Sfântul Gheorge Church
The Orthodox Church "Sfântul Gheorghe" is located in the village of Streisângeorgiu, a component locality of the city of Călan, a city in Hunedoara County, Romania.
The small building is located on a terrace on the right bank of the Strei, peripheral to the new urban development of Călan and somewhat sheltered from the desolate landscape of the ruins of the metallurgical industry from the communist period, located in the southeastern part of the old locality.
The church has modest dimensions and simple, but typical, forms of a provincial Romanesque, on a plan with a single nave and a rectangular apse. Probably due to very large stone blocks that were used for the bases, the routes of the walls came out irregular, and the compartments off-axis. The nave was divided into two unequal sectors, vaulted separately from the first stage and with a dividing arch supported by two pillars, on the inside and outside. A small tribune was also built on the west, the pillars of which were later used to place a tower with a very narrow perimeter. In the 16th century, the place was probably enlarged to the west with a wooden narthex, which was replaced by a stone one around 1850. This compartment can now only be found in old photographs, the restoration in the 20th century completely dismantling it, without leaving even a trace of it on the ground.
Abandoned by the community in favor of a more generous and comfortable space, the little church at Streisângiorgiu is now just a monument whose parishioners have become tourists, with little or no guidance on site, to understand its exceptional value. Therefore, the intervention aims at researching, conserving and restoring the "Sf. Gheorghe" Church in Streisângeorgiu, with the aim of giving the building an image as close as possible to its historical appearance, rigorously respecting the principles of cultural heritage conservation.
It is also proposed to create a new structure, intended to serve as a lapidarium for the tombstones and historical crosses found in the church complex. The intervention is designed as a subtle and discreet, non-invasive and reversible presence, intended to suggest a simple gesture, a subtle line in the composition of the ensemble. Offering due respect to the place, it aims to integrate harmoniously, without disturbing the balance and authenticity of the original perception of the monument.
