to Jidvei, into the houses left behind by the Saxons who had departed from there to Germany and Austria. Sadly rising on the hill, the Evangelical church has instead fallen prey to weeds and trash. The former churchyard is full of thorns and bushes, the main door has long disappeared, the vault above the altar has collapsed, the bell tower has cracked, as alcohol bottles, empty cigarette packs, and plastic bags have made their way among the remaining benches.
Renovation of the Evangelical Church in Veseuș: intended, but couldn't be done!
Although there was once an attempt to secure the entrances, the carved wooden side door is wide open, making the entrance to the church free… for anyone brave enough to face the aggressive dogs roaming the area. Inside, everything valuable has been taken to a museum (or stolen…?). What remains is the elegant pulpit from 1893, a pew from 1928, a few dusty benches, and the staircase leading to the fragile upper floor. The graves in the church cemetery are overgrown with vegetation, and many of the tombstones have disappeared, some ending up as filling material for the houses built in the area. Saxon tradition dictates that each parishioner should take care of their family’s graves. But who will do it now…?
No one remembers when the last religious service was held in the church in Veseuș. According to Alfred Dahinten, the Evangelical priest from Sebeș, who in 2009 also took over the other churches of the Târnava Mică Valley, part of the blame for the deplorable state of the historical monument lies with the Saxons who left the village. Although he tried to contact the locals settled in Germany, it seems that they no longer keep in touch with each other, and unlike other communities, they have not established any association, Dahinten revealed in a recent statement.
If money and solutions cannot be found for the Evangelical church, at least the small Reformed church in Veseuș has a better fate. Originally built with adobe walls in 1855, the church in the cemetery of the noble Dániel family acquired its current form in 1970, and is still maintained by the tiny remaining community. On the other hand, in August 2010, the foundation stone was laid for the new Orthodox church that is still under construction in the village, approved after the current place of worship, over a century old, was severely affected by cracks and water infiltration…
With over 50 churches under its jurisdiction in Alba and Sibiu counties, the Sebeș District Evangelical Consistory does not have the funds for the conservation and restoration of the ruin in Veseuș. Similarly, the local authorities in Jidvei cannot get involved, as they do not have ownership rights over the church and clergy house ensemble, although they once maybe considered taking over the historical monument. Since the remaining villagers do not mobilize to at least clean the church and its yard of garbage, it is hard to believe that it can still be saved given the absolutely disastrous condition…