The refurbishment project in Cehu Silvaniei shows the active role that KÖH plays in the maintenance of historic monuments beyond Hungary?s borders. The Hungarian state has provided a total of HUF 6 million for the project through KÖH.
Cehu Silvaniei (Szilágycseh in Hungarian) lies on the banks of the River Silvaniei. A castle, first mentioned in records from 1319 as ?castrum Chehy? or ?Cheewar?, used to tower high above the village. The first record of the city is from 1405, when it was called ?Chehy Hungaricalis?.
The castle and the surrounding area were owned in the Middle Ages by the Jakcs and Drágffy families. In the 16th century, the estate belonged to György Bátori and later to the Rátóti Gyulaffy family. By the 18th century, the area was divided up into smaller properties, owned by various branches of the Wesselényi family. The castle was destroyed in the 19th century, with only two 17th-century carvings surviving.
The Reformed church stands on the town?s main square. Only one wall of the nave of the original gothic cruciform church remains, around which the present-day church has been built. The church?s tower was built in 1614. In its oldest sections, the church bears the crests of the Drágffy and Jakcs families. It also contains pews from the late 15th century, together with bells made around the same time. Tombs in the church go back as far as the 16th century, but the church?s pulpit was built in 1806.
The refurbishment of the church became necessary after cracks appeared in the roof, threatening the building?s collapse. As well as reinforcing the church?s structure, a new drainage system was built around the building and the church?s gothic section was restored. The pulpit and several stone carvings in the church were also restored.
