Gheorgheni

Gheorgheni, called Gyergyószentmiklós in Hungarian, lies in a high basin of the Eastern Carpathians. The town grew on routes connecting Transylvania with Moldavia and received the right to hold fairs in 1607. Its Székely inhabitants were joined in the seventeenth century by Armenian merchants and craftsmen, whose connections contributed to local trade.

The Armenian community first worshipped in rented houses and later acquired a chapel from the bishop in 1712, after receiving use of a cemetery. As its numbers grew, it built a larger new church: work on the Baroque Armenian Catholic church began in 1733, and the church was consecrated in 1772. Its walls and inscription record the contribution of a community that made the mountain town a meeting place of different traditions.